Theatre doyen and legendary teacher Ebrahim Alkazi died on Tuesday afternoon after suffering a heart attack, his son said. He was 94.
Alkazi, who was the longest serving director of the National School of Drama, produced plays such as Girish Karnad's Tughlaq and Dharamvir Bharati's Andha Yug. He mentored generations of actors, including Naseeruddin Shah and Om Puri.
Alkazi directed over 50 plays.
"Dad died this evening at 2.45 pm after a massive heart attack. He was admitted to the Escorts hospital the day before yesterday," his son Feisal Alkazi told PTI.
In a tweet, Prime Minister Narendra Modi remembered his contributions to the world of art and culture. "Shri Ebrahim Alkazi will be remembered for his efforts to make theatre more popular and accessible across India. His contributions to the world of art and culture are noteworthy too. Saddened by his demise. My thoughts are with his family and friends. May his soul rest in peace," Modi tweeted.
Reacting to the death, Bollywood actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui wrote on Twitter: "The true architect of the Modern Indian Theatre. The Doyen who possessed the extreme knowledge in all the aspects of ART. The magician who nurtured many greats of theatre. May your brightest spark from the heaven keeps us enlightening.
The National School of Drama mourned the demise. "NSD Family deeply mourn passing away of Theatre Legend, Padma Vibhushan Shri #EbrahimAlkazi, Ex Director of NSD from 1962-77. This is a great loss to the country and specially to the Theatre World," a tweet from the NSD read.
(With PTI inputs)