Asia Society India Centre, in collaboration with the Kolkata Centre for Creativity, presents a conversation with Amal Allana, theatre director and author, who has recently released a compelling biography of her father, Ebrahim Alkazi. Her book ‘Ebrahim Alkazi: Holding Time Captive’ offers a fantastic account of Alkazi, a giant of twentieth century theatre and visual arts in India, and his revolutionary contributions to arts and culture emerging from the country. Situating the narrative around the cultural landscape in India between the 1940s to the 2000s, Allana charts the journey of her father’s quest for a more interdisciplinary approach to the arts in the subcontinent. Ebrahim Alkazi’s ideas transformed the theatre movement across major centres of New Delhi, Bombay, Kolkata, and his time as the director of the National School of Drama saw many new experimental projects take shape. Allana brings a personal perspective to the visionary that was Ebrahim Alkazi, and her objective gaze towards her father’s dedication to the arts provides a wonderful insight into the life he led, the work he pursued and the influence each of these areas had on the other. 

The book discussion will see Amal Allana in conversation with Suman Mukhopadhyay, theatre director and filmmaker. The session will also include dramatic readings of the book ‘Ebrahim Alkazi: Holding Time Captive’ by Sonam Kalra and Joy Sengupta.

This programme is part of Asia Society India’s Library Series, which includes discussions, interviews and features on books and authors who offer new ways of understanding the world around us – across fiction, non-fiction and analysis.

Venue: Kolkata Centre for Creativity, Dipak Road, Eastern Metropolitan Bypass Rd, Anandapur, Adarsha Nagar, Kolkata, West Bengal 700107

Date & Time: 26th July, 6pm onwards

Amal Allana is a theatre director of over 60 productions for the stage including Nati Binodini,  Erendira & Her Heartless Grandmother, Begum Barve, Himmat Mai, King Lear,  Mahabhoj, Khamosh! Adalat Jaari Hai! and Aadhe Adure. Her television  series among others are Raj Se Swaraj and Mullah Nusruddin. She has served as Chairperson of the National School of Drama, New Delhi, and Head of the Department of Indian Theatre, Punjab University, Chandigarh. She, along with her husband Nissar Allana, have established The Dramatic Art and Design Academy (DADA) and Theatre and Television Associates for the dissemination of theatre knowledge (TTA). Her book The Act of Becoming is on 22 famous Indian theatre actors.

Allana is currently the Director of Art Heritage Gallery, New Delhi, and is a Lifetime Trustee of the Alkazi Foundation for the Arts. She is a recipient of the Girish Ghosh Award, the Homi Bhabha Fellowship and the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, among others.

Suman Mukhopadhyay is one of India’s leading theatre directors and has done productions ranging from European drama to major adaptations of Bengali masterpieces and productions of Indian plays.  His major plays are Tiner Tolowar, Teesta Paarer Brittanto, Mephisto, Bisarjan and King Lear. Suman has also directed nine full-length feature films including Putulnacher Itikatha(2023); Nazarband (2020); Asamapta (2017); and Herbert(2005) which won the National Award for Best Regional Film that year. He participated and won awards in various national and international theatre and film festivals including Busan, Montreal, Dubai, Munich, San Francisco, Seattle, and Kerala etc. Suman has also made several documentaries, TV series, short films and cine-plays.  He was conferred with an award from the Motion Picture Association and Asia Pacific Screen Awards, Brisbane in 2017. Suman taught and directed plays at UC Berkeley, University of Toledo, Kalamazoo College and Barnard College in the USA.  He was an ACC grantee and a Fulbright fellow.

Sonam Kalra is a multiple award-winning singer and composer. Sonam brings together many languages, genres and streams of belief to put forth her message of equality. She has performed at prestigious stages, festivals and venues across 30 countries including The Sydney Opera House and MTV’s Coke Studio. Sonam has shared the stage with legendary musicians like Sir Bob Geldof and Sufi Legend Abida Parveen.Sonam has created multiple projects including The Sufi Gospel Project, Within- Songs of the Sacred and Partition: Stories of Separation (which blends together theatre and music) and has received great reviews for each of these intellectual properties.Sonam is a member of the Grammy Recording academy and has been felicitated with many awards, including very prestigious Global Music awards 2023 which were just announced - where she won two Gold and one Silver medal for Best Vocalist, Best Song and World Fusion. She has also been awarded the Femina 'Woman of Worth' Award, the Indian Express Devi Award, FICCI YFLO ‘Young Women Achiever’ award for her work in the field of music, and the Global WIN Award for inspiring women worldwide.

Joy Sengupta is an Indian film and stage actor. He is best known for his debut feature, Hazaar Chaurasi Ki Maa (1998) directed by Govind Nihalani. Sengupta received a Diploma in Drama from the Living Theatre Academy, New Delhi, where he studied under Ebrahim Alkazi. He has worked across forms & genres in theatre under influential directors like Habib Tanveer, MK Raina, Safdar Hashmi, Lillete Dubey, Feroz Abbas Khan, Ramu Ramanathan, Rahul de Cunha etc.Joy has also taught theatre in schools in Delhi, done projects on theatre in social work for literary mission of India. He has also taught Creative Communications to MBA students & developed online education on Acting for Camera for Drama School Mumbai.He was a political journalist for Magazine INDIA SPEAKS and currently does a lot of cultural activism with organizations like Centre for Peace & Justice, Society for Secularism & Democracy, and others.