National School of Drama

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 just 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 6th 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]

The school has three auditoria within the campus:

• Abhimanch Auditorium
• Sammukh Auditorium
• Bahumukh Auditorium

Apart from that, it has a studio theatre and minor performances spaces used on special occasions, like the Bharat Rangmahotsav.

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, 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, dedicated solely to theatre.[18] The School also organizes a festival showcasing tribal traditions, the Adirang Mahotsav.[19][20]

• Extension Programmes, through which NSD staff and alumni conduct workshops in various parts of the nation, were established in 1978 and have since conducted workshops and programmes for adults and children throughout the country, including some 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.

• Some major Books and Journals of NSD:

1. Theatre India
2. Rang Prasang
3. Raj Bhasha Munjusha (19th Edition)
4. Raj Bhasha Munjusha (20th Edition)
5. Rang Manch

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

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

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]

• 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

• Rang yatra: twenty-five years of the National School of Drama Repertory Company, by National School of Drama. Published by National School of Drama, 1992.

• Official NSD (National School of Drama) website
• Official Bharat Rang Mahotsav website
• NSD Alumni – Activities and Associations

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