P. C. Ramakrishna

Ramakrishna did his schooling in Kolkata, India, and completed his undergraduate education at the Loyola College, Chennai. Ramakrishna's early interests included learning the mridangam – an ancient Indian percussion instrument – and he trained under Palghat Mani Iyer in Chennai and Tanjavur. He played mridangam for 18 years since the age of 3 and was considering making it a profession, but was discouraged by low wages for musicians.[1] Instead, he joined the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, and after graduation worked in the corporate sector from 1967 until voluntary retirement in 1993.[4]

Most of the documentary narration work that I do is dull as ditch water. For example, tell me how many people are interested in the details of installing a boiler?

— P. C. Ramakrishna in interview to JobsByRef, [4]

Ramakrishna worked on his first play as a director in 1969, which was also the only play he directed. Subsequently, he auditioned for the play The Crucible by The Madras Players, a role which he eventually got.[1] While working in the industry, he hosted programs on the All India Radio, and was later approached by the Doordarshan.[4] Ramakrishna was one of the first English news readers in Indian television.[5]

Ramakrishna's notable plays include Anna Weiss, where he plays the role of a man who is accused of sexual abuse by his daughter, Mercy, a monologue based on a novel by the Tamil author Sivasankari[6] and Mahesh Dattani's Dance Like A Man.[2]