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{{Short description|Indian theatre director (1925–2020)}}
{{Use British English|date=September 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2014}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Ebrahim Alkazi
| image = Ebrahim Alkazi getting awarded (cropped).jpg
| alt =
| birth_date = {{birth date|df=yes|1925|10|18}}
| birth_place = [[Pune]], [[Bombay Presidency]], [[British India]]
| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|2020|08|04|1925|10|18}}
| death_place = [[New Delhi]], [[India]]
| alma mater = [[St. Vincent's High School]], [[Pune]]<br />[[St. Xavier's College, Mumbai]]
| other_names =
| known_for = ''[[Ashadh Ka Ek Din]]''
| occupation = [[Theatre director]]
| awards = [[Padma Vibhushan]] (2010)<br />[[Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship]]
| spouse = {{marriage|Roshan Alkazi||2007|reason=died}}
| children = 2, including [[Amal Allana]]
| relatives = [[Zuleikha Chaudhuri]] (granddaughter)
}}
'''Ebrahim Alkazi''' (18 October 1925 – 4 August 2020)<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=ihtuAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA154 Rashtriya Sahara]. Issue 2. 2 August 1991. p. 154.</ref><ref>[https://indianexpress.com/article/lifestyle/art-and-culture/theatre-legend-ebrahim-alkazi-dead-6538951/ Theatre legend Ebrahim Alkazi dead]. ''[[Indian Express]]''.</ref> was a Saudi Indian [[theatre director]] and [[drama teacher]]. A rigid disciplinarian, he instilled in his acting students an awe and reverence that they still carry with them, with several of them having had the privilege of continuing the practice and training in the NSD Repertory Company, an introduction made to the [[National School of Drama]] by Alkazi.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2020-08-19|title=A Tribute to Ebrahim Alkazi|url=https://indianculturalforum.in/2020/08/19/a-tribute-to-ebrahim-alkazi/|access-date=2021-07-21|website=Indian Cultural Forum|language=en-US}}</ref> His standards later became very influential.<ref name=Le>[[#Le|Leiter, p.32 - 33]]</ref> He also remained the Director of [[National School of Drama]], New Delhi (1962–1977).<ref name=me>[[#Me|Meyer, p. 9]]</ref><ref>[[#Ba|Banham, p. 18]]</ref><ref>[[#Ru|Rubin, p. 158]]</ref> He was also a noted art connoisseur, collector and gallery owner, and founded the Art Heritage Gallery in Delhi with his wife, Roshen Alkazi.<ref name=hin/><ref>[https://www.artheritagegallery.com/about-us/roshen-alkazi/ Roshen Alkazi]. ''artheritagegallery.com''.</ref>

Staging more than fifty plays in his lifetime, Alkazi used both [[proscenium]] stages and the open-air venues. His designs for the open-air venues were acclaimed for their visual nature and for the original spins he put on each stage production, including those he had previously directed before.<ref name="Le" /> 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.<ref name="me" /> In 2002, Ebrahim Alkazi said in an interview with the BBC, "I think that there are certain ground root elements in theatre, there is a certain set of rootedness and earthiness in the work you do, and unless your inspiration and the concept in the work of theatre starts from there, I don’t think you can create fine work. You have to create an atmosphere; you have to work within salubrious surrounding".<ref>{{Citation|title=FTF Ebrahim Alkazi 15 5 2002| date=17 January 2012 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPs66F0rxr4 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211215/DPs66F0rxr4 |archive-date=2021-12-15 |url-status=live|language=en|access-date=2021-07-21}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=sahapedia|first=chandradasan|title=How Ebrahim Alkazi Revolutionised the Destiny of Indian Theatre|url=https://www.thecitizen.in/index.php/en/newsdetail/index/16/19506/how-ebrahim-alkazi-revolutionised-the-destiny-of-indian-theatre|access-date=2021-07-21|website=thecitizen.in|date=18 October 2020 |language=en-US}}</ref>

==Early life and education==
Ebrahim Alkazi hailed from an Arab family with a keen interest in arts.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.livemint.com/mint-lounge/features/ebrahim-alkazi-1925-2020-the-architect-of-modern-indian-theatre-11596600214653.html|title=Ebrahim Alkazi (1925-2020): The architect of modern Indian theatre|date=5 August 2020}}</ref> Born in Pune, Alkazi was the son of a wealthy businessman with roots in [[Unaizah]] (present-day Saudi Arabia) and a Kuwaiti mother.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/profile/story/20051226-ebrahim-alkazi-the-man-who-formed-the-concept-of-indian-theatre-788808-2005-12-26|title=Ebrahim Alkazi: The man who formed the concept of Indian theatre|work=India Today|date=26 December 2005|accessdate=11 May 2020|first=Girish|last=Karnad|quote=If we were to choose an individual who formed the concept of Indian theatre, it would almost certainly be Ebrahim Alkazi. But the fact that he is the offspring of a Saudi Arabian father and a Kuwaiti mother is one of those ironies with which theatre history bristles.}}</ref>

Educated in Pune, at the [[St. Vincent's High School]], Alkazi shifted to Bombay in late 1941, after his enrollment at the [[St. Xavier's College, Mumbai]], which provided his first encounter with the new techniques of theatre at the Dramatic Society of the St.Xavier's College. In 1947, the rest of his family migrated to [[Pakistan]] while Alkazi stayed back in India.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://indianexpress.com/article/lifestyle/art-and-culture/the-world-in-an-embrace-6069030/|title=Theatre doyen Ebrahim Alkazi remembered through an exhibition|work=Indian Express|date=15 October 2019|access-date=11 May 2020|first=Vandana|last=Kalra|quote=After the Partition, while the rest of his family moved to Pakistan, Alkazi decided to stay back in India.}}</ref> Alkazi was educated in Arabic, English, [[Marathi language|Marathi]], and [[Gujarati language|Gujarati]]. While he was a student at St Xavier's, he joined Sultan "Bobby" Padamsee's English theatre company, Theatre Group, where he acted in several plays, as well as directed a few of them. Thereafter he was trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in London in 1947.<ref name="hin">{{cite news |title=Theatre is revelation (Interview) |url=http://www.hindu.com/mag/2008/02/24/stories/2008022450160500.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080302010357/http://www.hindu.com/mag/2008/02/24/stories/2008022450160500.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=2 March 2008 |newspaper=[[The Hindu]] |date=24 February 2008 }}</ref> In London he was offered career opportunities after being honored by both the English Drama League and the British Broadcasting Corporation, however, he turned the offers down in favor of returning home to rejoin the Theatre Group, which he ran from 1950 to 1954.<ref name="Le" /> Alkazi was also a keen artist and student of art; in England, he had spent hours studying major museum collections, and [[F. N. Souza]] was his flatmate.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/art/ebrahim-alkazi-1925-2020-a-lodestar-in-indias-arts-firmament/article32293072.ece|title=Ebrahim Alkazi (1925-2020): A lodestar in India's arts firmament|newspaper=The Hindu|date=7 August 2020|last1=Sinha|first1=Gayatri}}</ref> Alkazi's works were exhibited at the Asian Institute, London (1950), the [[Jehangir Art Gallery]], Bombay (1952) and at the Sridharini Gallery, New Delhi (1965). In each exhibition he demonstrated a versatile command over a variety of media and techniques, ranging from watercolor, charcoal, ink, poster paint and carbon tracing to the sketch pen, marker and frottage.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.artheritagegallery.com/exhibition/opening-lines-the-artworks-of-e-alkazi/|title=Opening Lines - the Artworks of e Alkazi|access-date=20 July 2021|archive-date=20 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210720122904/https://www.artheritagegallery.com/exhibition/opening-lines-the-artworks-of-e-alkazi/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Career==
After his return from England, Ebrahim Alkazi regrouped the Theatre Group in Bombay in 1952. At this point, he was also 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.<ref name=hin/> Initiating his curatorial practices, Alkazi mounted an eight part exhibition, between 1952 and 1957, called This is Modern Art at the Jehangir Gallery in Bombay. In 1954, after breaking from the Theatre Group, Alkazi formed the Theatre Unit in Bombay along with his wife, Roshen Alkazi and [[Nissim Ezekiel]]. In addition to his directing, he also published the ''Theatre Unit Bulletin'' which reported on theatre events from India. Alkazi established the School of Dramatic Arts on 4 July 1956 and became the principal of Bombay's Natya Academy.<ref name=Le/> During his Bombay days Alkazi along with his theatre groups produced 'practically the entire pantheon of western literature', "from the Greeks to Beckett", as the theatre doyen would describe.<ref name="alkazifoundation.org">{{Cite web|url=https://alkazifoundation.org/alkazi-theatre-archive-4/|title=Alkazi Theatre Archives | Alkazi Foundation}}</ref> Few of the later productions, which were staged at the sea-facing open air theatre in Bombay called Meghdoot, designed by Alkazi himself in 1958, included [[Medea (play)|Medea]] (1961), [[Waiting for Godot]] (1961), and [[Suddenly Last Summer]] (1961).<ref name="alkazifoundation.org"/>

In 1962, Alkazi embarked upon his journey to develop a pedagogic discourse for theatre in form of the [[National School of Drama]]. He designed a course, which not only focused on actor-training and direction, but on the learning of all aspects of stage-craft. 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. From the 60s on, the outstanding talent groomed by Alkazi at NSD was to directly feed an alternative stream of arthouse, and then mainstream cinema and television.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/art/ebrahim-alkazi-1925-2020-a-lodestar-in-indias-arts-firmament/article32293072.ece|title=Ebrahim Alkazi (1925-2020): A lodestar in India's arts firmament|newspaper=The Hindu|date=7 August 2020|last1=Sinha|first1=Gayatri}}</ref> His students include many well-known film and theatre actors and directors including [[Vijaya Mehta]], [[Om Shivpuri]], [[Harpal Tiwana|Harpal Tiwana and Neena Tiwana]], [[Om Puri]], [[Balraj Pandit]] (Pandit Ji) [[Naseeruddin Shah]], [[Manohar Singh]], [[Uttara Baokar]], [[Jyoti Subhash]], [[Suhas Joshi]], [[B. Jayashree]], Jayadev and [[Rohini Hattangadi]], Kumara Varma, S. Ramanujam.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?202714|title=Profile: "I Was Recognised For My Genius"|date=18 December 1996|publisher=The Outlook}}</ref> While there he created the Repertory Company in 1964 and directed their productions until he left. Alkazi pioneered the construction of new theatre spaces on and near the school campus, and most memorably placed his productions of Tughlaq and Andha Yug in spectacular historical monuments around Delhi.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8Rl9DwAAQBAJ|title=A Poetics of Modernity: Indian Theatre Theory, 1850 to the Present|isbn=978-0-19-909544-5|last1=Dharwadker|first1=Aparna Bhargava|date=16 October 2018|publisher=Oxford University Press }}</ref>

He also founded Art Heritage Gallery in Delhi with his wife, Roshan Alkazi.{{citation needed|date=June 2023}}

==Awards and recognition==
[[File:The President, Smt. Pratibha Devisingh Patil presenting Padma Vibhushan Award to Shri Ebrahim Hamed Alkazi at the Civil Investiture Ceremony-I, at Rashtrapati Bhavan, in New Delhi on March 31, 2010.jpg|thumb|The President, Smt. Pratibha Devisingh Patil presenting Padma Vibhushan Award to Shri Ebrahim Hamed Alkazi at the Civil Investiture Ceremony-I, at Rashtrapati Bhavan, in New Delhi on 31 March 2010]]

Alkazi won many of India's most prestigious awards, creating an awareness of theater's sensibility and successfully mixed modern expression with Indian tradition.<ref name=Le />

He was the first recipient of Roopwedh Pratishtan's the Tanvir Award (2004) for lifetime contribution to the theatre.<ref>[http://www.hindu.comhmag/2004/12/12/stories/2004121200480500.htm The Hindu, Sunday, 12 December 2004]{{Dead link|date=August 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}.</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite press release |title=This Year's Padma Awards announced |url=http://www.pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=57307 |publisher=[[Ministry of Home Affairs (India)|Ministry of Home Affairs]] |date=25 January 2010 |access-date=25 January 2010}}</ref>

He has also been awarded twice by the [[Sangeet Natak Akademi]], India's National Academy for Music, Dance and Drama. He received the [[Sangeet Natak Akademi Award]] in Direction in 1962, and later the [[Sangeet Natak Akademi|Akademi]]'s highest award the [[List of Sangeet Natak Akademi fellows|Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship]] for lifetime contribution to theatre.<ref name=":0" />

In 2019, in [[New Delhi]], the [[Ministry of Culture (Saudi Arabia)|Saudi Ministry of Culture]] inaugurated the "Ebrahim al-Kazi Chair" to honor the influential artistic endeavors of Ebrahim Bin Hamad al-Kazi. The Ministry highlighted that al-Kazi's groundbreaking contributions had opened new vistas in [[Theatre of India|Indian theater]] and arts, fostering a generation of notable artists. The Ministry also underscored that al-Kazi's commitment to education and cultural development was highly valued in the Kingdom and that his legacy symbolizes the deep cultural ties between [[Saudi Arabia]] and India.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-08-06 |title=Arts world pays tribute to 'father of Indian theater' Ebrahim Al-Kazi |url=https://www.arabnews.com/node/1715681/saudi-arabia |access-date=2024-09-27 |website=Arab News |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=2024-08-19 |title=Ebrahim al-Kazi |url=https://saudipedia.com/en/article/2187/figures/intellectuals-and-artists/ebrahim-al-kazi |access-date=2024-09-27 |website=Saudipedia |language=en}}</ref>

==Personal life==
He was married to Roshan Alkazi (d. 2007) an [[Ismaili]] [[Khoja]] from [[Gujarat]]. She designed costumes for all his plays, and wrote two books on history of Indian garments. She also established the Art Heritage Gallery at [[Triveni Kala Sangam]], Delhi in 1977, which she ran for over 40 years.<ref>{{cite web |title=Art Galleries in Delhi |url=http://www.delhitourism.nic.in/delhitourism/entertainment/art_gallery.jsp |publisher=[[Delhi Tourism]] website |access-date=31 March 2012 |archive-date=15 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181215124046/http://www.delhitourism.nic.in/delhitourism/entertainment/art_gallery.jsp |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Stage presence : Ebrahim Alkazi |url=http://www.harmonyindia.org/hportal/VirtualPageView.jsp?page_id=4898 |publisher=harmony India |access-date=31 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111121184721/http://harmonyindia.org/hportal/VirtualPageView.jsp?page_id=4898 |archive-date=21 November 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The couple had two children, [[Amal Allana]], a theatre director and ex – chairman of [[National School of Drama]], and [https://jaipurliteraturefestival.org/archive/2021/speaker/feisal-alkazi Feisal Alkazi] a Delhi-based theatre director.

==Further reading==
* Ananda Lal, ''The Oxford Companion to Indian Theatre'', Oxford University Press (2004), {{ISBN|0-19-564446-8}}
* [https://www.outlookindia.com/art-entertainment/the-alcazar-of-visual-memory-news-231867 The Alcazar Of Visual Memory]
* {{cite news |title=Theatre is revelation (Interview) |url=http://www.hindu.com/mag/2008/02/24/stories/2008022450160500.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080302010357/http://www.hindu.com/mag/2008/02/24/stories/2008022450160500.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=2 March 2008 |newspaper=[[The Hindu]] |date=24 February 2008 }}

==Works==
* ''Alkazi collection of photography'', with Rahaab Allana, Pramod Kumar, Brunei Gallery. Grantha Corporation, 2008. {{ISBN|81-89995-18-9}}.

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

==References==
* {{cite book|last=Banham|first=Martin|title=The Cambridge guide to theatre|publisher=Cambridge University Press|url=https://archive.org/details/cambridgeguideto0000banh|url-access=registration|page=[https://archive.org/details/cambridgeguideto0000banh/page/524 524]|quote=Ebrahim Alkazi.|year=1995 |isbn=0-521-43437-8|ref=Ba}}
* {{cite book|last=Meyer-Dinkgräfe|first=Daniel |title=Who's who in contemporary world theatre|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=njiEv5o0OhQC&q=Amal+Allana&pg=PA9|publisher=Routledge|year=2002|isbn=0-415-14162-1|ref=Me}}
* {{cite book|last= Rubin|first=Don|title=The World encyclopedia of contemporary theatre (Vol. 3)|publisher=Taylor & Francis|year=2004|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=maGU4ziPQJQC&q=Ebrahim+Alkazi&pg=PA158|isbn=0-415-26087-6|ref=Ru}}
* {{cite book|last= Leiter|first=Samuel|title=Encyclopedia of Asian Theatre (Vol. 1: A - N)|publisher=Greenwood Press|year=2007|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JttNAAAAYAAJ|isbn=978-0313335303|ref=Le}}
* {{cite book |editor-last=Dharwadker |editor-first=Aparna |title=A Poetics of Modernity: Indian Theatre Theory, 1850 to the Present |date=16 October 2018 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-909544-5 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8Rl9DwAAQBAJ}}

==External links==
* [https://archive.today/20100505084707/http://www.acparchives.com/pageone.html Alkazi Foundation of the Arts, New Delhi, website]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120129190033/http://www.artheritagegallery.com/index.php Art Heritage Gallery, website]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20051201181136/http://www.hindu.com/mag/2004/12/12/stories/2004121200480500.htm ''Well deserved'', The Hindu, 12 December 2004]
* [http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/943367.cms ''Alkazi to get Tanveer award'', Times of India, 2 December 2004]
* [http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/15708/Ebrahim-Alkazi ''Ebrahim Alkazi Biography'', Britannica, 10 October 2013]
* [http://www.arabnews.com/featured/news/706161 Alkazi: Saudi-Indian theater icon star attraction at Dammam]. ''[[Arab News]]''. "Ebrahim Alkazi, the celebrated Indian theater director, has his roots in Unaiza in Qassim.", 2 February 2015

{{Padma Shri Award Recipients in Trade & Industry}}
{{Padma Vibhushan Awards}}
{{PadmaBhushanAwardRecipients 1990–99}}
{{SangeetNatakAkademiFellowship}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kazi, Ebrahim}}
[[Category:Indian theatre directors]]
[[Category:Indian drama teachers]]
[[Category:1925 births]]
[[Category:2020 deaths]]
[[Category:Artists from Pune]]
[[Category:Indian people of Arab descent]]
[[Category:Indian people of Saudi Arabian descent]]
[[Category:Indian people of Kuwaiti descent]]
[[Category:St. Xavier's College, Mumbai alumni]]
[[Category:Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art]]
[[Category:Academic staff of the National School of Drama]]
[[Category:People from Unaizah]]
[[Category:Indian scenic designers]]
[[Category:Hindi theatre]]
[[Category:Indian art collectors]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Padma Shri in arts]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in arts]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Padma Vibhushan in arts]]
[[Category:People from British India]]
[[Category:Indian arts administrators]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian designers]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian dramatists and playwrights]]
[[Category:Recipients of Kalidas Samman]]

Ebrahim Alkazi - Revision history

Locweld at 12:41, 26 February 2026