Category: Theater

Bawas Got Talent is a chance for the Parsi community to showcase their skills in the performing arts The Parsi community may be small and dwindling in number but that hasn’t proved to be a deterrent while they try to make a mark in the performing arts. From theatre to music and dance, they have… Continue reading Bawas Got Talent: One for the community

Our dearest friend, mentor and legendary theater artist Yazdi Naoshirwan Karanjia has been conferred the Padma Shri Award in the list of names that were announced on the eve of Republic Day 2020 in India. Yazdi Uncle as he is widely known is a legendary theater artist. In his 80’s, he continues to regale crowds… Continue reading Yazdi Karanjia Awarded Padma Shri

For over a 100 years starting from 1850, a large number of proscenium theatres were built in the large cities, particularly Bombay and Calcutta. A Parsi theatre troupe (File photo) By FEISAL ALKAZI | Indian Express For over a 100 years starting from 1850, a large number of proscenium theatres were built in the large… Continue reading When grandeur ruled Parsi theatre

Adi Pherozeshah Marzban, also known as Adi Marzban (1914–1987) was a doyen of Parsi theatre in the post-independent period. Though he has directed and stage plays in English and Gujarati languages in the early 1950s, he later fully switched over to Parsi theatre, and played a magnificent role in revolutionizing, modernizing and popularising it. Padma… Continue reading Adi Pherozeshah Marzban – Doyen of Indian theatre who modernized Parsi theatre in the second half of 1900s

A veteran stage actor walks down memory lane and recounts the time when Parsi Theatre blossomed in the city. If one has to trace the legacy of Parsi Theatre in the city, it goes back to 1850s, when the first play Bejan Manijeh by Kaikhushru Kabraji was performed. Several Parsi Natak companies sprung up during… Continue reading Drama in the house

Jamshedji Framji Madan, professionally called J.F.Madan was an Indian theatre and film magnate who was the pioneer of film production in India. He was born to a Parsi family in Mumbai in the year 1857, April 27. He dropped school and joined a dramatic club as a prop boy in 1868. Article on IWMBuzz He… Continue reading Jamshedji Framji Madan: The Indian Theatre Magnate

During 1857- 1930 big theatre companies which were largely owned by Parsi business community flourished which used to showcase plays in Gujarati, Hindi and Urdu languages. In the early 1900s, some Parsi theatre producer switched off to new media called by bioscope and ultimately became film producers. Parsi communities life has theatre as its integral… Continue reading Understanding 20th century Parsi theatre

Capers to thrillers, Parsi plays have enjoyed great runs at the 59-year-old Tejpal Auditorium in Gowalia Tank. Tracing the journey of this drama genre here, ahead of Navroze week The young guard takes forward a tradition: Veteran actor Bomi Dotiwala clowns with Vistaasp Gotla at Tejpal Auditorium. The director’s variety revue on Navroze day (August… Continue reading Naatak nights on Tejpal heights

I have done many other things. First, I thought of becoming a psychologist. It has been 35 years since Shernaz Patel debuted with the play, The Diary of Anne Frank. Excerpts from her time in Indian theatre and Bollywood: You grew up absorbing Gujarati Parsi theatre, and yet most of your plays are in English,… Continue reading Shernaz Patel: Theatre is not a stepping stone for cinema