ABSTRACT
UNLIKE HANDKE, HASHMI FAV0RS conjoining street and institutional theatre, hoping to provide a performative alternative to what he decries as the mediocre films dominating Indian popular culture. Hashmi situates Indian street theatre in the tradition of agit-prop, with its working-class protagonist, commitment to socialism as the political solution, and adaptation of popular cultural traditions. The militant aspect of agitprop, too, was tragically present in Indian street theatre; Hashmi was murdered by his adversaries while performing in the street.
