Premchand, the playwright and the drama critic: Evaluating Hindi theatrescape in colonial India

Abstract

Besides writing some of the greatest novels and short stories in Urdu and Hindi, Premchand, the doyen of Indian fiction, also engaged with the genre of drama: he translated several European plays into Hindi and Urdu, authored three original plays, and reviewed contemporary plays and commented on different performative traditions in his articles. Drawing upon the paratexts of Premchand’s plays—especially the prefaces to Sangram (1923) and Karbala (1924), his articles such as “Hindi Rangmanch” and “Bhartendu Babu Harishchandra”, and his reviews of contemporary plays—the essay studies Premchand’s attempt to institutionalize Hindi drama and theatre as a distinct tradition: it explores how he outlined dramaturgy and aesthetics of playwriting and performance, mapped the history and modernity of Hindi drama, diagnosed the ills that ailed Hindi theatre and suggested remedies. Furthermore, it explores how he hailed the advent of Naya Drama (New drama) in Hindi and scrutinized modernity in theatrescapes in colonial India.