New Delhi: Theatre doyen, legendary drama teacher and connoisseur of the arts Ebrahim Alkazi died Tuesday. He breathed his last suffering a heart attack, Ebrahim Alkazi’s son said. He was 94.
Alkazi was the longest serving director of the National School of Drama. He mentored generations of actors, produced plays such as Girish Karna’s Tughlaq and Dharamvir Bharati’s Andha Yug.
Ebrahim is survived by his son Feisal Alkazi and his daughter Amal Allana, both well known theatre directors.
“Dad died this (Tuesday) evening at 2.45pm after a massive heart attack. He was admitted to the Escorts hospital the day before yesterday,” his son Feisal informed. Alkazi also tutored acting greats such as Naseeruddin Shah and Om Puri. He had been unwell for a few days.
Tributes poured in for the man, who was NSD director from 1962 to 1977. He was described variously as ‘father of modern Indian theatre’ and ‘last of the Romans’.
President Ram Nath Kovind said his death leaves a void in the world of performing arts.
“Ebrahim Alkazi, doyen of Indian theatre, mentored and inspired generations of artists… A Padma Vibhushan recipient, his legacy will live on. My condolences to his family, students and art lovers,” the president said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed sadness at Alkazi’s demise. He said 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,” Modi tweeted.
The film and theatre industry also mourned the death of the man who strode like the proverbial Colossus across the stage.
“He was the father of modern Indian theatre. He established Indian theatre the way we know it. He only emphasised the importance of training in theatre. If you look at all the famous artistes in the country, you will find so many of them were trained under him,” said Suresh Sharma, director in-charge of NSD.
“Many like me owe our passion for theatre to this formidably knowledgable man. His contribution to sophistication and polish in staging and imparting a sense of discipline to every aspect of theatre work is unequalled,” Naseeruddin Shah said.
Alkazi was the ‘true renaissance man’, ‘the last Roman’, added film and theatre actor Amol Palekar. His guru, Satyadev Dubey, was trained by Alkazi.
“Alkazi sahib was, I can say, the renaissance man in true sense. He was the one who showed us new ways of looking at theatre. He built up the National School of Drama with Nemichand Jain and Shantaben Gandhi,” Palekar informed.
For his contribution to theatre, Alkazi received awards including the Padma Shri in 1966, Padma Bhushan in 1991, and India’s second highest civilian award, the Padma Vibhushan, in 2010. He also received the Sangeet Natak Akademi award in 1962 for ‘Direction’, and later was honoured with the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship for his lifetime contribution to theatre.
Apart from revolutionising Indian theatre, Alkazi was also a photography enthusiast, painter and art curator. Alkazi founded the Art Heritage Gallery in Delhi with his wife Roshen Alkazi in 1977.