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	<title>Parsi theatre - Revision history</title>
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	<updated>2026-08-28T15:22:23Z</updated>
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		<title>ChaseBruns: quick update</title>
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		<updated>2026-03-14T16:09:08Z</updated>

		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;quick update&lt;/p&gt;
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				&lt;td colspan=&quot;2&quot; style=&quot;background-color: #fff; color: #202122; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;← Older revision&lt;/td&gt;
				&lt;td colspan=&quot;2&quot; style=&quot;background-color: #fff; color: #202122; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;Revision as of 21:39, 14 March 2026&lt;/td&gt;
				&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td colspan=&quot;2&quot; class=&quot;diff-lineno&quot; id=&quot;mw-diff-left-l1&quot;&gt;Line 1:&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td colspan=&quot;2&quot; class=&quot;diff-lineno&quot;&gt;Line 1:&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td colspan=&quot;2&quot; class=&quot;diff-side-deleted&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;diff-marker&quot; data-marker=&quot;+&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;&quot;&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;ins style=&quot;font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;&quot;&gt;{{Short description|Indian theatre tradition}}&lt;/ins&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;diff-marker&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;&quot;&gt;&lt;div&gt;{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2018}}{{Use Indian English|date=August 2018}}&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;diff-marker&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;&quot;&gt;&lt;div&gt;{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2018}}{{Use Indian English|date=August 2018}}&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;diff-marker&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;&quot;&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;diff-marker&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;&quot;&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;diff-marker&quot; data-marker=&quot;−&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #ffe49c; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;&quot;&gt;&lt;div&gt;&#039;&#039;&#039;Parsi theatre&#039;&#039;&#039; is a generic term for an influential theatre tradition, staged by [[Parsi]]s, and theatre companies largely&lt;del style=&quot;font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;&quot;&gt;-&lt;/del&gt;owned by the Parsi business community, which flourished between 1850 and 1930s.&amp;lt;ref name=&quot;:0&quot;&amp;gt;{{Cite book|url=http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780195644463.001.0001/acref-9780195644463-e-0473|title=The Oxford companion to Indian theatre|last=K|first=A|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2004|isbn=9780199861248|editor-last=Lal|editor-first=Ananda|location=New Delhi|oclc=607157336|via=Oxford Reference}}&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Plays were primarily in &lt;del style=&quot;font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;&quot;&gt;the [[Hindustani language]] (especially the &lt;/del&gt;[[Urdu]] &lt;del style=&quot;font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;&quot;&gt;dialect)&lt;/del&gt;, as well as [[Gujarati language|Gujarati]] to an extent. After its beginning in Bombay, it soon developed into various &lt;del style=&quot;font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;&quot;&gt;travelling &lt;/del&gt;theatre companies, which toured across India, especially [[North India|north]] and [[western India]] (now [[Gujarat]] and [[Maharashtra]]), popularizing [[proscenium]]-style theatre in regional languages.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;{{Cite book|last=Nicholson|first=Rashna Darius|url=https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-030-65836-6#about|title=The Colonial Public and the Parsi Stage: The Making of the Theatre of Empire (1853-1893)|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|year=2021|isbn=978-3-030-65835-9|location=Cham|pages=&lt;del style=&quot;font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;&quot;&gt;1&lt;/del&gt;-&lt;del style=&quot;font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;&quot;&gt;2&lt;/del&gt;}}&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;diff-marker&quot; data-marker=&quot;+&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;&quot;&gt;&lt;div&gt;&#039;&#039;&#039;Parsi theatre&#039;&#039;&#039; is a generic term for an influential theatre tradition, staged by [[Parsi]]s, and theatre companies largely owned by the Parsi business community, which flourished between 1850 and &lt;ins style=&quot;font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;&quot;&gt;the &lt;/ins&gt;1930s.&amp;lt;ref name=&quot;:0&quot;&amp;gt;{{Cite book|url=http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780195644463.001.0001/acref-9780195644463-e-0473|title=The Oxford companion to Indian theatre|last=K|first=A|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2004|isbn=9780199861248|editor-last=Lal|editor-first=Ananda|location=New Delhi|oclc=607157336|via=Oxford Reference}}&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Plays were primarily in [[Urdu]], as well as [[Gujarati language|Gujarati]] to an extent. After its beginning in Bombay, it soon developed into various &lt;ins style=&quot;font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;&quot;&gt;traveling &lt;/ins&gt;theatre companies, which toured across India, especially [[North India|north]] and [[western India]] (now [[Gujarat]] and [[Maharashtra]]), popularizing [[proscenium]]-style theatre in regional languages.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;{{Cite book|last=Nicholson|first=Rashna Darius|url=https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-030-65836-6#about|title=The Colonial Public and the Parsi Stage: The Making of the Theatre of Empire (1853-1893)|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|year=2021|isbn=978-3-030-65835-9|location=Cham|pages=&lt;ins style=&quot;font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;&quot;&gt;1–2|doi=10.1007/978-3-030-65836&lt;/ins&gt;-&lt;ins style=&quot;font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;&quot;&gt;6 |s2cid=234113680 &lt;/ins&gt;}}&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;diff-marker&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;&quot;&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;diff-marker&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;&quot;&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;diff-marker&quot; data-marker=&quot;−&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #ffe49c; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;&quot;&gt;&lt;div&gt;Entertainment-driven and incorporating [[musical theatre]] and folk theatre, in early 1900s, some Parsi theatre producers switched to new media like bioscope and subsequently many became film producers. The theatre diminished in popularity, with arrival of talkies era in [[Hindi cinema]] in 1930s. Post-independence, it experienced a revival in the 1950s, much like theatre in the rest of &lt;del style=&quot;font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;&quot;&gt;the &lt;/del&gt;India.{{Sfn|Kasbekar|2006|p=50}}{{Sfn|Dalmia|2004|p=60}}&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;diff-marker&quot; data-marker=&quot;+&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;&quot;&gt;&lt;div&gt;Entertainment-driven and incorporating [[musical theatre]] and folk theatre, in &lt;ins style=&quot;font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;&quot;&gt;the &lt;/ins&gt;early 1900s, some Parsi theatre producers switched to new media like bioscope and subsequently many became film producers. The theatre diminished in popularity, with &lt;ins style=&quot;font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;&quot;&gt;the &lt;/ins&gt;arrival of &lt;ins style=&quot;font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;&quot;&gt;the &lt;/ins&gt;talkies era in [[Hindi cinema]] in &lt;ins style=&quot;font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;&quot;&gt;the &lt;/ins&gt;1930s. Post-independence, it experienced a revival in the 1950s, much like theatre in the rest of India.{{Sfn|Kasbekar|2006|p=50}}{{Sfn|Dalmia|2004|p=60}}&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td colspan=&quot;2&quot; class=&quot;diff-side-deleted&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;diff-marker&quot; data-marker=&quot;+&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;&quot;&gt;&lt;div&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td colspan=&quot;2&quot; class=&quot;diff-side-deleted&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;diff-marker&quot; data-marker=&quot;+&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;&quot;&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;ins style=&quot;font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;&quot;&gt;[[File:Raghubir Yadav singing Parsi Theatre Style Laila Majnu.webm|thumb|[[Raghubir Yadav]] singing Parsi Theatre Style, Laila-Majanu song]]&lt;/ins&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;diff-marker&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;&quot;&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;diff-marker&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;&quot;&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;diff-marker&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;&quot;&gt;&lt;div&gt;==History==&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;diff-marker&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;&quot;&gt;&lt;div&gt;==History==&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td colspan=&quot;2&quot; class=&quot;diff-lineno&quot; id=&quot;mw-diff-left-l12&quot;&gt;Line 12:&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td colspan=&quot;2&quot; class=&quot;diff-lineno&quot;&gt;Line 15:&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;diff-marker&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;&quot;&gt;&lt;div&gt;The early plays in Parsi theatre presented Indianized versions of [[Shakespeare]]’s plays, by turning them into folk performances, with dozens of songs added in. Soon Indian legends, epic and mythological tales made an appearance as source material. As Parsi theatre companies started travelling across [[North India]], they employed native writers to churn out scripts in [[Hindustani language]], mix of [[Hindi]] and [[Urdu]].&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[[#Han|Hansen, p. 75]]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;diff-marker&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;&quot;&gt;&lt;div&gt;The early plays in Parsi theatre presented Indianized versions of [[Shakespeare]]’s plays, by turning them into folk performances, with dozens of songs added in. Soon Indian legends, epic and mythological tales made an appearance as source material. As Parsi theatre companies started travelling across [[North India]], they employed native writers to churn out scripts in [[Hindustani language]], mix of [[Hindi]] and [[Urdu]].&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[[#Han|Hansen, p. 75]]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;diff-marker&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;&quot;&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;diff-marker&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;&quot;&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;diff-marker&quot; data-marker=&quot;−&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #ffe49c; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;&quot;&gt;&lt;div&gt;Later Parsi plays &quot;blended [[realism (arts)|realism]] and fantasy, music and dance, narrative and spectacle, earthy dialogue and ingenuity of stage presentation, integrating them into a dramatic discourse of [[melodrama]]&quot;. For mass appeal the plays incorporated humour, melodious songs and music, sensationalism and stagecraft.&amp;lt;ref name=&quot;Gokulsing-98&quot;&amp;gt;{{cite book| last = K. Moti Gokulsing| first = K. Gokulsing, Wimal Dissanayake| title = Indian Popular Cinema: A Narrative of Cultural Change| year = 2004| publisher = Trentham Books| page = 98 }}&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; The success of Parsi theatre lead to the development of theatre in regional languages notably modern [[Gujarati theatre]], [[Marathi theatre]] and [[Hindi theatre]].{{Sfn|Hochman|1984|p=38}} Later it led  to the development of [[Hindi cinema]] (Bollywood), the effect of Parsi theatre is still evident in the [[Masala film]] genre of [[Indian cinema]], {{Sfn|Joughin|1997|p=129}}&amp;lt;ref name=&quot;Gokulsing-98&quot;/&amp;gt; and especially in [[Music of Bollywood|Bollywood film songs]].&amp;lt;ref name=&quot;MehtaPandharipande2010&quot;&amp;gt;{{cite book|last1=Mehta|first1=Rini Bhattacharya|last2=Pandharipande|first2=Rajeshwari|title=Bollywood and Globalization: Indian Popular Cinema, Nation, and Diaspora|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cgZTUn00crMC&amp;amp;pg=PA176|year=2010|publisher=Anthem Press|isbn=978-1-84331-833-0|page=36}}&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; According to screenwriter and lyricist [[Javed Akhtar]], Urdu Parsi theatre&#039;s [[ghazal]], [[thumri]] and [[kajri]] traditions were the basis for Bollywood&#039;s [[filmi-ghazal]], thumri and kajri styles of music.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;{{cite book |last1=Kabir |first1=Nasreen Munni |last2=Akhtar |first2=Javed |author2-link=Javed Akhtar |title=Talking Films and Songs: Javed Akhtar in conversation with Nasreen Munni Kabir |date=2018 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=978-0-19-909177-5 |page=114 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=S59MDwAAQBAJ&amp;amp;pg=PT114}}&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;diff-marker&quot; data-marker=&quot;+&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;&quot;&gt;&lt;div&gt;Later Parsi plays &quot;blended [[realism (arts)|realism]] and fantasy, music and dance, narrative and spectacle, earthy dialogue and ingenuity of stage presentation, integrating them into a dramatic discourse of [[melodrama]]&quot;. For mass appeal the plays incorporated humour, melodious songs and music, &lt;ins style=&quot;font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;&quot;&gt;[[&lt;/ins&gt;sensationalism&lt;ins style=&quot;font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;&quot;&gt;]] &lt;/ins&gt;and stagecraft.&amp;lt;ref name=&quot;Gokulsing-98&quot;&amp;gt;{{cite book| last = K. Moti Gokulsing| first = K. Gokulsing, &lt;ins style=&quot;font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;&quot;&gt;[[&lt;/ins&gt;Wimal Dissanayake&lt;ins style=&quot;font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;&quot;&gt;]]&lt;/ins&gt;| title = Indian Popular Cinema: A Narrative of Cultural Change| year = 2004| publisher = Trentham Books| page = 98 }}&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; The success of Parsi theatre lead to the development of theatre in regional languages notably modern [[Gujarati theatre]], [[Marathi theatre]] and [[Hindi theatre]].{{Sfn|Hochman|1984|p=38}} Later it led  to the development of [[Hindi cinema]] (Bollywood), the effect of Parsi theatre is still evident in the [[Masala film]] genre of [[Indian cinema]], {{Sfn|Joughin|1997|p=129}}&amp;lt;ref name=&quot;Gokulsing-98&quot;/&amp;gt; and especially in [[Music of Bollywood|Bollywood film songs]].&amp;lt;ref name=&quot;MehtaPandharipande2010&quot;&amp;gt;{{cite book|last1=Mehta|first1=Rini Bhattacharya|last2=Pandharipande|first2=Rajeshwari|title=Bollywood and Globalization: Indian Popular Cinema, Nation, and Diaspora|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cgZTUn00crMC&amp;amp;pg=PA176|year=2010|publisher=Anthem Press|isbn=978-1-84331-833-0|page=36}}&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; According to screenwriter and lyricist [[Javed Akhtar]], Urdu Parsi theatre&#039;s [[ghazal]], [[thumri]] and [[kajri]] traditions were the basis for Bollywood&#039;s [[filmi-ghazal]], thumri and kajri styles of music.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;{{cite book |last1=Kabir |first1=Nasreen Munni |last2=Akhtar |first2=Javed |author2-link=Javed Akhtar |title=Talking Films and Songs: Javed Akhtar in conversation with Nasreen Munni Kabir |date=2018 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=978-0-19-909177-5 |page=114 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=S59MDwAAQBAJ&amp;amp;pg=PT114}}&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;diff-marker&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;&quot;&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;diff-marker&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;&quot;&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;diff-marker&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;&quot;&gt;&lt;div&gt;Parsi theatre was also popular in South-East Asia, where it was known as &amp;#039;&amp;#039;Wyang Parsi&amp;#039;&amp;#039; and often imitated.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=21gkDQAAQBAJ&amp;amp;q=Wayang+Parsi&amp;amp;pg=PA68|title=Hindustani Traces in Malay Ghazal: &amp;#039;A song, so old and yet still famous&amp;#039;|last1=Meddegoda|first1=Chinthaka Prageeth|last2=Jähnichen|first2=Gisa|date=2016-09-23|publisher=Cambridge Scholars Publishing|isbn=9781443899987|language=en}}&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;diff-marker&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;&quot;&gt;&lt;div&gt;Parsi theatre was also popular in South-East Asia, where it was known as &amp;#039;&amp;#039;Wyang Parsi&amp;#039;&amp;#039; and often imitated.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=21gkDQAAQBAJ&amp;amp;q=Wayang+Parsi&amp;amp;pg=PA68|title=Hindustani Traces in Malay Ghazal: &amp;#039;A song, so old and yet still famous&amp;#039;|last1=Meddegoda|first1=Chinthaka Prageeth|last2=Jähnichen|first2=Gisa|date=2016-09-23|publisher=Cambridge Scholars Publishing|isbn=9781443899987|language=en}}&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td colspan=&quot;2&quot; class=&quot;diff-lineno&quot; id=&quot;mw-diff-left-l27&quot;&gt;Line 27:&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td colspan=&quot;2&quot; class=&quot;diff-lineno&quot;&gt;Line 30:&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;diff-marker&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;&quot;&gt;&lt;div&gt;* {{cite book|author=Somanath Gupta|author2=tr. Kathryn Hansen|title=The Parsi Theatre: Its Origins and Development|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ex_iVE8vFLkC|year=2005|publisher=Seagull Books|isbn=978-81-7046-273-6}}&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;diff-marker&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;&quot;&gt;&lt;div&gt;* {{cite book|author=Somanath Gupta|author2=tr. Kathryn Hansen|title=The Parsi Theatre: Its Origins and Development|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ex_iVE8vFLkC|year=2005|publisher=Seagull Books|isbn=978-81-7046-273-6}}&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;diff-marker&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;&quot;&gt;&lt;div&gt;* {{cite book |title=Culture and power in Banaras: community, performance, and environment, 1800–1980|author=Sandria B. Freitag|chapter=Chapter 2: The Birth of Hindi Drama in Banaras: 1868–1885, by Kathryn Hansen|publisher=University of California Press|year=1989|isbn=978-0-520-06367-9 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4RAaBmHA9uUC&amp;amp;q=%22Hindi+drama%22+-inpublisher%3Aicon&amp;amp;pg=PA62 |ref=Han}}&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;diff-marker&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;&quot;&gt;&lt;div&gt;* {{cite book |title=Culture and power in Banaras: community, performance, and environment, 1800–1980|author=Sandria B. Freitag|chapter=Chapter 2: The Birth of Hindi Drama in Banaras: 1868–1885, by Kathryn Hansen|publisher=University of California Press|year=1989|isbn=978-0-520-06367-9 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4RAaBmHA9uUC&amp;amp;q=%22Hindi+drama%22+-inpublisher%3Aicon&amp;amp;pg=PA62 |ref=Han}}&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;diff-marker&quot; data-marker=&quot;−&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #ffe49c; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;&quot;&gt;&lt;div&gt;*Nicholson&lt;del style=&quot;font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;&quot;&gt;, &lt;/del&gt;Rashna Darius &lt;del style=&quot;font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;&quot;&gt;(2021). &#039;&#039;[https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-030-65836-6#about &lt;/del&gt;The Colonial &lt;del style=&quot;font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;&quot;&gt;Public &lt;/del&gt;and the Parsi &lt;del style=&quot;font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;&quot;&gt;Stage&lt;/del&gt;: &lt;del style=&quot;font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;&quot;&gt;The Making &lt;/del&gt;of the &lt;del style=&quot;font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;&quot;&gt;Theatre &lt;/del&gt;of &lt;del style=&quot;font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;&quot;&gt;Empire &lt;/del&gt;(1853-1893)&lt;del style=&quot;font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;&quot;&gt;]&#039;&#039;. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan. [[ISBN (identifier)&lt;/del&gt;|&lt;del style=&quot;font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;&quot;&gt;ISBN]]&amp;amp;nbsp;[[Special:BookSources/&lt;/del&gt;978-3-030-&lt;del style=&quot;font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;&quot;&gt;65835&lt;/del&gt;-&lt;del style=&quot;font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;&quot;&gt;9&lt;/del&gt;|&lt;del style=&quot;font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;&quot;&gt;&amp;lt;bdi&amp;gt;978-3-030-65835-9&amp;lt;/bdi&amp;gt;]].&lt;/del&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;diff-marker&quot; data-marker=&quot;+&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;&quot;&gt;&lt;div&gt;* &lt;ins style=&quot;font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;&quot;&gt;{{cite book | last=&lt;/ins&gt;Nicholson &lt;ins style=&quot;font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;&quot;&gt;| first=&lt;/ins&gt;Rashna Darius &lt;ins style=&quot;font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;&quot;&gt;| title=&lt;/ins&gt;The Colonial &lt;ins style=&quot;font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;&quot;&gt;public &lt;/ins&gt;and the Parsi &lt;ins style=&quot;font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;&quot;&gt;stage &lt;/ins&gt;: &lt;ins style=&quot;font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;&quot;&gt;the making &lt;/ins&gt;of the &lt;ins style=&quot;font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;&quot;&gt;theatre &lt;/ins&gt;of &lt;ins style=&quot;font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;&quot;&gt;empire &lt;/ins&gt;(1853-1893) | &lt;ins style=&quot;font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;&quot;&gt;date=2021 | publisher=Springer | isbn=&lt;/ins&gt;978-3-030-&lt;ins style=&quot;font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;&quot;&gt;65836&lt;/ins&gt;-&lt;ins style=&quot;font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;&quot;&gt;6 &lt;/ins&gt;| &lt;ins style=&quot;font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;&quot;&gt;oclc=1241450414}}&lt;/ins&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;diff-marker&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;&quot;&gt;&lt;div&gt;* {{cite book|last=Marfatia|first=Meher |others=Sooni Taraporevala (photos)|title=Laughter in the House!: 20th-century Parsi Theatre|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Hyg4twAACAAJ|year=2011|publisher=49/50 Books|isbn=978-81-921367-0-7}}&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;diff-marker&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;&quot;&gt;&lt;div&gt;* {{cite book|last=Marfatia|first=Meher |others=Sooni Taraporevala (photos)|title=Laughter in the House!: 20th-century Parsi Theatre|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Hyg4twAACAAJ|year=2011|publisher=49/50 Books|isbn=978-81-921367-0-7}}&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;diff-marker&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;&quot;&gt;&lt;div&gt;* {{cite book|last=Kasbekar|first=Asha|title=Pop Culture India!: Media, Arts, and Lifestyle|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Sv7Uk0UcdM8C&amp;amp;pg=PA50|year=2006|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-1-85109-636-7}}&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;diff-marker&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;&quot;&gt;&lt;div&gt;* {{cite book|last=Kasbekar|first=Asha|title=Pop Culture India!: Media, Arts, and Lifestyle|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Sv7Uk0UcdM8C&amp;amp;pg=PA50|year=2006|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-1-85109-636-7}}&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td colspan=&quot;2&quot; class=&quot;diff-lineno&quot; id=&quot;mw-diff-left-l39&quot;&gt;Line 39:&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td colspan=&quot;2&quot; class=&quot;diff-lineno&quot;&gt;Line 42:&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;diff-marker&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;&quot;&gt;&lt;div&gt;[[Category:History of Mumbai]]&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;diff-marker&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;&quot;&gt;&lt;div&gt;[[Category:History of Mumbai]]&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;diff-marker&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;&quot;&gt;&lt;div&gt;[[Category:Parsi culture|Theatre]]&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;diff-marker&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;&quot;&gt;&lt;div&gt;[[Category:Parsi culture|Theatre]]&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;diff-marker&quot; data-marker=&quot;−&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #ffe49c; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;&quot;&gt;&lt;div&gt;[[Category:Theatre &lt;del style=&quot;font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;&quot;&gt;in &lt;/del&gt;India]]&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;diff-marker&quot; data-marker=&quot;+&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;&quot;&gt;&lt;div&gt;[[Category:Theatre &lt;ins style=&quot;font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;&quot;&gt;of &lt;/ins&gt;India]]&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;

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		<id>https://en.bharatpedia.org/w/index.php?title=Parsi_theatre&amp;diff=153589&amp;oldid=prev</id>
		<title>imported&gt;Whirlingdervishes1 at 03:28, 15 July 2021</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://en.bharatpedia.org/w/index.php?title=Parsi_theatre&amp;diff=153589&amp;oldid=prev"/>
		<updated>2021-07-15T03:28:46Z</updated>

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&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;New page&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div&gt;{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2018}}{{Use Indian English|date=August 2018}}&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;#039;&amp;#039;&amp;#039;Parsi theatre&amp;#039;&amp;#039;&amp;#039; is a generic term for an influential theatre tradition, staged by [[Parsi]]s, and theatre companies largely-owned by the Parsi business community, which flourished between 1850 and 1930s.&amp;lt;ref name=&amp;quot;:0&amp;quot;&amp;gt;{{Cite book|url=http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780195644463.001.0001/acref-9780195644463-e-0473|title=The Oxford companion to Indian theatre|last=K|first=A|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2004|isbn=9780199861248|editor-last=Lal|editor-first=Ananda|location=New Delhi|oclc=607157336|via=Oxford Reference}}&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Plays were primarily in the [[Hindustani language]] (especially the [[Urdu]] dialect), as well as [[Gujarati language|Gujarati]] to an extent. After its beginning in Bombay, it soon developed into various travelling theatre companies, which toured across India, especially [[North India|north]] and [[western India]] (now [[Gujarat]] and [[Maharashtra]]), popularizing [[proscenium]]-style theatre in regional languages.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;{{Cite book|last=Nicholson|first=Rashna Darius|url=https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-030-65836-6#about|title=The Colonial Public and the Parsi Stage: The Making of the Theatre of Empire (1853-1893)|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|year=2021|isbn=978-3-030-65835-9|location=Cham|pages=1-2}}&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Entertainment-driven and incorporating [[musical theatre]] and folk theatre, in early 1900s, some Parsi theatre producers switched to new media like bioscope and subsequently many became film producers. The theatre diminished in popularity, with arrival of talkies era in [[Hindi cinema]] in 1930s. Post-independence, it experienced a revival in the 1950s, much like theatre in the rest of the India.{{Sfn|Kasbekar|2006|p=50}}{{Sfn|Dalmia|2004|p=60}}&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==History==&lt;br /&gt;
The British community in Bombay had been staging theatre in English language for sometime by the mid-19th century. Parsis were a prominent business community in the city. In early 1850s, the students of [[Elphinstone College]] in Mumbai had formed a dramatic society and started performing [[Shakespeare]].&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;{{cite web|title=Understanding 20th century Parsi theatre|date=18 December 2011|first=Rahul|last=Chandawarkar|work=Daily News &amp;amp; Analysis|url=http://www.dnaindia.com/lifestyle/report-understanding-20th-century-parsi-theatre-1627314|access-date=2014-06-04 }}&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; The first Parsi Theatre company called &amp;quot;Pārsī Nāṭak Maṇḍali&amp;quot; performed their first play &amp;#039;&amp;#039;Roostum Zabooli and Sohrab&amp;#039;&amp;#039; in 1853, followed by &amp;#039;&amp;#039;King Afrasiab and Rustom Pehlvan&amp;#039;&amp;#039; and &amp;#039;&amp;#039;Pādśāh Faredun&amp;#039;&amp;#039;.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;{{cite journal|title=Nicholson 2015, p. 617.|doi=10.1080/00856401.2015.1080211 | volume=38|journal=South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies|pages=613–638|s2cid=146409840}}&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; By 1860 over 20 Parsi theatre groups were formed in Mumbai.{{Sfn|Palsetia|2001|p=184}}&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Sharmistha Gooptu and Bhaumik identify [[Indo-Persian culture|Indo-Persian]]/[[Islamicate]] culture as a major influence on Parsi theatre. Up until the early 20th century, [[Urdu]] was the most widely used language in Parsi theater, due to the influence of [[Urdu poetry]]. The &amp;#039;&amp;#039;[[One Thousand and One Nights]]&amp;#039;&amp;#039; (&amp;#039;&amp;#039;Arabian Nights&amp;#039;&amp;#039;) also had a strong influence on Parsi theater, which performed &amp;quot;[[Persianate]] adventure-romances&amp;quot;, which in turn were later adapted into early [[Bollywood]] films.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;{{cite book|last=Gooptu|first=Sharmistha|title=Bengali Cinema: &amp;#039;An Other Nation&amp;#039;|date=2010|publisher=[[Routledge]]|isbn=9781136912177|page=38|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DcUtCgAAQBAJ&amp;amp;pg=PA38}}&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The early plays in Parsi theatre presented Indianized versions of [[Shakespeare]]’s plays, by turning them into folk performances, with dozens of songs added in. Soon Indian legends, epic and mythological tales made an appearance as source material. As Parsi theatre companies started travelling across [[North India]], they employed native writers to churn out scripts in [[Hindustani language]], mix of [[Hindi]] and [[Urdu]].&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[[#Han|Hansen, p. 75]]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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Later Parsi plays &amp;quot;blended [[realism (arts)|realism]] and fantasy, music and dance, narrative and spectacle, earthy dialogue and ingenuity of stage presentation, integrating them into a dramatic discourse of [[melodrama]]&amp;quot;. For mass appeal the plays incorporated humour, melodious songs and music, sensationalism and stagecraft.&amp;lt;ref name=&amp;quot;Gokulsing-98&amp;quot;&amp;gt;{{cite book| last = K. Moti Gokulsing| first = K. Gokulsing, Wimal Dissanayake| title = Indian Popular Cinema: A Narrative of Cultural Change| year = 2004| publisher = Trentham Books| page = 98 }}&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; The success of Parsi theatre lead to the development of theatre in regional languages notably modern [[Gujarati theatre]], [[Marathi theatre]] and [[Hindi theatre]].{{Sfn|Hochman|1984|p=38}} Later it led  to the development of [[Hindi cinema]] (Bollywood), the effect of Parsi theatre is still evident in the [[Masala film]] genre of [[Indian cinema]], {{Sfn|Joughin|1997|p=129}}&amp;lt;ref name=&amp;quot;Gokulsing-98&amp;quot;/&amp;gt; and especially in [[Music of Bollywood|Bollywood film songs]].&amp;lt;ref name=&amp;quot;MehtaPandharipande2010&amp;quot;&amp;gt;{{cite book|last1=Mehta|first1=Rini Bhattacharya|last2=Pandharipande|first2=Rajeshwari|title=Bollywood and Globalization: Indian Popular Cinema, Nation, and Diaspora|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cgZTUn00crMC&amp;amp;pg=PA176|year=2010|publisher=Anthem Press|isbn=978-1-84331-833-0|page=36}}&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; According to screenwriter and lyricist [[Javed Akhtar]], Urdu Parsi theatre&amp;#039;s [[ghazal]], [[thumri]] and [[kajri]] traditions were the basis for Bollywood&amp;#039;s [[filmi-ghazal]], thumri and kajri styles of music.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;{{cite book |last1=Kabir |first1=Nasreen Munni |last2=Akhtar |first2=Javed |author2-link=Javed Akhtar |title=Talking Films and Songs: Javed Akhtar in conversation with Nasreen Munni Kabir |date=2018 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=978-0-19-909177-5 |page=114 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=S59MDwAAQBAJ&amp;amp;pg=PT114}}&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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Parsi theatre was also popular in South-East Asia, where it was known as &amp;#039;&amp;#039;Wyang Parsi&amp;#039;&amp;#039; and often imitated.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=21gkDQAAQBAJ&amp;amp;q=Wayang+Parsi&amp;amp;pg=PA68|title=Hindustani Traces in Malay Ghazal: &amp;#039;A song, so old and yet still famous&amp;#039;|last1=Meddegoda|first1=Chinthaka Prageeth|last2=Jähnichen|first2=Gisa|date=2016-09-23|publisher=Cambridge Scholars Publishing|isbn=9781443899987|language=en}}&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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In 1981, Mumbai-based theatre director [[Nadira Babbar]], started her theatre group &amp;#039;&amp;#039;Ekjute&amp;#039;&amp;#039; (Together), with the production of &amp;#039;&amp;#039;[[Yahudi Ki Ladki]]&amp;#039;&amp;#039;, which revived the Parsi theatre style, and is considered one of its finest.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;{{cite web|title=Indian theatre at the crossroads|work=The Tribune|url=http://www.tribuneindia.com/2000/20000625/spectrum/main9.htm|date=25 June 2000|access-date=2014-08-27}}&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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== References ==&lt;br /&gt;
{{Reflist}}&lt;br /&gt;
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==Bibliography==&lt;br /&gt;
* {{cite book|last=Hochman|first=Stanley|title=McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of World Drama: An International Reference Work in 5 Volumes|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zo5os6d0rvMC&amp;amp;pg=PA37|year=1984|publisher=VNR AG|isbn=978-0-07-079169-5}}&lt;br /&gt;
* {{cite journal | last1 = Nicholson | first1 = Rashna Darius | year = 2015 | title = Corporeality, Aryanism, Race: The Theatre and Social Reform of the Parsis of Western India | journal = South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies | volume = 38 | issue = 4| pages = 613–638 | doi = 10.1080/00856401.2015.1080211 | s2cid = 146409840 }}&lt;br /&gt;
* {{cite book|last=Palsetia|first=Jesse S.|title=The Parsis of India: Preservation of Identity in Bombay City|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=R6oNt3M_yLgC&amp;amp;pg=PA184|year= 2001|publisher=BRILL|isbn=90-04-12114-5}}&lt;br /&gt;
* {{cite book|author=Somanath Gupta|author2=tr. Kathryn Hansen|title=The Parsi Theatre: Its Origins and Development|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ex_iVE8vFLkC|year=2005|publisher=Seagull Books|isbn=978-81-7046-273-6}}&lt;br /&gt;
* {{cite book |title=Culture and power in Banaras: community, performance, and environment, 1800–1980|author=Sandria B. Freitag|chapter=Chapter 2: The Birth of Hindi Drama in Banaras: 1868–1885, by Kathryn Hansen|publisher=University of California Press|year=1989|isbn=978-0-520-06367-9 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4RAaBmHA9uUC&amp;amp;q=%22Hindi+drama%22+-inpublisher%3Aicon&amp;amp;pg=PA62 |ref=Han}}&lt;br /&gt;
*Nicholson, Rashna Darius (2021). &amp;#039;&amp;#039;[https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-030-65836-6#about The Colonial Public and the Parsi Stage: The Making of the Theatre of Empire (1853-1893)]&amp;#039;&amp;#039;. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan. [[ISBN (identifier)|ISBN]]&amp;amp;nbsp;[[Special:BookSources/978-3-030-65835-9|&amp;lt;bdi&amp;gt;978-3-030-65835-9&amp;lt;/bdi&amp;gt;]].&lt;br /&gt;
* {{cite book|last=Marfatia|first=Meher |others=Sooni Taraporevala (photos)|title=Laughter in the House!: 20th-century Parsi Theatre|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Hyg4twAACAAJ|year=2011|publisher=49/50 Books|isbn=978-81-921367-0-7}}&lt;br /&gt;
* {{cite book|last=Kasbekar|first=Asha|title=Pop Culture India!: Media, Arts, and Lifestyle|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Sv7Uk0UcdM8C&amp;amp;pg=PA50|year=2006|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-1-85109-636-7}}&lt;br /&gt;
*{{cite book|last=Joughin|first=John J.|title=Shakespeare and National Culture|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zArpAAAAIAAJ&amp;amp;pg=PA129|year=1997|publisher=Manchester University Press|isbn=978-0-7190-5051-0}}&lt;br /&gt;
* {{cite book|last1=Blackburn|first1=Stuart H.|last2=Dalmia|first2=Vasudha|title=India&amp;#039;s Literary History: Essays on the Nineteenth Century|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2N046vzK824C&amp;amp;pg=PA60|year=2004|publisher=Orient Blackswan|isbn=978-81-7824-056-5}}&lt;br /&gt;
* {{cite web| title =  History of the Parsi Theatre| url = http://www.zoroastrian.org.uk/vohuman/Article/A%20Time%20for%20Natak%20History%20of%20the%20Parsi%20Theatre.htm&lt;br /&gt;
|publisher=Zoroastrian Educational Institute}}&lt;br /&gt;
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[[Category:Culture of Mumbai]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Hindi theatre]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:History of Mumbai]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Parsi culture|Theatre]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Theatre in India]]&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>imported&gt;Whirlingdervishes1</name></author>
	</entry>
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