Father of Modern Indian theatre & Padma Awardee Ebrahim Alkazi Passed Away at 94

On August 4, 2020 The Father of Modern Indian theatre, Ebrahim Alkazi  passed away at the age of 94 in Escorts Hospital, New Delhi due to a massive heart attack. He was a theatre director, drama teacher, and the longest-serving director of the National School of Drama(NSD) i.e., from 1962 to 1977. He was credited for revolutionising India theatre. He was born on October 18, 1925 in Pune, Maharashtra.

• He won the Padma Vibhushan in 2010, Padma Bhushan in 1991, Padma Shri in 1966. 

Note- In his tenure as director of NSD he mentored students who became great actors, including Naseeruddin Shah, Nadira Babbar, and Om Puri.

Key Info

He was also a noted art connoisseur, collector and gallery owner. He founded the Art Heritage Gallery in Delhi with his wife, Roshan Alkazi.

Gist About Ebrahim Alkazi 

Personal Info– He has a son Feisal Alkazi and a daughter Amal Allana, both well known theatre directors. He was also described as, “last of the Romans”

Contribution to Modern Indian Theatre

Ebrahim Alkazi’s contribution towards modern Indian theatre includes the following: bringing in technical aspects of the craft and making the NSD the premier training institute for theatre among others.

Plays Directed 

i.He directed over 50 plays including  famous productions of: Girish Karnad’s Tughlaq and Dharamvir Bharati’s Andha Yug and numerous Shakespeare and Greek plays.

ii.He staged Oedipus Rex (1964), King Lear (1964) and Moliere’s The Miser (1965) in Hindi.

Awards

1st recipient of Roopwedh Pratishtan’s the Tanvir Award (2004) for lifetime contribution to the theatre, Sangeet Natak AkademiAward in Direction(1962) and the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship for lifetime contribution to theatre among others.

Recent Related News:

i.National awardee and Veteran filmmaker Basu Chatterjee passed away.

ii.Padma Shri Ved Prakash Marwah, former governor and Delhi police commissioner passed away at 87.

About Padma Awards

The Padma Awards are one of the highest civilian honours of India announced annually on the eve of Republic Day.  The award seeks to recognize achievements in all fields of activities or disciplines where an element of public service is involved.

3 categories of the Award: Padma Vibhushan (for exceptional and distinguished service), Padma Bhushan (distinguished service of higher order) and Padma Shri (distinguished service).

Padma Awards Committee– The Padma Awards are conferred on the recommendations made by the Padma Awards Committee, which is constituted by the Prime Minister every year. 

Nomination– The nomination process is open to the public. Even self-nomination can be made.