Category: Theater

Cinema drastically impacted nautanki, resulting in waning audience interest. Today, the rural areas of Hathras, Mathura, Unnao have a newfound love for the form. A popular folk theatre form that combines music, dance, dialogue and narrative, nautanki originated and grew into popularity in Uttar Pradesh in the nineteenth century. Nautanki may have originated from bhagat,… Continue reading Nautanki theatre was India’s melting pot of Parsi, Hindu traditions. Now it’s picking up

Jamshedji Framji Madan, the Parsi entrepreneur, was the torchbearer of the Indian film industry. Read his story here. Indian cinema found its footing in the nineteenth-century. At the time, entrepreneurs experimented with new formats by mixing technology with storytelling. Short, silent films–a new invention at the time–produced in the colonial era, created a sensation. Filmmakers… Continue reading Madan Theatres Limited: The Silent Film Industry’s Giant Corporation

Flops, frauds or community disapproval did not prove obstacles to the growth of the theatre enterprise. Elphinstone Circle in Bombay in the 1870s. Photo: Lee-Warner Collection/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA When one thinks of Horniman Circle – the ring of elegant old buildings in south Mumbai – today, several associations spring to mind: the glossy storefronts… Continue reading How the Parsis Shaped Theatre in Colonial Bombay

Over the last two weekends the Zoroastrian Association of Greater New York (ZAGNY) presented the world ONLINE premiere of Pestonji Na Parakram, a hugely succesful Parsi Natak. The Natak had originally been performed in 1995 by ZAGNY members as a fundraiser. The recordings of the natak were premiered this June 2020 on youtube. Broken into… Continue reading Pestonji Na Parakram: A Parsi Gujarati Natak by ZAGNY

Ad man and playwright Rahul da Cunha pays tribute to actor Bomi Kapadia, who died on Monday. “When beggars die, there are no comets seen; The heavens themselves blaze forth the death of princes.” – Julius Caesar I deeply regret not having worked enough with Bomi Kapadia. In my view, Bomi was perhaps the most… Continue reading Theater Loses A Gem: Bomi Kapadia Passes Away

Ruby Patel was a name to reckon with on the Parsi-Gujarati stage. Ruby along with her husband Burjor Patel worked in several Gujarati comedies till the 1960s. Article in the Indian Express Eminent theatre personality Ruby Patel has passed away in Mumbai. She was 86. Actor-filmmaker Vivek Vaswani tweeted the news on Tuesday morning. “And… Continue reading Theatre personality Ruby Patel passes away

Madan Ni Mansik Hospital When: 18 Apr 2020 7:00 PM, EDTWhere: Online EVENT DETAILS: Premier Natak Madan Ni Mansik Hospital Brought to you by the Toronto Parsi Drama Group The COVID-19 pandemic continues to unfold at an alarming speed and as we are all doing our part by staying at home….Do you Need something light-hearted… Continue reading Toronto Parsis to Livestream Parsi Natak

“There are just 67,000 Parsis left in the world, but they give an impression of a million because people like Yazdi Karanjia have dedicated their lives for a good cause,’’ said actor and theatre artist Boman Irani. Irani was speaking at a programme to felicitate the Gujarati Parsi theatre legend in the city on Sunday.… Continue reading Theatre legend Yazdi Karanjia felicitated for keeping Parsi theatre alive in state