Nuruddin Ahmed
An Assamese sculptor and set designer who has designed sets for over 450 mobile theatre plays and 75 films, honoured with the Padma Shri in 2026.
Nuruddin Ahmed has spent nearly fifty years building the sets for Assam’s famous mobile theatre and its films. In 2026 he was named for the Padma Shri in the field of art, from Assam [1].
Training
Ahmed was born on 1 December 1959 in Sathikuchi, Nalbari district [2]. He studied at the JJ School of Art in Mumbai and learned new sculpture techniques at the Lalit Kala Akademi’s Garhi studios in New Delhi [2]. He started out as a teacher at the Lakhimpur art school [2].
Stage and screen
He has designed sets for more than 450 mobile theatre productions by leading groups, and has done art direction for about 5,600 plays [2]. In cinema he has been art director on 75 films in Assamese, Hindi, Bengali and Khasi, including Agnisnan and the National Award winner Halodhia Choraye Baodhan Khai [2].
Monumental work
In 2017 he entered the Limca Book of Records for building what was listed as the world’s largest Durga idol, made of bamboo [2]. He has designed stage work for the National Games (2007), the South Asian Games (2016) and Republic Day tableaux [2]. He designed the textile gallery at Srimanta Sankaradeva Kalakshetra and has made many statues of Assam’s cultural icons [2].
He received the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 2017 [2].
Sources
- [1] Padma Awards 2026: list of awardees — Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. Accessed 11 October 2026.
- [2] Padma Awards 2026 investiture ceremony brochure: citation for Nuruddin Ahmed — Press Information Bureau, Government of India. Accessed 12 October 2026.
Last updated . First draft prepared with AI assistance; reviewed and fact-checked by a person before publishing. Report a correction
