Remembering dramatist and columnist extraordinaire Dorab Mehta (1917-2005) who entertained theatre audiences and newspaper readers A dated photograph of Dorab (left) and Homai Mehta Article by Meher Marfatia | Mid-Day When I write I also laugh,” he declared. Dorab Mehta secretly scribbled his first skit at 14, in his math book at Proprietary High School.… Continue reading Parsi New Year 2025: Blithe spirits and Navroze naataks
Category: Theater
The Parsis who once ran theatres in Madras
Parsis settled in Madras ran most of the single-screen theatres in the city since mid-1910s Article by Sriram V | The Hindu An old poster for Casino Theatre, Madras | Photo Credit: Music Academy archives Cinema theatres and Parsis – both are dwindling in numbers. This thought came to my mind while researching about the… Continue reading The Parsis who once ran theatres in Madras
Why Mumbai doctor Farokh Udwadia wrote a play to teach history-taking and bedside manners
Polymath doctor brings his work to Delhi to inspire junior doctors Written by Rinku Ghosh Dr Farokh Udwadia (Express photo by Praveen Khanna) For years, Dr Farokh Udwadia has sat by the bedside of his patients at the intensive care unit (ICU) of Mumbai’s Breach Candy Hospital, holding hands, listening and talking to them.… Continue reading Why Mumbai doctor Farokh Udwadia wrote a play to teach history-taking and bedside manners
The Parsi Theatre Tradition We Lost
Neelam Mansingh Chowdhry on the Parsi theatre tradition we lost Lavish backdrops, melodramatic flourishes, high-pitched singing, complex tableaux and opulent floats — it combined European techniques with local contours to create a theatre form that became India’s first commercial venture What interests me about the Parsi theatre movement between 1840-1930 is that even though it’s… Continue reading The Parsi Theatre Tradition We Lost
The Colonial Public and the Parsi Stage : Book Review
This book explores how theatre enabled Parsis to negotiate the growing challenges of colonialism In ‘The Colonial Public and the Parsi Stage’, Rashna Darius Nicholson is particularly interested in exploring how theatre impacted the life of Parsi women. Murali Ranganathan Parsi theatre company at Ramprakash Theatre, Jaipur, 1880. In 1969, when the last vestiges of… Continue reading The Colonial Public and the Parsi Stage : Book Review
Reverse Orientalism, Slander and the Origins of Bombay’s Once Fashionable Capitol Cinema
The theatre, now closed, began its life as the Gaiety for the upper crust of Bombay to see plays. The Victoria Terminus (today Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus) is the undisputed highlight of any tour of Mumbai. Few note, however, that this site – intimately bound with the comings and goings of tens of thousands of travellers… Continue reading Reverse Orientalism, Slander and the Origins of Bombay’s Once Fashionable Capitol Cinema
Through a lens, gently
The city premiere of Divya Cowasji’s film next month will showcase the best and brightest—and last—of Parsi theatre’s singing stars Veteran stars Bomi and Dolly Dotiwala (centre) practising with young dancers and singers Article by Meher Marfatia | Mid-Day Sparkling, tender, bittersweet, honest, here’s a film tumbling headfirst into the creative chaos of rehearsals, capturing… Continue reading Through a lens, gently
