Makarand Deshpande is an Indian theatre and film actor, writer and director. He is has been seen in supporting and pivotal roles in various films like Sarfarosh (1999), Jungle (2000), Makdee (2002), Swades (2004) and Darna Zaroori Hai (2006). He has also directed over 5 films. The bulk of his work however, is in theatre. He has written 350 full-length plays and at least 12 short plays and has his own theatre company, Ansh. Deshpande has an unconventional personality and is noted for his unusual outfits and hairstyles. His 2016 Malayalam movie, Pulimurugan, starring Mohanlal in the titlular role. He is also associated with 2017 movie, The Wishing Tree alongside Shabana Azmi directed by Manika Sharma and the Tamil movie Team 5 directed by Suresh Govind.

In 2018, he appeared alongside Pooja Gandhi and Ravi Shankar P. in Srinivasa Raju`s Telugu crime thriller Dandupalyam 3. His other 2018 movie includes the thriller Buckaasuura. His 2019 releases include Mere Pyare Prime Minister, Chhatrapati Shasan, Junglee, Chicken Curry Law, Adhyaksha In America and Hirkani. His 2020 release includes Bombhaat, directed by Raghavendra Varma.