National School of Drama

National School of Drama (NSD) is a drama school situated at New Delhi, India. It is an autonomous organization under Ministry of Culture, Government of India. It was set up in 1959 by the Sangeet Natak Akademi and became an independent school in 1975.^[1] In 2005, it was granted deemed university status, but in 2011 it was revoked.^[2] Paresh Rawal is the current Chairperson & Chittaranjan Tripathy^[3] currently serves as Director of National School of Drama (NSD).

National School of Drama in Mandi House

National School of Drama

Type	Public
Established	1959; 66 years ago (1959)
Parent institution	Sangeet Natak Akademi
Chairperson	Paresh Rawal
Director	Chittaranjan Tripathy
Location	New Delhi , National Capital Territory of Delhi , India 28°37′30.17″N 77°14′2.72″E
Website	www.nsd.gov.in

History

The origins of the school can be traced back to a seminar in 1954, where the idea of a Central institution for theatre was mooted, subsequently, a draft scheme was prepared in 1955, and the Sangeet Natak Akademi, which had Jawaharlal Nehru as its president, started drawing plans for the institution. Meanwhile, elsewhere in Delhi, Bharatiya Natya Sangh (BNS) with assistance from UNESCO, independently established the Asian Theatre Institute (ATI) on 20 January 1958, and in July 1958, ATI was taken over by the Sangeet Natak Akademi (SNA), India's National Academy of Music, dance and drama of Government of India.^[4][5]

In the following year, the government merged it with the newly founded school, and thus NSD was established in April 1959 under the auspices of Sangeet Natak Akademi. Initially, the school was situated at Nizamuddin West and was called National School of Drama and Asian Theatre Institute, whose first batch passed out in 1961. During his tenure as the director of the institution, Ebrahim Alkazi (1962–1977), not only overhauled the syllabus, but also had the students dig and build platforms for a theatre in the backyard of a rented Kailash Colony house, where NSD had moved.^[6] Later when it moved to its present location, he also designed two theatres for NSD, including a 200-seat studio theatre, and the open-air Meghdoot theatre, under a banyan tree.^[5][7]

In 1975 it became an autonomous organization, under the erstwhile Ministry of Education and Ministry of Culture, Department of Culture, with the name 'National School of Drama' and relocated in May 1975, to its present premises at Bahawalpur House, the residence of Bahawalpur a former princely state. However, the place is generally known by adjacent (now demolished) Mandi House, the former residence of Raja of erstwhile Mandi princely state.^[5] In 1999, the school organized its first National Theatre Festival, Bharat Rang Mahotsav, generally held during the second week of January each year.

In 2008, the institution celebrated its golden jubilee at its annual theatre festival, Bharat Rang Mahotsav, with a gathering of its alumni from all over the country,^[8] the festival's satellite edition in Mumbai showcased plays of NSD graduates, including Ratan Thiyam's Prologue, Bansi Kaul (Aranyadhipati Tantiya), Neelam Mansingh Chowdhury (The Suit), Sanjay Upadhyay (Harsingar), Baharul Islam (Akash), Mohan Maharishi (Dear Bapu) and M K Raina (Stay Yet Awhile).^[9] Waman Kendre was appointed as Director the school in 2013. He will serve a five-year term.^[10] He has done post-graduate with research in folk theatre of Kerala from NSD. He belongs to the nomadic Vanjara tribal community of Marathwada and was one of the leading lights of the Dalit theatre movement in Maharashtra in the late 1970s.^[11] As of 10 September 2020 Paresh Rawal, has been appointed as the Chairman of the National School of Drama.^[12] On 6 October 2023, Chittaranjan Tripathy became the new Director of NSD. He is a prominent theater and film actor, director, screen writer and music composer both in Hindi and Odia film industry.^[13]

Deemed university status

On 16 March 2005, the Government of India granted the NSD the status of deemed university.^[14][15] However, in 2010 the NSD Society asked for the deemed university status to be revoked since "[it] could undermine the professional training, autonomy, and flexibility required in the creative fields such as theatre." Thus, in October 2011, the status was revoked on request of NSD.^[16]

Performing wings

Repertory company

Play by the NSD at the Anugoonj, 2011 (cultural festival of the GGSIPU, Delhi)

The professional performing wing of NSD, the National School of Drama Repertory Company was set up in 1964, with an aim to promote professional theatre in India. Its first head was Om Shivpuri, followed by Manohar Singh, Ram Gopal Bajaj (Acting Chief), J.N. Kaushal (Acting Chief), Anuradha Kapur (Acting Chief), and Suresh Sharma, Sagar Kamble, Atul Singhai (Animation chief).

Today, the Repertory Company has staged over 120 plays based on the works of about 70 playwrights and featuring around 50 directors in several countries, and various cities across the nation, and has its own festival every year called the Annual Repertory Company Summer Festival, in which it performs new and past plays. In 2004, the repertory celebrated its 40th anniversary with a theatre festival in New Delhi.

Sanskaar Rang Toli

In 1989 NSD established the Theatre-in-Education Company (TIE), called Sanskaar Rang Toli, which coaches children aged 8 to 16 years. The company regularly performs plays for school and adult audiences alike, and has its own yearly theatre festivals, Jashn-e-Bachpan and Bal Sangam.^[17]

Performing spaces

The school has three auditoria within the campus:

• Abhimanch Auditorium
• Sammukh Auditorium
• Bahumukh Auditorium

It also has a studio theatre and minor performances spaces used on special occasions, like the Bharat Rangmahotsav.

Regional centres

In a bid to decentralize its activities, NSD opened Regional Resource Centres (RRC) across India, the first of which was opened at Bengaluru in 1994.^[5] A new centre was established in Varanasi.

Rang Mahotsav festival at NSD

Bharat Rang Mahotsav

Main article: Bharat Rang Mahotsav

Bharat Rang Mahotsav, or the National Theatre Festival, established in 1999, is the annual theatre festival of National School of Drama (NSD), held in New Delhi, today it is acknowledged as the largest theatre festival of Asia/World, dedicated solely to theatre.^[18] The school also organizes a festival showcasing tribal traditions, the Adirang Mahotsav.^[19][20]

BRM@25

NSD concluded its BRM@25, Silver Jubilee edition in February 2025. The festival was celebrated in India, Sri Lanka and Nepal, with over 500 performances by recognised industry stalwarts, global theatre practitioners and students of the drama school.

Bollywood actor and NSD alumni Rajpal Yadav was nominated as the Rang Doot for BRM@25.

There were masterclasses, seminars and talks with notable alumni of the school and industry professionals.

Students of the Short Term courses also performed at the festival, with 10 - 30 minutes performances directed by faculty and alumni of the institute.

Extension programme

Extension programmes, through which NSD staff and alumni conduct workshops in various parts of the nation, were established in 1978. Workshops and programmes for adults and children have since been conducted throughout the country, and in Nepal, Sikkim, Ladakh, and Bhutan. Since its inception in 1980, the Traditional Theatrical Project has regularly allowed creative contact between traditional and contemporary theatre performers. Along with providing an introduction to theatre, these programmes aim to help participants develop their personalities and broaden their emotional horizons.

Extension centers

• Sikkim Center
• Bengaluru Center
• TIE Wings Tripura
• Varanasi Center

Northeast Extension Programme

The National School of Drama's Extension Programme connects the school in Delhi to other regional theatres around the country. The school has been imparting training and creating plays with theatre practitioners all throughout the country through a series of well-planned theatrical workshops that take into account the individual demands of each location. These courses instruct those who cannot afford to spend three years at NSD and those who have been practising theatre for a long time.

The school also builds contact with a significant number of theatrical groups and organizations that are performing good work in the regions through collaborative projects through this programme.

NSD has recently arranged a series of theatre workshops in the Northeastern States as part of its Extension Programme. The workshops followed a three-step programme: the first was to pique all participants' interest in the complexities of the theatre experience - performance and transference; the second was to impart training in the area; and the third was to assist and guide them in preparing productions based on the received training. Once the productions were completed, participants were given the opportunity to present ten shows in various sections of the region in order to build self-confidence, a variety of experience, and audience engagement. Finally, the School decided to provide a forum to present these creations, which is how the Poorvottar Natya Samaroh was born.^{[citation needed]}

The first Poorvottar Natya Samaroh took place in Guwahati in 2007, followed by the second in Gangtok, Sikkim, in 2008. The plays in the Poorvottar Natya Samaroh covered a wide range of topics, including romance, social issues such as caste and gender, exploitation in a feudal system, survival and hope in a conflict-torn societal milieu, philosophical ideas, and resistance.^{[citation needed]}

Short term courses

In 2024, NSD resumed conducting short term courses in acting and theatre direction with introduction of a 3 month certification course at its Delhi campus.

The course aims to further propagate interest in theatre, while giving opportunities to theatre professionals and aspirants alike, to develop and hone their craft with the best facilities available at the drama school.

The course currently operates with 4 variants - Basic, Advance, Weekend and Senior citizens, building an environment to foster the spirit of ‘Theatre is for everyone’.

Publications

Major books and journals of NSD include:

• Theatre India
• Rang Prasang
• Raj Bhasha Munjusha (19th edition)
• Raj Bhasha Munjusha (20th edition)
• Rang Manch

Notable alumni

Several NSD alumni have achieved national recognition for their work on stage, television and film. The following is a partial listing as provided by the school's website.^[21]

Name	Year
Om Shivpuri	1963
Sai Paranjpye	1963
Om Puri	1973
Naseeruddin Shah	1973
Rohini Hattangadi	1974
Raj Babbar	1975
Bijay Mohanty	1975
Annu Kapoor	1980
Suresh Bhardwaj	1980
Pankaj Kapur	1976
Robin Das	1976
K. K. Raina	1976
Virendra Razdan	1977
Raghubir Yadav	1977
Govind Namdev	1977
Satish Kaushik	1978
Anupam Kher	1978
Anang Desai	1978
Alok Nath	1980
Neena Gupta	1980
Ratna Pathak	1981
Deepa Sahi	1981
Himani Bhatt Shivpuri	1982
Savita Prabhune	1983
Seema Biswas	1984
Irrfan Khan	1987
Piyush Mishra	1986
Suresh Sharma	1986
Vibha Chibber	1986
Mita Vashisht	1987
Sanjay Mishra	1989
Nirmal Pandey	1989
Tigmanshu Dhulia	1989
Rajesh Sharma	1990
Ashish Vidyarthi	1990
Anup Soni	1993
Rajesh Tailang	1993
Ashutosh Rana	1994
Rajpal Yadav	1994
Kumud Mishra	1994
Atul Kulkarni	1995
Swanand Kirkire	1996
Nawazuddin Siddiqui	1999
Gopal Datt	1999
Pankaj Tripathi	2004
Bhupendra Jadawat	2017
Indira Tiwari	2018

Chairpersons of NSD

Chairpersons of NSD[22]

Dr. K.V Rajamannar – 1959-61 Maharaja Shri Chamaraja Wadiyar Bahadur – 1961-65 Indira Gandhi – 1965-72 K.P.S. Menon – 1976-Feb.1978 Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay – March–Nov.1978 L. M. Singhvi – Nov. 1978–82 Shanta Gandhi – 1982–84 Suresh Awasthi – 1984–86 Vijaya F. Mehta – 1988–92 P.C. Joshi – 1992–96 Chandrashekhara Kambara – 1996-Nov.2000 Anupam Kher – 2001-04 Amal Allana – May 2005-13 Ratan Thiyam – 2013-17 Arjun Deo Charan – 2017-2020[23] Paresh Rawal – Sept.2020-present

Directors of NSD

NSD has had fourteen directors since its establishment in 1959:^[24]

Director	Took office	Left office
Satu Sen	1959	1961
Ebrahim Alkazi	1962	1977
B. V. Karanth	1977	1982
B. M. Shah	1982	1984
Mohan Maharishi	1984	1986
Ratan Thiyam	1987	1988
Kirti Jain	1988	1995
Ram Gopal Bajaj	1995	Sept 2001
Devendra Raj Ankur	2001	3 July 2007
Anuradha Kapur	July 2007	July 2013
Waman Kendre	August 2013	26 September 2018
Chittaranjan Tripathy	6 October 2023

Molestation allegation

In August 2018, a woman student alleged molestation^[25] – that she was inappropriately touched by National School of Drama's guest professor Suresh Shetty during the entrance workshop.^[26][27] The accused professor was a retired Academics Dean of NSD.^[28][29]

See also

• Theatre of India
• Ebrahim Alkazi
• Ninasam
• Bhartendu Natya Academy
• Biju Pattnaik Film and Television Institute of Odisha
• Government Film and Television Institute
• Film and Television Institute of India
• Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute
• State Institute of Film and Television
• Madhya Pradesh School of Drama
• Kalabhavan