Alyque Padamsee

Born on 5 March 1931 in Bombay, Shri Alyque Padamsee was trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, London in 1960-61. Returning to Bombay, he embarked upon a long and consistently successful career, principally in English-language theatre.
Distinguished both as actor and director, Shri Padamsee has some fifty popular productions in English, Hindi, and Gujarati to his credit – Jesus Christ Superstar, Man of La Mancha, A Streetcar Named Desire, Death of a Salesman, Tughlaq, Macbeth, Broken Images and Evita. Shri Padamsee’s production of Pratap Sharma’s A Touch of Brightness was staged at the Commonwealth Arts Festival in London in 1965. Shri Padamsee has also acted in a few films, his role as Jinnah in Richard Attenborough’s Gandhi being a conspicuous success. A short film by Shri Padamsee on disabled children – Story of Hope – has been voted into the International Clio Hall of Fame. For his eminence in the field of theatre and his contribution to its enrichment, Shri Alyque Padamsee received the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for Direction in 1986. The President of India conferred upon him the Padma Shri in 1999.
Shri Alyque Padamsee is elected Tagore Fellow of Sangeet Natak Akademi for his contribution to Indian theatre.