हबीब तनवीर / Habib Tanvir
Habib Tanvir (1 September 1923 – 8 June 2009), trained in Acting at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts (RADA) and in Direction at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, was one of the most popular Indian Urdu, Hindi playwrights, a theater director, poet and actor. He is the writer of plays such as, Agra Bazar (1954) and Charandas Chor (1975). A pioneer in Urdu, Hindi theater, he is most known for his work with Chhattisgarhi tribals, at the Naya Theatre, a theater company he founded in 1959 in Bhopal, and went on to include indigenous performance forms such as nacha, to create not only a new theatrical language, but also milestones such as Charandas Chor, Gaon ka Naam Sasural, Mor Naam Damad and Kamdeo ka Apna Basant Ritu ka Sapna.
During his lifetime he won several national and international awards, including the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1969, Padma Shri in 1983, Kalidas Samman 1990, Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship in 1996, and the Padma Bhushan in 2002; apart from that he had also been nominated to become a member of the Upper House of Indian Parliament, the Rajya Sabha (1972-1978). His play Charandas Chor got him the Fringe Firsts Award at Edinburgh International Drama Festival in 1982. During his career, Habib acted in over nine feature films, including Richard Attenborough’s film, Gandhi.