Kavasji Palanji Khatau, also spelled Cowasji Palanji Khatao, (1857 – 16 August 1916) was a singer, actor, director, and owner of a Parsi theatre company, who started his career with the Empress Victoria Theatrical Company. Despite opposition from his employers, he introduced Mary Fenton, his wife and the first Anglo-Indian actress, to the stage. This led him to start his own company, the Alfred Theatre Company, where he, his wife, and other actors had successful careers.

Life

Khatau was born into a poor Parsi family in 1857, and brought up in a house opposite the Dukkar Bazar (pig market) in the Dhobi Talao area of Bombay (now Mumbai). He was an avid reader in childhood and could read and recite Shakespeare's plays. He started acting in 1875 and subsequently caught the attention of Jehangir Pestonjee Khambatta, who owned the Empress Victoria Theatrical Company. Khatau joined the Company in 1877 following which Khambatta taught him stagecraft. Khatau was rehearsing for his play '' Inder Sabha'' when Mary Fenton, a daughter of an Irish soldier in the British Indian Army, had come to book the hall for her

magic lantern The magic lantern, also known by its Latin name , is an early type of image projector that used pictures—paintings, prints, or photographs—on transparent plates (usually made of glass), one or more lenses, and a light source. Because a sin ...

show. She admired his acting, met him, fell in love and finally married him. Fenton subsequently adopted the Parsi name of Mehrbai. Khatau then trained her in singing and acting in the 1870s. Fenton created a sensation in the theatre due to her talent and relationship with Khatau. However, a dispute arose between Khatau and Khambatta regarding her entry into theatre. Khatau therefore left Bombay for Delhi and joined the Alfred Theatre Company, owned by Manek Master who also opposed Fenton. As a consequence, in 1881, Khatau left and started his own Alfred Theatre Company with others, following which Fenton had a long and successful career. It was later renamed the New Alfred Company. Fenton and Khatau later separated. They had a son Jahangir Khatau who took over the Company and kept it operational until 1932. Fenton acted in Nanabhai Ranina's ''Nazan Shirin'' (1881), Bamanji Kabra's ''Bholi Gul'' (Innocent Flower, 1882, based on Ellen Wood's English novel ''

East Lynne ''East Lynne'' is an English sensation novel of 1861 by Ellen Wood, writing as Mrs Henry Wood. A Victorian best-seller, it is remembered chiefly for its elaborate and implausible plot, centring on infidelity and double identities. There have ...

''), Agha Hasan Amanat's Urdu opera '' Inder Sabha'', Khambatta's ''Khudadad'' (The Gift of God, 1898, based on Shakespeare's '' Pericles, Prince of Tyre)'', ''Gamde ni Gori'' (Village Nymph, 1890), ''Alauddin'' (1891), ''Tara Khurshid'' (1892), ''Kaliyug'' (1895) and

Kalidasa Kālidāsa (''fl.'' 4th–5th century CE) was a Classical Sanskrit author who is often considered ancient India's greatest poet and playwright. His plays and poetry are primarily based on the Vedas, the Rāmāyaṇa, the Mahābhārata and ...

's Sanskrit play ''

Shakuntala Shakuntala (Sanskrit: ''Śakuntalā'') is the wife of Dushyanta and the mother of Emperor Bharata. Her story is told in the '' Adi Parva'' of the ancient Indian epic ''Mahabharata'' and dramatized by many writers, the most famous adaption bein ...

''; many produced by his Alfred Company. The Alfred Company had several popular actors like Sohrabji Oghra,

Amrit Keshav Nayak Amrit Keshav Nayak (14 April 1877 – 18 July 1907) was a Parsi theatre actor-director, lyricist and Gujarati author. He joined theatre at early age and later directed several plays including adaptations of plays of Shakespeare. He wrote plays an ...

, and Vallabh Keshav Nayak who performed adaptations of Shakespeare's plays. Syed Mehdi Hasan Ahsan's ''Khun-e-Nahaq'' (Unjustified Murder, 1898, based on '' Hamlet'') brought Khatau recognition and he came to be known as "India's

Irving Irving may refer to: People *Irving (name), including a list of people with the name Fictional characters * Irving, the main character's love interest in Cathy (comic strip) * Lloyd Irving, the main protagonist in the ''Tales of Symphonia'' vide ...

" by viewers. At one time he managed and significantly influenced Narayan Prasad Betab, a future prominent Parsi playwright. He was also a musician and his songs for ''Alibaba'' became popular. He was honoured for his contribution to Gujarati and Urdu theatre in 1908. He died on 16 August 1916 on a tour in Lahore.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Khatau, Kavasji Palanji Indian male stage actors Indian theatre directors Indian male dramatists and playwrights Indian male musical theatre actors Gujarati theatre 1856 births 1916 deaths Parsi people 20th-century Indian dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Indian male actors People from Mumbai Urdu theatre 19th-century Indian male actors