Theatre, which was a weapon to protest against the British colonialism later, gained a contemporary shape amidst the artistry of the modern Indian theatre, which developed as an effort to illustrate the varied colors of daily life. The history of Indian drama holds the fact that the marked change in the socio political settings of independent India aided in the development of the modern Indian theatre which was not only contemporary in its stylistic approach but at the same time was an effort of bringing out the socio political and economic issues of great importance. Although the very kernel of the contemporary theatre form in Indian drama was sown during the British period however it is only after the independence of India, the very form of the modern Indian theatre acquired that modish articulation. Theatre under British Raj was only an illustration of the frustration against British colonialism and therefore became the portrayal of the pain and agony of the common people and the working class. That was just the beginning of a new form of Indian theatre, which later marked the Indian Natya as a superior artistic form of sheer majesty.

In the British era, the harmonious blend of Indian and western philosophy teamed with the practicality and originality of London theatre gave birth to a rather contemporary form of theatre; hence emerged this modern Indian theatre as a creative art form. The objective was to protest against the British exploitation so the drama form was typically a narration of the daily event and of the Indian social life of the oppressed common people. That was the beginning of a particular kind of theatre, which after independence gained rather an up to date facet. It was right after the independence of India, Indian "natya" was restructured to befit the demand of the era. A notable change was marked not only in the socio political level but also, the wide-ranging facets of Indian drama went through a massive alteration and slowly the diverse traditional aspects of "roopaka" and "natya", "rasas" and "mudraas" were modernized to a great extent. The exaggerated dramatic aspects were rationalized; even the illustration from the eposes and myths were also streamlined; gone are the days of the Gothic interpretation of an age old theatre form as Indian theatre then underwent through a colossal change. Contemporary or the modern Indian theatre of the late 19th and early 20th century became a standard form in illustrating the social condition of independent India. Focus was shifted from the presentation of the dramatic aspect, which was once larger than life to a rather realistic and naturalistic presentation whilst reflecting the authentic aura of the contemporary dramatic pattern. Not only in the style, the themes of the Indian drama also witnessed a marked change and gradually became the blue print of the life of the common people.

Various theatre groups were also formed to take the ardent fervor of the modern India theatre to the next level of maturity. Apart from Bengali, Marathi and Hindi, Kannada, , Urdu, Oriya and English drama did also evolve to add further dimension to the varied aspect of the modern Indian theatre.

Finally it is with the introduction of the Indian street theatre, modern Indian theatre crossed all the barriers and reached the heart of the common people from almost every socio-economic class of the Indian society. Modern Indian theatre in the recent era is therefore just not the unification of timber, dance, song and dialogues but has a deeper connotation. It is an effort of conveying a meaning, an attempt in portraying the ailments of the society in the most practical way. In the recent days the very aspect of the modern Indian theatre is offered a fresh facet with the harmonization of the multi lingual and multi religious aspects teamed with the techniques of the traditional theatre in order to reflect the contemporary attribute and to focus the elements of social criticism to a great extent. Quite ideally therefore modern Indian theatre has developed as the "total theatre" whilst reverberating the authenticity of the contemporaneousness in Indian drama.