Reinterpreting passion: A study of Habib Tanvir's theatre

Abstract

This article examines the theatre of Habib Tanvir, a playwright, actor and director from India, and through this analysis demonstrates the emergence of the new definition of 'passion as resistence' in the 1970s in India. Although the idea of 'passion as resistance' arose during the colonial period as Indian writers assimilate this meaning. In his postcolonial theatre, Tanvir presented the viewpoint of the people against the established urban definition of acting that privileged the 'voice of the Artist' over the 'voice of the people' (to borrow the terminology from Rustom Bharucha), as well as the 'vachik abhinaya' (acting through speech) over the angik abhinaya (acting through bodily movements).