Pransukh Manilal Nayak (23 April 1910 – 12 March 1989) was an Indian Gujarati theatre actor, director, manager, and playwright from Gujarat, India.
During his long career, he worked with many theatre companies and gave 22,455 performances, earning a listing in the 1989 Guinness Book of Records.
Pransukh Nayak was born on 23 April 1910 in a village called Jagudan,[1][2] which is now in Mehsana district, Gujarat, to a family of traditional Bhavai actors.
[3][4][5] His father Manilal Mulchand was a popular Bhavai actor and the people of nearby villages flocked to see his performances in veshas (acts) of Ramapir and Chhelbatau.
[1][3][4][2] Nayak was inspired by a performance by female impersonator Jaishankar Sundari to join a Bhavai troupe at the age of nine.
[3] In Mumbai, he appeared in a supporting female role as Kashi—a woman from Banaras—in Kumali Kali (Delicate Bud, 1926), and later in College Kanya (College Girl, 1925), which brought him fame in the Bombay theatre circuit (now Mumbai) at the age of fifteen.
[4] Apart from acting and direction, Nayak wrote eight plays including Balotiyana Balela, Bandh Chheepna Moti, Birbalni Chhatri and Balbhakta Prahalad.