Yashwant Patil was born to dance. He is an excellent folk dancer and a stage artist.
Recently he published an e-book titled A Rhythmic Journey which are the expressions of students of Smitalaya the Odissi dance school established by guru Smt. Jhelum Paranjape.
Yashwant leads a dance troupe that performs folk dances. His troupe now has numerous shows to its credit, including cultural events for foreign delegates organised for Ministry of Cultural Affairs, Maharashtra.
Yashwant has done a number of live dance shows. He has participated in the shows ‘Maharashtra Darshan’ and ‘Azadi ki Jang’. He has performed in a number of Smitalaya productions such as ‘Narmada’ – based on the Sardar Sarovar movement, ‘Lilawati’ – on the life of the legendary Indian lady mathematician, ‘Uma’ - on Goddess Parvati, the wife of Shankara, ‘Jago India’ and ‘Jalashree’ – on water conservation.
Yashwant Patil is presently working in Smitalaya’s ‘Savitri Vadate’, a show based on the life of Savitri Phule and Mahatma Jyotiba Phule, with the lead role performed by Guru Smt. Jhelum Paranjape. ‘Savitri Vadate’ has met theatrical success, with more than 15 shows already hosted. It was also showcased in the Zee Marathi award function on television. He has performed in a number of prestigious festivals such as Bandra Festival, Andheri Festival and Maharashtra Day event organised for Cultural Affairs department. He has also performed in the cultural events of large corporate such the famous car manufacturer Maruti Corp.
Yashwant Patil has attended an acting workshop conducted by director Vaman Kendre where he was also mentored by veteran actor Late Smt. Bhakti Barve, and got the opportunity to be guided by famed Bharatnatyam dancer Guru Smt. Sandhya Purecha. He has also done 1 year Drama Diploma by ‘Shreyas & Aakar’.
Yashwant Patil participated in the special show of ‘Azadi Ki Jung’ performed at Y. B. Chavan auditorium on occasion of 50 years of independence. It was attended by a number of dignitaries like the then prime minister Shri. Indrakumar Gujral, Smt. Usha Mehta and also by many freedom fighters. He went on to participate in the entire 25 shows of ‘Azadi ki Jung’, a dance show produced by ‘Anantar Bharti Kala Pathak’ and choreographed by Guru Smt. Jhelum Paranjape. It was a magnifient show on which Indrajit Gural said, “ Aap ne Itihas ke purane panne khol diye ”.
Yashwant Patil started his stage career from early college days, through Rashtriya Seva Dal Kalapathak. He got the opportunity to work with well known Marathi poet Prof. Vasant Bapat and Smt. Sudhatai Varde during his first year in college while performing the show ‘Shiv Darshan’. He acted in the drama ‘Bin Biyanche Jhaad’ under the direction of Shri Liladhar Hegde, the legendary freedom fighter, playwright and singer. He also acted in ‘Anna Data’, a play by Prof. Vasant Bapat.
Yashwant has acted in Marathi films since his college days. His noteworthy performance was in the movie ‘Anyayacha Pratikar’ (2014). Having experienced in such disparate mediums as drama, dance, television and films, Yashwant aspires to perform in quality production, such as meaningful cinema and content driven TV shows.
Yashwant Patil is not just a dancer, stage and film actor, choreographer and television personality, but an established Odissi dancer too. Beginning with stage performances in ‘Rashtriya Seva Dal Kalapathak’ in his college days, Yashwant went on to acquire rigorous training in the Indian classical dance form Odissi under the venerated guru Smt. Jhelum Paranjape. He performs Oddissy in a number of stage shows. Some of his noted performances have been in the dance programmes ‘Narmada’, ‘Lilawati’, ‘Jago India’ and the latest ‘Saviti Vadate’. He has appeared in many shows on television and has acted in the Marathi movie ‘Anyayacha Pratikar’.
After finishing college, Yashwant started learning Odissi. He has been learning since the last 15 years under the able guidance of Guru Ankur Ballal and Smt. Jhelum Paranjape. The experience in stage appearances and training in Odissi launched Yashwant’s career in dance programs.
Yashwant has appeared in a number of shows on television. His major television work includes an acting role in a documentary on Bajaj, as interview host in the show ‘Yuva Darshan’ and as a dancer in a documentary on the life and culture of the Koli (fishermen) people of Maharashtra. Made by Delhi Doordarshan, the documentary on the Koli’s was choreographed by Guru Smt. Jhelum Paranjape and was telecast on the Bharti channel.
Yashwant Patil aspires to be a film actor with meaningful roles in films.