Theater in India is as old as the history of Indian culture. Indian theater, which was primarily used as an instrument for protest against British colonialism later gained a much contemporary diction with time. Calcutta which happens to be the cultural hub of India played a great role in shaping the literary heritage of India and the preliminary platform was definitely the Bengali Theater. For the greater intention of carrying theater to further level of maturity a number of theater hall was established out of which Star Theater, Calcutta is definitely one of the most prominent one. It was in the year 1883, Bengali theater gained a marked diction with the establishment of Star theater by the eminent art lover Mr. Gurmukh Roy. Although fervent art lovers of Calcutta did propose to name the theater hall after the name of the famous theater actress "Nati Binodini" however, the suggestion was turned down and it was named as the "Star theater, Calcutta".
The rich timeline of Bengali theater unfolds the saga that this Star theater was one of the the first professional stage of Bengali theater. Although Bengal theater hall, Great National Theater Hall and Bina theater hall was already there yet it is with the commencement of the Star Theater, the very creativity, verve and passion of Bengali Theater gained a definite dimension.
It was the 21st day of july 1883 and is indeed a red letter day in the history of Bengali theater. On this particular day Star Theater was inagurated with the staging of "Daksha Jagna" under the apt guidance of the great theater personality, Girish Chandra Ghosh. That was just the beginning of the voyage and in course of time Star Theater, Calcutta did witness several changes of proprietorship. The theater hall experienced a lot of alteration and was revamped a number of times in order to befit the aesthetic requirement as well as to suit the demand of the artistic minds.
It gave birth to a number of talent. All the well known directors, actors, actresses, lightman were once a part of this historical theater hall. The year was 1931 and the date was 1st March- on this day the last play of "Manmath`s Roy`s" , " Karagar" was staged. After that no lights were illuminated; not for a single time the screen was up lifted and star theater was being closed down. The history came to an end.
