It is a familiar sight whenever one enters the Prithvi Theater courtyard. Out front, a blackboard announces the day’s schedule, along with the schedule for the remaining days of the week. On the right, the café is buzzing with youngsters chatting about cinema, cricket or the coastal road. An hour before any show, a winding queue forms to the left of the entrance, as theater lovers arrive early for a good seat. Some people browse at the bookstore.

Located in a posh area of ​​Juhu, Mumbai, Prithvi has carved its own niche on the Indian cultural map over the years. Since the auditorium was established in 1978, it has been the launch pad or grooming ground for many theater personalities. Kunal Kapoor, who runs it, says the following has grown over the years. “Today, the audience is younger, and the number of shows has increased. Apart from plays, we also have monthly shows for dance performances as well as Indian and Western classical music and jazz,” he says.

glorious history

The venue is gearing up for its annual Prithvi Theater Festival to be held from 3 to 18 November. This year, the festival includes theater performances, three concerts and a dance recital (see box).

Shashi Kapoor and his wife Jennifer who launched Prithvi Theatre. , Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

The venue has an illustrious history, as it was founded on the legacy of two repertory theater companies – Prithviraj Kapoor’s Prithvi Theaters and Geoffrey and Laura Kendall’s Shakespeareana. When Prithviraj Kapoor died in 1972, his son Shashi Kapoor purchased the leased land on which the repertory storage shed stood. Determined to create a permanent theater venue, Shashi and his wife Jennifer brought in architect Ved Segan. The result was a unique auditorium with seating on three sides, providing a perfect view of the stage from any position. Even the acoustics were planned in such a way that one could hear the faintest whisper from the last row. “Old theaters in the West were designed this way, and the effort was to ensure that the actors were not cut off from the audience,” says Kunal, Jennifer and Shashi’s eldest son.

well received drama

Prithvi Theater was inaugurated on 5 November 1978 with a Hindi production by GP Deshpande Udhavasta DharamshalaDirected by Om Puri and starring Naseeruddin Shah, Rohini Hattangadi and Neelam Mansingh Choudhary. Political satire of MS Sathyu goat Soon Motley, the theater company started by Naseeruddin Shah and Benjamin Gilani, staged English plays by Samuel Beckett. waiting for godotThe story is that Naseeruddin was never interested in this Godot As they thought it was too obscure, but over the years, it became one of the most loved dramas on earth.

Kunal Kapoor with his son Zahaan at Prithvi Theatre. Photo Credits: Courtesy: Prithvi Theater

In the 1980s, the place became a haunt for directors and actors. Satyadev Dubey, Firoz Abbas Khan, Akash Khurana, Nadira Zaheer Babbar, Pankaj Kapur, Paresh Rawal, Shafi Inamdar, Dinesh Thakur, Arundhati Nag, Tom Alter and Bhakti Barve were among the regulars. Firoz Abbas Khan says, “It became a community. I was inspired by Jennifer Kapoor’s vision and dedication and meeting her was a turning point.” Describing Prithvi as the beating heart of theater in Mumbai, Motley Fool’s Ratna Pathak Shah says it has helped in increasing the viewership. “Earlier, the audience was small. Now almost every show is housefull,” she adds.

The first generation of theater groups included Satyadev Dubey’s Theater Unit, Indian People’s Theater Association, Om Katare’s Yatri, Nadira Zaheer Babbar’s Ekjut, Om Puri’s Majma, Dinesh Thakur’s Ank and Gujarati theater personality Mahendra Joshi’s Avantar. Although audiences initially preferred comedies and lighter subjects, the demand for serious and experimental theater increased after the establishment of the venue. To commemorate the completion of five years of Prithvi, a theater festival was started in 1983. It also included a café and a bookstore.

“Theatre programming doesn’t require arithmetic. A lot of it has to do with emotion. But we try to move with the times.”Kunal KapoorJennifer and Shashi’s eldest son

The mission continues

Jennifer Kapoor’s death on 7 September 1984 came as a major shock. Kunal, who took over, recalls, “I was with him in London during his last days. The first thing I did after his demise was to find a phone booth to call Firoz (Abbas Khan) and tell him that the show must go on. Before this, I was not actively involved in the group, but we had a family tradition of sitting together for breakfast and discussing things. This is where I came to know about the Earth. “Many predicted doom for the venue, but we continued in our mission.”

Once things got going, Kunal’s sister Sanjana took over the place until 2011, after which Kunal took over again. While the Prithvi Theater Festival will begin on Prithviraj Kapoor’s birthday on November 3, another regular event is held on Jennifer’s birthday on February 28, when tabla maestro Ustad Zakir Hussain performs with a changing line-up. This tradition continues even today.

Prithvi Auditorium with seating on three sides allows a perfect view of the stage from any location. , Photo Credit: Courtesy: Prithvi

By the 1990s, new names became regular. These included Sunil Shanbaug, Makarand Deshpande, Vikram Kapadia and Ramu Ramanathan and theater companies like Rage Productions and Platform. In 2000, veteran theater personality Akash Khurana and his son Akash formed Aquarius Productions to stage several plays on Prithvi. Manav Kaul gave a hit film in 2004 five grains of shekharAfter the lull during the pandemic, the place was back to normal. From last year, premieres include SiachenWritten by Aditya Rawal and directed by Makarand Deshpande, Hoshrubah Repertory I am a poet of every momentDirected by and starring Danish Hussain and based on the work of poet-lyricist Sahir Ludhianvi and a Motley production old WorldDirected by Arghya Lahiri and starring Naseeruddin and Ratna Pathak Shah.

Kunal says that since the beginning the venue has been flooded with requests for dates. He further says, “We go by our inner feeling. Theater programming doesn’t require arithmetic. A lot of it has to do with emotions. But we try to move with time. Today, my children Zahaan and Shayra are actively connected with Prithvi, and they know how to use social media, which I don’t,” he says.

expanding the repertoire

To broaden his repertoire in the last decade, Prithvi started other events such as mehfils and open mics for café customers aimed at promoting Urdu culture. “Held once a month, Udayaswar, with event company Pancham Nishad, presents Hindustani classical morning ragas, and is packed at 7.30 in the morning,” says Kunal. Symphony Orchestra of India has an agreement with NCPA for show chamber music and monthly jazz. Brunch sessions designed by Luiz and Gino Banks have a dedicated audience.

Kunal agrees that many café customers do not necessarily want to participate in dramas. “But we make an effort. There are posters of our programs everywhere, and anyone can scan the program list on the tables. There are many people who come for both the theater and the snacks. If we can convert two or three out of 100 new customers who come to the café to be theater fans, we will be happy,” he says.

line up

4 and 5 November: Motley Ka Ek Dastan Ek Haqiqat, featuring Naseeruddin Shah and Ratna Pathak Shah.

9 and 10 November: Mahmood Farooqui’s Dastan-e-Ahwal-e-Kapoor (on Raj Kapoor) and Dastan Alice (adaptation of Alice in Wonderland).

11 November: Symphony Orchestra of India

November 13: Akarsh Khurana’s It’s a Wonderful Life

14 November: Makarand Deshpande’s drunkard

16 November: Firoz Abbas Khan’s Hind.

17 November: Udayaswar – Compositions of Pt. CR Vyas were presented by singers Aarti Unclekar Tikekar and Suresh Bapat.

November 18: Jazz performance by pianist Luiz Banks and his group

Apart from the main auditorium, Chhota Prithvi House will host select plays by emerging artists. A stage talk session with Pragya Tiwari, musical performances in the courtyard and screenings of UK national theater productions are also on the agenda.