A renowned theatre actor and drama teacher whose name is forever etched in the world of theatre, Ebrahim Alkazi passed away in Delhi's Escorts hospital due to a heart attack on Tuesday, at the age of 94. In the early decades of Independence, when India was building institutions, Ebrahim Alkazi was the one who headed the 'National School of Drama' (NSD) in Delhi. Many Bollywood celebrities, especially those who come from a theatre background, paid their last tribute to the legendary thespian on social media.

Nawazuddin Siddiqui, who is an alumnus of National School of Drama, shared a photo of E Alkazi and wrote, "The true architect of the Modern Indian Theatre. The Doyen who possessed the extreme knowledge in all the aspects of ART. The magician who nurtured many greats of theatre. May your brightest spark from the heaven keeps us enlightening #EbrahimAlkazi #RIP (sic)." Check out his tweet here -

The true architect of the Modern Indian Theatre. The Doyen who possessed the extreme knowledge in all the aspects of ART. The magician who nurtured many greats of theatre.
May your brightest spark from the heaven keeps us enlightening #EbrahimAlkazi
#RIP pic.twitter.com/PjYxRybpSr

— Nawazuddin Siddiqui (@Nawazuddin_S) August 4, 2020

Randeep Hooda called him the real father of modern Indian theatre and tweeted, "So many have learnt from and tried to emulate. Ebrahim Alkazi - the real father of Modern Indian Theatre.. may the light you shone keep shining through countless others as it shines through now.. Rest in Peace Sir. condolences to the family (sic)." Check out his tweet here -

The Guru of Gurus so many have learnt from and tried to emulate .. Ebrahim Alkazi - the real father of Modern Indian Theatre .. may the light you shone keep shining through countless others as it shines through now .. Rest in Peace Sir 🙏🏽 condolences to the family 🙏🏽 pic.twitter.com/20SYTDu67u

— Randeep Hooda (@RandeepHooda) August 4, 2020

The National School of Drama family paid tribute to Ebrahim Alkazi on social media and wrote, "NSD Family deeply mourn passing away of Theatre Legend, Padma Vibhushan Shri Ebrahim Alkazi, Ex Director of NSD from 1962-77. This is a great loss to the country and especially to the theatre world (sic)." Check out its tweet here -

NSD Family deeply mourn passing away of Theatre Legend, Padma Vibhushan Shri #EbrahimAlkazi, Ex Director of NSD from 1962-77. This is a great loss to the country and specially to the Theatre World.@nirupamakotru @MinOfCultureGoI pic.twitter.com/s5vpoSXmqe

— National School of Drama (@nsd_india) August 4, 2020

Alkazi, who was born in Pune, trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London, and produced and directed a wide range of plays in Mumbai and Delhi. He was still in his twenties when he received awards such as the British Drama League Award for Work of Outstanding Merit, and the BBC Award for Broadcasting. Later, he was honoured with the Kalidas Award, the Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan, and Padma Vibhushan.