A name on everybody’s lips who has ever been to the the National School of Drama, Ebrahim Alkazi was not only a widely regarded Alkazi moulded it into one of India’s premier institutions, which produced a generation of remarkable actors and directors who had a seminal influence on India’s theatre scene. He was an outstanding teacher and stage legendary

Born in Pune in 1925, he went to England in 1947 to train at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts (RADA). On returning in 1951, he started a group of his own and continued to stage English language plays. The technical perfection and professionalism of these productions was hailed as unprecedented on India’s urban stage.

After moving to Delhi, Alkazi took over as the director of the newly reconstituted National School of Drama, a position that he held till 1977.

As the Director of NSD, Alkazi changed it’s fate for the best. NSD became a full-fledged institution which brought into theatre training a high degree of professionalism. Restructuring the school’s training program was amongst the first things he did for the institution. He put in place a clearly defined and rigorous academic calendar. That the work done with and by the studn

It was Alkazi’s idea that the work done by students and with students ust come to the public eye. This eventually led to the establishment of a repertory company attached to the NSD.

His time as the Director represent the most glorious chapter of NSD’s history. Also, it is almost entirely on his work of all those years at the NSD that Alkazi’s own reputation as one of India’s foremost theatre persons rested.

Remarkable actors like Naseeruddin Shah, Om Puri, Uttara Baokar, Rohini Hattangadi, Ratan Thiyam, Manohar Singh, B.V. Karanth, Neelam Mansingh.

The end of Alkazi’s tenure ended with controversies as the academic environment had changed and the cultural profile of students was now different than before. He quit NDA in 1977 and remained in complete exile from theatre for nearly a decade-and-a-half.