Feroz Abbas Khan
Encyclopedia
Feroz Abbas Khan is an India
n theatre and film director, playwright and screenwriter, who is most known for directing plays like Saalgirah, Tumhari Amrita
(1992), Salesman Ramlal and Gandhi Viruddh Gandhi.
in Mumbai
and in 1983 was head of the Prithvi Theatre Festival with Jennifer Kapoor and Akash Khurana. He started with productions like the early comedy All the Best and Saalgirah (1993), written by playwright Javed Siddiqui
with Anupam Kher
and Kirron Kher
, which incidentally became her first acting performance during her comeback after a sabbatical. In 1992, American playwright and novelist, A. R. Gurney
’s play Love Letters
was adapted to Urdu
and Indian context by Javed Siddiqui and first performed by veteran actors, Shabana Azmi
and Farooq Sheikh at the Jennifer Kapoor Festival in Prithvi theatre in February 1992, under his direction, where for one-and-a-half hours, they read the letters describing the relationship between two characters Amrita and Zulfikar, over a period of 35 years. The play went on tour to many parts of the world, including US, Europe and Pakistan.
His production of Peter Shaffer
’s satirical comedy, The Royal Hunt of the Sun
and the contemporary Indian adaptation of Arthur Miller
’s classic Death of a Salesman
, 'Salesman Ramlal' (1997), starring actor-director Satish Kaushik
are important plays of Indian theatre. Next came English theatre production of Mahatma v/s Gandhi, based on relationship between Mahatma Gandhi
and his son, Harilal Gandhi
.
In 2007, he made his film debut with Gandhi, My Father
, based on his won previous play, Mahatma vs Gandhi, and opened to critical acclaim by falsely portraying the father of nation in a bad taste . At the National Film Award, actor Darshan Zariwala won the Best Supporting Actor Award
, for his role of Gandhi, while the film itself won the Special Jury Award
and Best Screenplay
and the Best Screenplay Award at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards and nominated for Grand Prix at Tokyo Film Festival.
Also in 2007, he added Abbas as his middle name to avoid confusion with Bollywood
actor-director, Feroze Khan.
While, his play, Salesman Ramlal was revived in 2009, with a more contemporary version, another classic, Tumhari Amrita
is still being performed in 2009, after 17 years.
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n theatre and film director, playwright and screenwriter, who is most known for directing plays like Saalgirah, Tumhari Amrita
Tumhari Amrita
Tumhari Amrita is a play directed by Feroz Abbas Khan. Its two member cast include Shabana Azmi and Farooq Sheikh. It is an Indian context adaptation of A. R. Gurney's hugely popular American play, Love Letters in Epistolary form, and the Hindi/Urdu version was created in 1992 by playwright Javed...
(1992), Salesman Ramlal and Gandhi Viruddh Gandhi.
Career
He was the first artistic director of the Prithvi TheatrePrithvi Theatre
Prithvi Theatre is one of Mumbai's best known theatres. It belongs to the Kapoor family, one of the most influential actor/director families in Bollywood. The theatre is named after Prithviraj Kapoor who first founded 'Prithvi Theatres', a travelling theatre company in 1944. The company ran for...
in Mumbai
Mumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
and in 1983 was head of the Prithvi Theatre Festival with Jennifer Kapoor and Akash Khurana. He started with productions like the early comedy All the Best and Saalgirah (1993), written by playwright Javed Siddiqui
Javed Siddiqui
Javed Siddiqui is a Hindi and Urdu screenwriter, dialogue writer and playwright from India. He has written over 50 storylines, screenplays and dialogues....
with Anupam Kher
Anupam Kher
Anupam Kher is an Indian actor who has appeared in nearly 400 films and 100 plays. Though mainly appearing in Bollywood films, he has had roles in some films from other nations as well...
and Kirron Kher
Kirron Kher
Kirron Kher is an Indian theatre, film and television actress and a TV talk show host.- Early life :Kirron Kher was born in Bangalore in a JatSikh family of Punjabi background. She was brought up in Chandigarh, Punjab, where she did her schooling and later college from Panjab University, Chandigarh...
, which incidentally became her first acting performance during her comeback after a sabbatical. In 1992, American playwright and novelist, A. R. Gurney
A. R. Gurney
A. R. Gurney is an American playwright and novelist. He is known for works including Love Letters, The Cocktail Hour, and The Dining Room. Gurney currently lives in both New York and Connecticut....
’s play Love Letters
Love Letters (play)
Love Letters is a Pulitzer Prize for Drama nominated play by A. R. Gurney. The play centers on just two characters, Melissa Gardner and Andrew Makepeace Ladd III...
was adapted to Urdu
Urdu
Urdu is a register of the Hindustani language that is identified with Muslims in South Asia. It belongs to the Indo-European family. Urdu is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan. It is also widely spoken in some regions of India, where it is one of the 22 scheduled languages and an...
and Indian context by Javed Siddiqui and first performed by veteran actors, Shabana Azmi
Shabana Azmi
Shabana Azmi is an Indian actress of film, television and theatre. An alumna of the Film and Television Institute of India of Pune, she made her film debut in 1974 and soon became one of the leading actresses of parallel cinema, an Indian New Wave movement known for its serious content and...
and Farooq Sheikh at the Jennifer Kapoor Festival in Prithvi theatre in February 1992, under his direction, where for one-and-a-half hours, they read the letters describing the relationship between two characters Amrita and Zulfikar, over a period of 35 years. The play went on tour to many parts of the world, including US, Europe and Pakistan.
His production of Peter Shaffer
Peter Shaffer
Sir Peter Levin Shaffer is an English dramatist and playwright, screenwriter and author of numerous award-winning plays, several of which have been filmed.-Early life:...
’s satirical comedy, The Royal Hunt of the Sun
The Royal Hunt of the Sun
The Royal Hunt of the Sun is a 1964 play by Peter Shaffer that portrays the destruction of the Inca empire by conquistador Francisco Pizarro.-Premiere:...
and the contemporary Indian adaptation of Arthur Miller
Arthur Miller
Arthur Asher Miller was an American playwright and essayist. He was a prominent figure in American theatre, writing dramas that include plays such as All My Sons , Death of a Salesman , The Crucible , and A View from the Bridge .Miller was often in the public eye,...
’s classic Death of a Salesman
Death of a Salesman
Death of a Salesman is a 1949 play written by American playwright Arthur Miller. It was the recipient of the 1949 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and Tony Award for Best Play. Premiered at the Morosco Theatre in February 1949, the original production ran for a total of 742 performances.-Plot :Willy Loman...
, 'Salesman Ramlal' (1997), starring actor-director Satish Kaushik
Satish Kaushik
Satish Kaushik is an Indian film director and actor in Hindi films and theatre.As a film actor his most remembered for his role as 'Calendar' in Mr. India, and as 'Chanu Ahmed' in Sarah Gavron's English film Brick Lane...
are important plays of Indian theatre. Next came English theatre production of Mahatma v/s Gandhi, based on relationship between Mahatma Gandhi
Mahatma Gandhi
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi , pronounced . 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948) was the pre-eminent political and ideological leader of India during the Indian independence movement...
and his son, Harilal Gandhi
Harilal Gandhi
Harilal Mohandas Gandhi , was the first son of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi.-Early life:Harilal wanted to go to England for higher studies and hoped to become a barrister as his father had once been...
.
In 2007, he made his film debut with Gandhi, My Father
Gandhi, My Father
Gandhi, My Father is a 2007 Indian film by Feroz Abbas Khan . It was produced by Bollywood actor Anil Kapoor, and released on 3 August 2007....
, based on his won previous play, Mahatma vs Gandhi, and opened to critical acclaim by falsely portraying the father of nation in a bad taste . At the National Film Award, actor Darshan Zariwala won the Best Supporting Actor Award
National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor
The National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor is an annual award that was first given in 1968. The actors to have won the most awards in this category include Nana Patekar, Atul Kulkarni, and Pankaj Kapoor, each have received two....
, for his role of Gandhi, while the film itself won the Special Jury Award
National Film Award - Special Jury Award / Special Mention (Feature Film)
The National Film Award of India - Special Jury Award / Special Mention - Feature Film winners are:...
and Best Screenplay
National Film Award for Best Screenplay
The National Film Award for Best Screenplay winners:-References:...
and the Best Screenplay Award at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards and nominated for Grand Prix at Tokyo Film Festival.
Also in 2007, he added Abbas as his middle name to avoid confusion with Bollywood
Bollywood
Bollywood is the informal term popularly used for the Hindi-language film industry based in Mumbai , Maharashtra, India. The term is often incorrectly used to refer to the whole of Indian cinema; it is only a part of the total Indian film industry, which includes other production centers producing...
actor-director, Feroze Khan.
While, his play, Salesman Ramlal was revived in 2009, with a more contemporary version, another classic, Tumhari Amrita
Tumhari Amrita
Tumhari Amrita is a play directed by Feroz Abbas Khan. Its two member cast include Shabana Azmi and Farooq Sheikh. It is an Indian context adaptation of A. R. Gurney's hugely popular American play, Love Letters in Epistolary form, and the Hindi/Urdu version was created in 1992 by playwright Javed...
is still being performed in 2009, after 17 years.
Plays
- All the Best
- Eva Mumbai Ma Chaal Jaiye
- Saalgirah - Anupam KherAnupam KherAnupam Kher is an Indian actor who has appeared in nearly 400 films and 100 plays. Though mainly appearing in Bollywood films, he has had roles in some films from other nations as well...
& Kirron KherKirron KherKirron Kher is an Indian theatre, film and television actress and a TV talk show host.- Early life :Kirron Kher was born in Bangalore in a JatSikh family of Punjabi background. She was brought up in Chandigarh, Punjab, where she did her schooling and later college from Panjab University, Chandigarh...
- The Royal Hunt of the Sun
- Tumhari AmritaTumhari AmritaTumhari Amrita is a play directed by Feroz Abbas Khan. Its two member cast include Shabana Azmi and Farooq Sheikh. It is an Indian context adaptation of A. R. Gurney's hugely popular American play, Love Letters in Epistolary form, and the Hindi/Urdu version was created in 1992 by playwright Javed...
(1992) - Shabana AzmiShabana AzmiShabana Azmi is an Indian actress of film, television and theatre. An alumna of the Film and Television Institute of India of Pune, she made her film debut in 1974 and soon became one of the leading actresses of parallel cinema, an Indian New Wave movement known for its serious content and...
& Farooq Sheikh - Mahatma vs Gandhi (1998)
- Salesman Ramlal (1999) - Satish KaushikSatish KaushikSatish Kaushik is an Indian film director and actor in Hindi films and theatre.As a film actor his most remembered for his role as 'Calendar' in Mr. India, and as 'Chanu Ahmed' in Sarah Gavron's English film Brick Lane...
- Kuch Bhi Ho Sakta Hai - Anupam KherAnupam KherAnupam Kher is an Indian actor who has appeared in nearly 400 films and 100 plays. Though mainly appearing in Bollywood films, he has had roles in some films from other nations as well...
- Dinner With Friends (2011) (Tisca Chopra, Vinay Jain, Joy Sengupta & Perizaad Zorabian Irani)