Jahangir Pestonji Khambhata
Jahangir Pestonji Khambhata, also spelt Jehangir Pestonjee Khambatta (1856–1916) was a Parsi theatre actor, director and manager, as well as a playwright of the Gujarati theatre.
Early life
[edit]Khambhata was born in 1856 in Bombay to a Parsi family. He was raised in Cambay (Khambhat), Gujarat, and joined theatre at a young age. At age 14, he received acclaim for his role as Arnavaz in Kaikhushru Kabraji's play Jamshed (1870). He also played female impersonator roles and was praised for his role of a fairy, Mahru Pari, in Aram's play Benazir-Badremunir (Benazir and Badremunir, 1872), produced by the Victoria Theatrical Company.[1]
Career
[edit]Khambhata wanted to visit England to see the plays of Shakespeare, but could not because the ship his troupe boarded moved eastward and he toured Burma, Java, Sumatra and Andaman Islands in 1875.[1][2] With help of his friend Lalsingh Dulhasingh of Delhi, he established Empress Victoria Theatrical Company which operated from 1876 to 1878.[1][3] He produced Khudadad (The Gift of God, 1898, based on Shakespeare's Pericles) starring Mary Fenton and Kavasji Palanji Khatau.[4] Khatau and Khambhata later separated from each other.[3] Khambhata also worked with Alfred and Hindi theatre companies later.[5]
He introduced young actors such as Nayak and Bhojak, a traditional performer community from North Gujarat in his troupe. He wrote five plays on Parsi social customs including Juddin Jhaghdo (Juddin's Fiasco, 1905), a farce inspired by a true story of a Parsi man, his non-Parsi wife and their son.[1][6] Mahro Nataki Anubhav (My Experiences on the Stage, 1914) is his memoir in Gujarati.[1][2][7] It was published as sixty-two essays in Parsi weekly. The initial essays describe his birth, parentage, education and the onset of his interest in theatre. Other essays describe the theatre clubs of that time but rarely describe his personal roles.[5]
Death
[edit]Khambhata died in 1916.[1]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f Bhojak, Dinkar J. (2004). "Khambata, Jehangir Pestonji". In Lal, Ananda (ed.). Oxford Companion to Indian Theatre. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/acref/9780195644463.001.0001. ISBN 9780195644463 – via Oxford Reference. (subscription required)
- ^ a b The Indian Journal of English Studies: The Official Organ of the Indian Association for English Studies. Vol. 5. Orient Longmans. 1964. p. 14.
- ^ a b Hansen, Kathryn (1998). "Stri Bhumika: Female Impersonators and Actresses on the Parsi Stage". Economic and Political Weekly. 33 (35): 2291–2300 – via JSTOR.
- ^ Poonam Trivedi; Dennis Bartholomeusz (2005). India's Shakespeare: Translation, Interpretation and Performance. Pearson Education India. p. 243. ISBN 978-81-317-9959-8.
- ^ a b Kathryn Hansen (1 December 2013). Stages of Life: Indian Theatre Autobiographies. Anthem Press. pp. 33–34, 340. ISBN 978-1-78308-098-4.
- ^ Christine Gledhill; Linda Williams (8 May 2018). Melodrama Unbound: Across History, Media, and National Cultures. Columbia University Press. p. 171. ISBN 978-0-231-54319-4.
- ^ Hansen, Kathryn (1999). "Making Women Visible: Gender and Race Cross-Dressing in the Parsi Theatre". Theatre Journal. 51 (2): 127–147. doi:10.1353/tj.1999.0031. JSTOR 25068647. S2CID 192100757.
- Indian male stage actors
- Indian theatre directors
- Indian male dramatists and playwrights
- Indian male musical theatre actors
- Gujarati theatre
- 1856 births
- 1916 deaths
- Parsi people
- 20th-century Indian dramatists and playwrights
- 20th-century Indian male actors
- People from Mumbai
- Urdu theatre
- People from Kheda district
- People from Bombay Presidency
- Male actors from British India
- Dramatists and playwrights from British India