Eulogy for Ebrahim Alkazi : The Doyen of Indian Theatre.

A nonagenarian, father of modern Indian theatre, whose monumental retrospective exhibition, ‘The Theatre of E. Alkazi : A Modernist Approach to Indian Theatre’ was organised at the NGMA Mumbai during September-October 2016, a reputed artist and art connoisseur, the creative genius in theatre, one of the founding Directors of the National School of Drama, the position of which he distinguishably occupied for 15 long years, winner of all the three coveted Padma Awards - Padma Vibhushan (2010), Padma Bhushan (1991) and Padma Shri (1966), passed away on Tuesday, 4th August, 2020,  in Delhi. He was 95 years old. Alkazi suffered a massive heart attack and died at 2.45 PM. He was admitted to the Escorts hospital the day before for age related ailments. Alkazi will ever be remembered for his outstanding contributions to the field of theatre including his contributions to the National School of Drama of which he was the Director for 15 long years. As director of NSD, he shaped the course for modern Indian theatre, establishing links between traditional vocabulary and modern idiom. Alkazi will be remembered as a towering theatre giant who was associated with training and mentoring some of the best known theatre artists and talents in the country, including Naseeruddin Shah, Om Puri, Uttara Baokar, Rohini Hattangadi, Pankaj Kapoor besides a host of other major theatre directors in the country. He was an outstanding creative genius in theatre. Some of the major plays, which he  directed include "Tuglaq" (Girish Karnad), "Ashadh Ka Ek Din" (Mohan Rakesh), Dharamvir Bharti's "Andha Yug" besides several other Greek tragedies and Shakespeare's works.

It was a great honour for me that his retrospective monumental exhibition, on his theatre creativity, was organised at the NGMA, Mumbai while I was the Director of NGMA Mumbai. The exhibition was inaugurated on 9th September, 2016,  by HIs Excellency Saud-Al-Sati, the Ambassador of Kingdom of Soudi Arabia to India, in the August presence of noted Ad. film maker and theatre veteran Alyque Padamsee, and veteran theatre and film Director Vijaya Mehta, who was the student of Alkazi at the NSD. Also present on the occasion was Alkazi’s daughter Ms Amal Allana, theatre director, costume designer and former Chairperson National School of Drama, and her eminent theatre designer husband, Nissar Allana, eminent artist and Chairman NGMA Advisory Committee, Mr Suhas Bahulkar and several other distinguished guests including some of the eminent students of Alkazi from the NSD  and other distinguished guests. The exhibition (9th September - 18th October, 2016) was a fitting tribute to Ebrahim Alkazi’s life and times on the Indian stage, which was presented in the very city - Mumbai - where Alkazi commenced and established his long dramatic innings.

Alkazi was born to a wealthy Saudi Arabian business man, trading in India, and to a Kuwaiti mother, on 18th October 1925 in Pune. He was one among the nine siblings born to his parents. He did his schooling at St. Vincent’s High School, Pune and subsequently moved to Bombay (Mumbai now) and studied at the St. Xavier college. He learnt Arabic, English, Marathi and Gujarati. While studying in St. Xavier College in Mumbai, Alkazi joined Sultan Padamsee's English theatre company, the Theatre Group. He subsequently moved to UK for his training in theatre at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in London, which he completed in 1947. During his association with RADA he staged more than 50 plays and enjoyed a distinguished career and he also won the BBC Broadcasting Award in 1950. Although he was offered good career opportunities in London after being honored by both the English Drama League and the British Broadcasting Corporation, Alkazi preferred to return back to India to rejoin the Theatre Group, which he ran from 1950 to 1954 in Mumbai. In the very year of his return to India (1947) the rest of his family migrated to Pakistan while Alkazi stayed back in India. 

The Theatre of E. Alkazi — A Modernist Approach to Indian Theatre’, exhibition, which was showcased at NGMA was  a retrospective of the life and works of Alkazi. The driving forces behind this exhibition was his daughter, Amal Allana, a theatre doyen in her own right, and her husband, the stage designer Nissar Allana. The exhibition was planned to conclude on the 91st birthday of Alkazi on the 18th  October, 2016 and Alkazi was to grace the occasion, which unfortunately did not happen due to travel restrictions on Alkazi, who was not keeping well. I had the honour to be present during one of the many curated talks, that Allana conducted during the exhibition in which she shed rare insight into the man - E Alkazi, who single-handedly can be credited with overhauling the National School of Drama into a legitimate national institution, during his long tenure as its director from 1962 to 1977. She also shared insights into the world of Alkazi’s theatre including speaking about his eventful innings in Bombay, where under the aegis of the Theatre Group and the Theatre Unit, Alkazi galvanised the English theatre scene in the city. She also spoke about Alkazis association with the Bombay Progressive Artists including MF Hussain, who painted for his theatre. 

The retrospective exhibition at NGMA Mumbai included some of the rare archival material, which was aesthetically displayed in the majestic semicircular galleries arranged around the central stairwell at the NGMA. The exhibition included Mockups of posters of Alkazi’s celebrated productions, which  adorned the walls of the entrance hall. The Alkazi Times’ panels presented the signposts of Alkazi’s life as news clippings, interspersed with actual microfiche footage — ascensions of kings and Prime Ministers, declarations of war and independence, and even snapshots from theatre history. The exhibition was monumental in scale, filled with information about Alkazi’s genealogy, childhood, education and his illustrious career. Although Alkazi settled in Delhi, he started his creative career in theatre in Mumbai. The exhibition presented how Alkazi was destined to take up the reins of Theatre Group after the untimely passing of Sultan ‘Bobby’ Padamsee, the young genius, who had great influence on Alkazi.

Alkazi brought about revolutionary changes in Indian theatre and he was able to beautifully blend native Indian folk traditions and international acting techniques to create modern Indian theatre. He was also credited with the introduction of revolutionary ideas in theatre through scenic design and lighting. Alkazi is believed to have been a strict disciplinarian at the NSD who evolved new training methodologies for student actors, directors and stage designers. He introduced new ethics and philosophy in theatre. Until the arrival of Alkazi on the Indian theatre scene there was hardly any importance for the theatre settings in the plays. He laid extraordinary emphasis on the setting for theatre, which subsequently became integral to modern Indian theatre.  Alkazi believed that theatre was not just about the performer. He stressed on the importance of other aspects of the theatre, namely the set design, lighting, costume design and music, which he said were as integral to a play as was the actor. 

Alkazi has lived his life and has left behind an indelible Mark and the internationally acclaimed NSD will continue to perpetuate his contributions. Long live Ebrahim Alkazi. Rest in Peace.