Theatre actor Partha Akerkar (third from left) plays a crude Haryanvi in Sabbir Khan’s soon-to-release film, Heropanti 

For far too long now, many theatre actors have played second fiddle to mainstream actors in films. But if recent films are anything to go by, filmmakers are now acknowledging theatre experience in a bigger way. This is evident given the fact that theatre veterans such as KC Shankar, Manav Kaul, Partha Akerkar and Gopal Datt are now bagging prominent roles in Bollywood.