Opinion: How Ebrahim Alkazi Changed The Face Of Modern Indian Theatre

The title of a recently-released biography, Ebrahim Alkazi: Holding Time Captive, originated from sentences written by Alkazi, the doyen of Indian theatre, himself. These words were discovered scribbled on a paper that unexpectedly fell out of one of his notebooks on the day he passed away.

Writes the biographer, Amal Allana, daughter of Alkazi: “My father's handwriting on the note was very shaky and his ideas somewhat incoherent, so no one assumed it had been written some years earlier. Taking the scrap from my hand, my son Rahaab read it out loud, trying to make sense of it… The gist of the few lines seemed to suggest that it was difficult to grasp the fleeting quality of time, and my father wondered if ‘time' could be held captive. It immediately struck me that these three words evocatively captured the very essence of his desires, his love for life and living”.

Capturing Alkazi's Expansive Vision

That's the ideal beginning for any biography. The book has made an immediate impact, very much like the towering figure of Alkazi himself, who, throughout his career, nurtured many luminaries of Indian theatre. Allana's depiction of Alkazi's sophisticated worldview is not only captivating but also fundamental to his expansive vision of Indian theatre and art.

The book stands out for its comprehensive coverage, encompassing virtually every aspect of Alkazi's life: from private moments and experiences to challenges, interviews, and anecdotes, painting a vivid portrait of his colourful life. It is no small feat to encapsulate Alkazi's monumental contributions to Indian theatre in just one book. But Allana has risen to the challenge, infusing her narrative with warmth and radiance.

Alkazi was born in Pune on October 18, 1925. He was one of nine siblings. While the rest of his family migrated to Pakistan in 1947, Alkazi chose to remain in India.

The NSD Years

I found Allana to be extremely careful in her choice of words. In the introduction, she subtly poses the question: “Does Ebrahim Alkazi's story need to be told?” She reminisces about her father as an inspirational figure during India's formative years after independence, highlighting Alkazi's role in laying the foundation of India's first professional theatre institution, the National School of Drama (NSD). Allana reveals the challenges she faced while writing the book, largely due to her father's reserved nature. Yet, she emphasises that hardly anyone associated with the NSD or modern Indian theatre has not been influenced by Alkazi. The longest-serving director of NSD, Alkazi mentored renowned figures like Naseeruddin Shah, Sudha Shivpuri, Om Puri, Rohini Hattangadi, B.V. Karanth, and many more, who excelled in both theatre and cinema. I recall reading how celebrated actor Sushma Seth once hailed Alkazi as the “undisputed patriarch of Indian theatre who profoundly impacted its aesthetics, growth, and stature".

He harboured a deep interest in the arts. When he arrived in Bombay (before the city was to become Mumbai), he formed a close bond with Sultan Padamsee, the elder brother of Alyque Padamsee. Sultan, nicknamed “Bobby”, involved Alkazi in his Theatre Group, leading to significant dialogues and a fruitful exchange of ideas between visual and performance artists.

Subsequently, a year after India gained independence, Alkazi joined the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, London, before returning to Bombay to pioneer a distinctive form of theatre.

Gandhi's Impact

Allana writes that Alkazi, a fervent nationalist, underwent a transformation upon hearing Mahatma Gandhi's speech in Bombay. Inspired by Gandhi's call for Quit India, Alkazi emerged as a changed individual. 

“Ebrahim was shaken to the core, each word Gandhiji had uttered was imprinted in his consciousness. They were so simple, so effective, so unpretentious, spoken without any histrionics because truth, he realised, did not require a loud and strident voice. And it was so magical - the manner in which Gandhiji was able to reach out to each and every person in that huge audience,” she writes.

London Days

London opened up a new world for Alkazi. He watched his first theatre, Anna Lucasta, from the top balcony. His friends were full of eager anticipation. Writes Allana: “Anna Lucasta was terrific. The settings were naturalistic. The difficult scene changes were extremely swift.” Allana remembers what his father said about his formative years in theatre: “What is interesting is that when Alkazi looked back in interviews on his student years in England, he always made it clear that it was not British theatre as practised or taught at that time that influenced him but Russian and French avant-garde theatre.”  

Alkazi had a distinct approach to his work. I recall the school he established at the newly-created Bhulabhai Desai Memorial Institute, which garnered considerable acclaim. Renowned artists such as M.F. Husain, Tyeb Mehta, and Akbar Padamsee rented studio spaces there, marking the beginning of Alkazi's association with members of the Progressive Artists Group. Allana recounts the time when Alkazi was asked to head the NSD in Delhi, a city he famously referred to as a cultural desert.

Votary Of Indian Language Theatre

Allana explains why Alkazi deemed no task insignificant. He would ask his students to do odd jobs, helping them realise that tasks such as cleaning floors and washing and ironing clothes were integral aspects of their training, as much as character creation. Under his guidance, students were introduced to diverse Indian theatrical forms and serious cinema. Upon joining the NSD, Alkazi recognised the need to shift from English-language theatre to Hindi in Delhi. While Habib Tanvir's Naya Theatre was flourishing at the time, it was in the 1960s that Alkazi's Hindi drama gained prominence. He staged productions like Oedipus Rex (1964), King Lear (1964), and Molière's The Miser (1965) in Hindi.

His adept use of historic monuments, such as the ruins of Feroz Shah Kotla and Purana Qila as the backdrops for plays like Andha Yug and Tughlaq added a unique aesthetic dimension. Those two plays, including Ashad ka Ek Din, among others, became classics with their distinctive scenography and classical acting. Andha Yug, staged in 1963 in the aftermath of Indo-China border disputes, explored the moral dilemmas of war, resonating deeply with the times.

When Alkazi Trained 200 Soldiers

Chapter after chapter, Allana delves into Alkazi's incorporation of global theatrical values into his productions. Alkazi thrived on challenging tasks. When Indira Gandhi tasked him with creating a show depicting the birth of a nation, Alkazi organized a ten-minute visual enactment at Vijay Chowk in freezing cold conditions. He trained around 200 soldiers in theatre, only to realise he needed an additional 200 due to the vast arena of Vijay Chowk. Romi Chopra, a friend of Rajiv Gandhi, later recounted how the dramatic battle sequences stirred emotions.

At the age of 50, Alkazi left the NSD and established the Art Heritage gallery with his wife, Roshan, to promote contemporary artists. It's an expensive book. A more affordable version must come out soon so that theatre lovers get to know the master well.

(Shantanu Guha Ray is the Asia Editor of Central News Agency. His book 'The Diamond Trial' came out in 2019).

Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author.