|
New Delhi:
Ebrahim Alkazi, one of the most influential Indian theatre
directors and Drama teachers in 20th-century Indian theatre, has been
conferred France's highest cultural award for his contribution in
nurturing and presenting modern theatre in India and preserving
the treasures of photography and other art forms for posterity.
Born in 1925 to a Saudi Arabian immigrant, Ebrahim
Alkazi was schooled at St. Vincent's High School in Pune and later
St. Xavier's College, Mumbai. Thereafter he trained at the Royal
Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in London.
Early on in his career he got associated with the Bombay
Progressive Artists' Group, which included M.F.Husain, F.N.Souza,
S.H.Raza, Akbar Padamsee, Tyeb Mehta, artists who were later to
paint from his plays and design his sets.
He remained the Director of
National School of Drama, New Delhi during 1962–1977. He has
also been a noted art connoisseur, collector and gallery owner,
and found Art Heritage Gallery in Delhi with his wife, Roshan
Alkazi.
As the director of the National School of Drama (NSD), Alkazi
revolutionised Hindi theatre by the magnificence of his vision,
and the meticulousness of his technical discipline. Here he was
associated with training many well-known film and theatre actors
and directors including Vijaya Mehta, Om Shivpuri, Om Puri,
Naseeruddin Shah, Manohar Singh, Uttara Baokar, Jyoti Subhash,
Suhas Joshi, B. Jayashree, Jayadev and Rohini Hattangadi.
Trained at Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), he won the BBC
Broadcasting Award in 1950. He has directed over 50 plays,
including famous productions of Girish Karnad's 'Tughlaq', Mohan
Rakesh's 'Ashadh Ka Ek Din', Dharamvir Bharati's 'Andha Yug' and
numerous Shakespeare and Greek plays.
He was the first recipient of Roopwedh Pratishtan's the Tanvir
Award (2004) for lifetime contribution to the theatre. He has
received awards including the Padma Shri (1966), the Padma Bhushan
(1991), and India's second highest civilian award the Padma
Vibhushan in 2010.
He has also been awarded twice by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, India's
National Academy for Music, Dance and Drama, first we received the
Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in Direction (1962), and the Akademi's
highest award the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship for lifetime
contribution to theatre.
|
Comments
|
Quick links