Hashim Haider

Hashim Haider is an Indian puppeteer, writer, and actor who is best known for playing Akshar Kumar on the Indian co-production of Sesame Street, Galli Galli Sim Sim. When he joined the show in 2006, he was initially a puppet wrangler before given the character during the second season. Hashim even got to help make Akshar Kumar one of the most prominent Muppets on Galli, though during the 6th season he was a constant character under the name Hero. Haider got to work alongside other Indian puppeteers on Sim Sim such as Ghazal Javid, Sangya Ojha, and Babita Kurdiya Rachoya, to name a few. Outside, he works as a freelance puppetry artist across Mumbai, India, as well as being co-founder of the Indian puppet company The Puppetarians alongside Sanya Ojha. I'll bet the two developed a co-worker thing while on Galli prior to founding the company. It must have been an honor for Hashim Haider to work on an international co-production of Sesame Street and be trained to puppeteer by Martin P. Robinson and Noel MacNeal. Of course, all of the Indian puppeteers on Galli got trained by those two prior to the beginning of taping the production. With The Puppetarians, some of the shows he did include The Dog Story and a retelling of The Puranas, though he could've done more. I certainly hope Hashim continues to perform on Galli Galli Sim Sim until the show ends production (which won't happen for a long, long time). Haider certainly made a star out of himself with his Akshar Kumar character on Galli. I wonder where he learned to speak English during an interview he did, though it's probably best not to get way into detail about that question. The next time The Puppetarians are doing a production, let's hope they give more lessons to interested Indian performers. Hashim Haider, you are terrific on Galli Galli Sim Sim as Akshar Kumar, and you're great at running The Puppetarians with Ojha. Keep on performing so that everyone across India will see you as a star and role model. And don't forget what an honor it was to be trained by legendary Sesame Street performers. Shine on Hashim. You're a superstar Haider!