From an age-old form of Classical Sanskrit theatre to the now Modern Indian theatre, the journey has never been easy for Indian theatre but there are a few stalwarts would made this journey possible and carved their own niche out.
Here are some of the all-time famous Indian playwrights who have been credited for all their contributions to revolutionize the Indian stage:
1.Badal Sarkar– If you fascinate Jimmy Porter or love exploring the depth of Samuel Beckett’s absurd theatre then Badal Sarkar’s plays would resonate perfectly with you. His plays pondered on socio-political scenario of the 70s Bengal and one of his best and most delightful plays you ought to watch would be ‘Evam Indrajit’.
2.Shambhu Mitra– Another great stalwart who was very pivotal in the shaping of Modern Indian theatre was none other Shambhu Mitra, who was initially associated with IPTA and later exited and started his own theatre group. Some of his all time famous plays include rendition of Ibsen’s ‘Doll’s House’ and ‘An Enemy of the People’.
3.Prithviraj Kapoor– Prithviraj Kapoor begun hitting out plays that were a product of social condition in India at a time when many dramatists in the country were still vested with traditional Sanskrit plays. His plays were the ones meant for the common people of India and hence, they stood out the most in the crowd.
4.Utpal Dutt– Known as the pioneer of Modern Indian theatre, Utpal Dutt started with English plays before he switched to the more socio-political ones and they really brought out his Marxist ideologies in the limelight. Utpal Dutt was also one of the founding members of IPTA and if you were to catch just any one of his plays, Kallol would be one of the best choices.