HABIB TANVEER: The living legend of Indian Theater.

HABIB TANVEER: The living legend of Indian Theater.

Renowned Hindi playwright, theatre director, poet and actor Mr.Habib Tanveer who was awarded by Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1969, Padma Shri in 1983, Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship in 1996, and the Padma Bhushan in 2002; apart from that he has also been nominated as a member of Rajya sabha of Indian Parliament (1972-1978). but after all such achivements he is now Leaving a anonymous life from the cultural world of Madhya Pradesh state Since last 4 years. It’s simply rediculas that a person with all such prominent awards, not even been invited in a single cultural program of Madhya Pradesh.in the complete tenure of present BJP led government.
According to cultural and political experts Habib is facing all this because of some monetary aids and a piece of land that’s given to his Naya Theater group by than Mr.Digvijay Singh led congress government.
Actual problem arises when Uma Bharti who was the than contestant of chief minister post by BJP blame that Habib Tanvir with the help of Congress government are spreading communalism through some of his stage productions like ‘Ponga Pundit’ and ‘Jin Lahore Nai Dekhya’. Although it was only a election and public attention stunt of some saffron groups.
According to BJP spoke person in the play ‘Ponga Pandit’ Habib try to spoil the image of Hinduism. So here I want to tell some thing about play ‘Ponga Pandit’ that was originally titled Jamadarin, was first composed in the 1930s by two Chhattisgarhi folk artist, Sitaram & Sukhram. Since last four or five generations of folk artist from Chhattisgarh have been performing the play for the last seventy years. The play that was created and traditionally performed by Hindu artists has been seen and enjoyed by hundreds of thousands of Hindus all over India. Some of these actors also joined Habib Tanveer's ‘Naya Theatre’ because the Naya Theatre inherited the play.
Naya Theater troupe has been staging the play since the 1960s for different audiences all over the country. All those years no one found it objectionable or called it anti-Hinduism. But after the communal problem of 1992, some saffron brigades who have spread some kinds of wrong information about it have systematically targeted this play. As such the play simply attacks hypocrisy, untouchablity and priest craft, so it can hurt only those who believe in these practices. The play was simply a satirical take on religious hypocrisy. And I m sure that even a blind person can simply judge that this play doesn’t have a single scene that hurt the sentiments of Hinduism. In the year 2003 as a result Habib Tanvir and his Naya Theatre actors attacked in several cities of Madhya Pradesh by activists of some saffron brigade.
After the election when BJP formed the government in Madhya Pradesh such attack has been stopped because the purpose has been solved.


Habib Tanveer is the writer of famous plays like, Agra Bazar (1954) and Charandas Chor (1975), His play 'Charandas Chor' got him the Fringe Firsts Award at Edinburgh International Drama Festival in 1982.
In the year 1959 he founded a theatre company in Bhopal named ‘Naya Theatre’
Tanveer's original troupe has changed many artists since 1958 but Govindram, 71, and Devilal, 65, are the only two of the 10 regular performers who have stayed with Naya Theatre. The group now meets at Tanveer's house after being evicted in 2003 from their state-allotted house, given to them by the previous Congress government. The current BJP regime, however, declared it 'government property' and ordered them out.

Habib Tanveer started his career in the theatre in his student days as a member of the Mumbai based ‘Indian People's Theatre Association’, after some time he moved to Delhi and forever changed its theatrical landscape with his famous production Agra Bazar (1954). He created Agra Bazar with the students of Jamia Islamia and
Local residents of the Okhla Area in Delhi, it was a experiment that never seen before in Indian theatre.
In 1955 Tanvir went to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in Great Britain there he work for three years, he travelled through Europe, watching different theatre activities.
In 1958 he returned India and spent full time for theater, he was a close friend of marathi theater maestro late Mr. Vijay Tendulkar they work together for many years, Vijay ji treat him as a real brother.
Habib produced, 'Mitti ki Gaadi' based on Shudraka's Sanskrit work, Mrichakatika, it became his first important production in Chhattisgarhi.
Habib also worn in many great films like Richard Attenborough famous film ‘Gandhi’ in which he played the role of Indian Barister. In 2008 he played a led role in Shubhash Ghai’s Blach & White.
In 2006, he wrote and directed ‘Raj Rakt’, based on two of Rabindranath Tagore’s works, novel Rajarshi, and play Visarjan.
His upcomming movie is based on Bhopal Gas treagdy.
Habib Tanveer is a living lagend of Indian Theaters, and at last I write 2 lines for him.

“Udalo dhool tum jitni uda sako mujhpe,
Mai Chaand hu falak pe chamakta jaunga”