Vijaya Mehta
Encyclopedia
Vijaya Mehta is an Indian Theatre and film director and also an actor in many films from the Parallel Cinema
. She is most known for her acclaimed role in film Party
(1984) and for her directorial ventures, Rao Saheb (1986) and Pestonjee (1988).
Vijaya Mehta was born in Baroda, Gujarat in 1934. She graduated from Bombay University. She studied theatre with Ebrahim Alkazi
in Delhi
and with Adi Marzban. She became a major figure in 60s Marathi
experimental theatre.
She is a founder member of theatre group, Rangayan with playwright Vijay Tendulkar
, Arvind Deshpande and Shreeram Lagoo.
She was awarded the 1975 Sangeet Natak Akademi Award
for excellence in Direction, in 1986 she won the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress
for her role in Rao Saheb
Her stage production of C T Khanolkar's Ek Shoonya Bajirao is considered as a landmark in contemporary Indian theatre. She introduced Bertold Brecht into Marathi theatre with adaptation of The Caucasian Chalk Circle
(Ajab Nyay Vartulacha), and Ionesco
with Chairs
.
She collaborated on Indo-German theatre projects with German director Fritz Bennewitz including a traditional performance of Bhasa
's Mudrarakshasa with German actors. Except Pestonjee, most of her work consists of film and television adaptations of her stage plays.
Parallel Cinema
The Indian New Wave, commonly known in India as Art Cinema or Parallel Cinema as an alternative to the mainstream commercial cinema, is a specific movement in Indian cinema, known for its serious content, realism and naturalism, with a keen eye on the sociopolitical climate of the times...
. She is most known for her acclaimed role in film Party
Party (1984 film)
Party is a 1984 Hindi film directed by Govind Nihalani. The film boasted an ensemble cast of leading art cinema actors of Parallel Cinema, including Vijaya Mehta, Manohar Singh, Om Puri, Naseeruddin Shah, and Rohini Hattangadi...
(1984) and for her directorial ventures, Rao Saheb (1986) and Pestonjee (1988).
Vijaya Mehta was born in Baroda, Gujarat in 1934. She graduated from Bombay University. She studied theatre with Ebrahim Alkazi
Ebrahim Alkazi
Ebrahim Alkazi is one of the most influential Indian theatre directors and Drama teachers in 20th century Indian theatre. He also remained the Director of National School of Drama, New Delhi He has also been a noted art connoisseur, collector and gallery owner, and found Art Heritage Gallery in...
in Delhi
Delhi
Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...
and with Adi Marzban. She became a major figure in 60s Marathi
Marathi language
Marathi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people of western and central India. It is the official language of the state of Maharashtra. There are over 68 million fluent speakers worldwide. Marathi has the fourth largest number of native speakers in India and is the fifteenth most...
experimental theatre.
She is a founder member of theatre group, Rangayan with playwright Vijay Tendulkar
Vijay Tendulkar
Vijay Tendulkar was a leading Indian playwright, movie and television writer, literary essayist, political journalist, and social commentator primarily in Marāthi...
, Arvind Deshpande and Shreeram Lagoo.
She was awarded the 1975 Sangeet Natak Akademi Award
Sangeet Natak Akademi Award
Sangeet Natak Akademi Puraskar is an award given by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, India's National Academy of Music, Dance & Drama. It is the highest Indian recognition given to practicing artists. The award consists since 2003 of Rs. 50,000, a citation, an angavastram , and a tamrapatra...
for excellence in Direction, in 1986 she won the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress
National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress
The National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress winners:...
for her role in Rao Saheb
Her stage production of C T Khanolkar's Ek Shoonya Bajirao is considered as a landmark in contemporary Indian theatre. She introduced Bertold Brecht into Marathi theatre with adaptation of The Caucasian Chalk Circle
The Caucasian Chalk Circle
The Caucasian Chalk Circle is a play by the German modernist playwright Bertolt Brecht. An example of Brecht's epic theatre, the play is a parable about a peasant girl who rescues a baby and becomes a better mother than its natural parents....
(Ajab Nyay Vartulacha), and Ionesco
Eugène Ionesco
Eugène Ionesco was a Romanian and French playwright and dramatist, and one of the foremost playwrights of the Theatre of the Absurd...
with Chairs
Les Chaises
Les Chaises is an absurdist "tragic farce" by Eugene Ionesco. It was written in 1952 and debuted the same year.- Plot :The play concerns two characters, known as Old Man and Old Woman, frantically preparing chairs for a series of invisible guests who are coming to hear an orator reveal the old...
.
She collaborated on Indo-German theatre projects with German director Fritz Bennewitz including a traditional performance of Bhasa
Bhasa
Bhāsa is one of the earliest and most celebrated Indian playwrights in Sanskrit. However, very little is known about him.Kālidāsa in the introduction to his first play Malavikagnimitram writes -...
's Mudrarakshasa with German actors. Except Pestonjee, most of her work consists of film and television adaptations of her stage plays.
Filmography
- PartyParty (1984 film)Party is a 1984 Hindi film directed by Govind Nihalani. The film boasted an ensemble cast of leading art cinema actors of Parallel Cinema, including Vijaya Mehta, Manohar Singh, Om Puri, Naseeruddin Shah, and Rohini Hattangadi...
(1984) - Actor - Rao Saheb (1986) - Director, Screenwriter, Actor
- Pestonjee (1988) - Director, Screenwriter
- riding the bus with my sisterRiding the Bus with My SisterRiding the Bus with My Sister is a memoir by Rachel Simon, published in 2002 by Houghton Mifflin about the time she spent with her sister Beth, who has a developmental disability, whose lifestyle revolves around riding buses in her home city.-Book:...
(2005) - Actor
Awards
- 1975 Sangeet Natak Akademi AwardSangeet Natak Akademi AwardSangeet Natak Akademi Puraskar is an award given by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, India's National Academy of Music, Dance & Drama. It is the highest Indian recognition given to practicing artists. The award consists since 2003 of Rs. 50,000, a citation, an angavastram , and a tamrapatra...
- 1985 Asia Pacific Film FestivalAsia Pacific Film FestivalThe Asia Pacific Film Festival, first held in 1954, is film festival held annually in an Asian country designated by the Board of Directors of the Federation of Motion Picture Producers in Asia-Pacific.Awards are handed out for:*Best Film*Best Director...
: Best Actress: PartyParty (film)Party in film, may refer to:* Party , a 1984 Hindi film by Govind Nihalani* Party , a Portuguese film directed by Manoel de Oliveira* Party , an Iranian film starring Hedieh Tehrani... - 1986 National Film Award for Best Supporting ActressNational Film Award for Best Supporting ActressThe National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress winners:...
: Rao Saheb - 2009 Tanveer Sanmaan
External links
- http://www.rotaryclubofbombay.org/ps121206.htm Vijaya Mehta on theatre and Guru Mani Madhava Cakyar