First Director of National School of Drama (NSD) and the father of modern Indian theatre, Ebrahim Alkazi, breathed his last in the capital on Tuesday. He was 94.
Also an art connoisseur, collector and gallery owner, he founded Art Heritage Gallery in New Delhi.
This Royal Academy of Dramatics Art (RADA) pass-out staged more than 50 plays during his distinguished career and won the BBC Broadcasting Award in 1950.
Shri Ebrahim Alkazi will be remembered for his efforts to make theatre more popular and accessible across India. His contributions to the world of art and culture are noteworthy too. Saddened by his demise. My thoughts are with his family and friends. May his soul rest in peace.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 4, 2020
Some of the major plays directed by him include “Tuglaq” (Girish Karnad), “Ashadh Ka Ek Din” (Mohan Rakesh), Dharamvir Bharti’s “Andha Yug” besides several Greek tragedies and Shakespeare’s works.
Recipient of the Padma Vibhushan (2010), Padma Bhushan (1991) and Padma Shri (1966) honours, he was known to be a strict disciplinarian who provided a blueprint for theatre training during his years as the Director of NSD (1962-1977).
Associated with training some of the best-known talents in the country, including Naseeruddin Shah, Om Puri, Uttara Baokar and Rohini Hattangadi, besides a host of major theatre directors in the country, Alkazi was married to Roshan Alkazi, who designed costumes for his plays.
His two children are also theatre artists. Amal Allana is a theatre director and former Chairperson of National School of Drama while Feisal Alkazi too is a theatre director.
