After earning his diploma from Filmalay academy, Mumbai, Om Katare was very clear what he wanted out of life. Life and his emotions were the only things he was conscious of. He loved the consciousness of life and wanted as much of it as he could get. But the span of one’s life is limited. Since, therefore he couldn’t increase the content of life by increasing its duration. He would increase it by increasing its intensity. Acting, playwright, direction and everything else he did had this one purpose-increasing the intensity of his consciousness of life. And by virtue of this very purpose he founded Yatri – a theatre group, in 1979 with the sole objective of engaging the theater audience with the art of theater in an interesting, entertaining and innovative ways.

Today, from the vantage point of the hindsight it is very easy to join the dots, but initially things were not that sanguine. Hailing from a small town called Datia in Madhya Pradesh the odds were very much stacked against him from the onset. The initial years were a struggle, with no funds or sponsors, but by the sheer dint of his purpose he came up with a group of actors dedicated to the cause of Hindi theatre and went on to produce and direct his first play -Late Sharad Joshi’s ‘Ek Tha Gadha’ in 1979. This very endeavor of his drew plethora of reactions from people around him, few discouraged him, some laughed at his arrogance but there were few who admired his conviction. Hence, it was Yatri’s good fortune to have got encouragement and proscenium space to showcase its emerging talent from none other than Shri Shashi Kapoor & late Jennifer Kapoor (Shri Shashi Kapoor’s wife).

In the year 1979, Om Katare was a young actor/playwright with incandescent talent. It was time of wonder and excitement for him and his group-Yatri, for the next few years they stood at the threshold of dream: about the meaning of theater. Somehow, these few years were tumultuous time in Yatri’s life. But eventually Om Katare’s vision to provide wholesome and meaningful entertainment to the common man was realized when he got patronage of Mr. R. Mohan, the then proprietor of Good Knight, who offered to sponsor Yatri’s plays for a period of 5 years from 1987 to 1991. Since then Yatri’s yatra (journey) has been north bound and there was no looking back. Yatri has grown from strength to strength with its eclectic repertoire. It has so far produced more than 75 productions and has over 5000+ performances to its credit both in India and abroad. YATRI completed 40 glorious years in theatre and this was marked with a milestone festival which was held at Prithvi theatre & other prestigious theatre of Mumbai. On an average, Yatri has 10 running plays round the year and 90-100 shows average annually. Despite the fact that it is tough to survive in theatre, Yatri has so far never cancelled any show once it is scheduled

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In 1991 he registered Yatri as Yatri Theatre Association under the Mumbai Charity Commissioner. In 1993 Culture Dept. Mahrashtra recommended Yatri’s name to Culture Dept. Delhi for the Grants. Subsequently in 1994 Yatri starts getting financial assistance from Delhi. Till date they are receiving grants from Culture Dept, Delhi.  

Achievements

• Majority of YATRI’S productions are directed by Om Katare and he has now successfully completed 40 years in theater. He has a distinction of acting in his own directed 68 full length plays running to over 5500+ shows. His talent and knowledge of theater is just not confined to regaling audiences with his performances but he has also ventured out in the field of teaching the nuances of theater to the public at large, and a substantial proof in this regard are the 30 theater workshop which he has conducted for adults and children and consequently trained over 1000+ aspiring actors & 300 kids.

He is an ardent supporter of the fact that drama and theater are innate aspect of human being and so it should be chiseled right from the formative years. Hence Children are always special to him and sharing his theatre experience with little wonders is his real passion. In this regard he has conducted drama classes in Rani Laxmibai Public Schhol Jhansi, Nashik Cambridge School, Nashik & SVKM’s international, Mumbai, also he has conducted workshop in several cities of India like Mumbai,Jodhpur,Kholapur.Jahnsi, Bhopal, Datia & Pune.

• His prowess as a playwright is reflected in many full-length plays, the prominent ones being -Laddoo Gopal, Nakchadhi, Chandu Ki Chachi.,Mummy Please!, Dadaji Kahein,Man Karta Hai, Magic If!, Pyar Ki Gaadi, Rajneeti, Raat Baaki hai, Jeene Bhi Do Yaaron, Hum Paanch, Yeh Tera Dil..Yeh Mera Dil, Chinta Chhod Chintamani and the latest production, Genius Chor & written more than 25 street plays on social issues-Awara laash, Shooting Shooting, Halla Bol, Bhavshya ki Ore, Inspector Matadeen Chand Par, Kahin Surakshit Hai Hum.

• By virtue of his contribution to the field of Hindi theater he was recognized by the Maharashtra Rajya Hindi Sahitya Academy and as a token of this recognition he was awarded the prize for Excellence by the  Academy in 2004, in honor of completing 25 years of Leadership in Hindi Theatre. The award was presented then, by the incumbent Hon’ble Minister of State – Home, for Maharashtra, Shri Kripa Shankar Singh.

As a befitting gesture for his achievements, he has been invited as a judge for one act & street play competitions in the college festivals by almost all the colleges of Mumbai.

Yatri Theatre always believed in contributing to society in order to create more awareness and human values in today’s fast and technology driven world, where we are more in touch with the internet and less in touch with our human values.

A classical manifestation of the aforesaid symbiosis is the YATRI’s play KAALCHAKRA * & HUM PAANCH

KAALCHAKRA: 20 years ago Yatri started doing this play which focuses on the mental anguish faced by aged parents at the hands of their children. 2 years ago ONGC adopted this play under their CSR scheme. After which till date around 5,000 senior citizens have seen and appreciated Kaalchakra. Yatri has performed more than 100+ shows of this play.

HUM PAANCH: Based on the proposition of Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao, initiated by our Honourable Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, this play highlights the story of how women when given an equal opportunity in life, can contribute far greater to the nation than the opposite gender. This play has been widely appreciated by the audiences, political class and celebrities alike.

Juxtaposing the growth of amateur theater, with the professional one is also an important objective of Om Katare’s vision, of a holistic development of theater. His Initiative of KHULA MANCH is a perfect case in the point

KHULA MANCH: A brainchild of Om Katare, which started in mid 2014. KHULA MANCH is an initiative which under the aegis YATRI provides platform to actors, singers, poets and performers to come forward and showcase their talent. It has met with tremendous success and has performed for names like  Bhavan’s Cultural Centre, Andheri (West), MUMBAI and Rotary club of Mumbai..

Milestone Productions of Yatri

Vijay Tendulkar’s SAKHARAM BINDER

Sharad Joshi’s EK THA GADHA

Jayawant Delvi’s PURUSH

Harishankar Parsai’s RANI KI KAHANI

Dr. Vasant Kanetkar’s CHHOMANTAR & CHINTA CHHOD CHINTAMANI

PL Deshpande’s HEY BHAGWAN

Mir Muneer’s  BHAAG CHALEIN

Dr. Kusum Kumar’s DILLI UNCHA SUNTI HAI

Having completed 75 full length productions, numerous short plays and corporate performances with over 5500 Plus shows of these productions, Yatri Theatre recently announced its latest production, again written & directed by Om Katare, Genius Chor, adapted from Vijay Dhan Detha’s Fitrati Chor. This production opened at Prithvi Theatre, Juhu in December to packed audiences and is one of the eagerly awaited performances by audiences across the country.

Om Katare has dedicated 40 years of his life to the cause of hindi theater. His contribution to the world of theater cannot be integrated in the aforesaid few paragraphs because at best, they are just a documentation of his tangible contribution rather than the more important intangible contributions, which will perhaps manifest itself with time, may be today or tomorrow or day after tomorrow, and the legend will surface. Presently he has dedicated team of 40 actors who have full confidence in him and with this team he is solely focused on his one purpose-increasing the intensity of his consciousness of life through acting, playwright & direction.

Of the recent achievements, Om Katare and Yatri Theatre were invited to perform at the 8^th Chandigarh Theatre Festival, Chandigarh. This show performed to packed audiences, and was appreciated by audiences, who thronged to meet the artisis for photo ops and autographs after the show. It was indeed an honor to be a part of the celebration held at the national level by the Government of the country.