URMIL KUMAR THAPALIYAL
Akademi Award: Direction

Born in 1943 in the village of Dhaudhan Mason in the Garhwal hills of present-day Uttarakhand, Shri Urmil Kumar Thapaliyal began his career in theatre as an actor in Ramlilas staged in Dehradun and adjoining areas. He learnt Garhwali and Kumaoni folk music during his formative years as an actor-director. He is the founder-director of Darpan, a theatre group of Lucknow.

Shri Thapaliyal has directed around a hundred and forty plays for Darpan and other groups, moulding traditional theatre forms in his productions. Among notable plays written and directed by him are Harishchanner ki Ladai, Nagri Nautanki, Choon-choon ka Murabba, Barkha Bahar, Mahasati, Ladkiyan, Ek
Chawanni Chandi ki, Shaheedon ne Lau Lagai Jo, Pyare Harichand ki Kahani Rah Jayegi, and Bhaunri Katha — all produced in the manner of Nautanki. He has also directed plays by other leading dramatists such as Kisi ek Phool ka Naam Lo written by Madhu Rye, Soorya ki Antim Kiran se Soorya ki Pahli Kiran Tak by Surendra Verma, Sooryast by Jayavant Dalvi, and Kamla by Vijay Tendulkar. In earlier years he wrote and directed a number of dance-dramas for Kathak Kendra at Lucknow. His significant contribution lies, however, in giving a new lease of life to traditional theatre forms such as Nautanki, Swang and Bhagat.

Shri Thapaliyal has been a prolific writer. Besides drama, he has written stories, plays and satire published in Hans, Saptahik Hindustan, Dharmayug, and other Hindi periodicals. He has also written columns in newspapers including Hindustan and Rashtriya Sahara, as well as a number of radio and television scripts. He has worked as Chief News Reader at the Lucknow station of All India Radio. For his varied work in the field of theatre, Shri Thapaliyal
has been honoured with an Award and also a Fellowship by the Uttar Pradesh Sangeet Natak Akademi.

Shri Urmil Kumar Thapaliyal receives the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for his contribution to Indian theatre as a director.