Come November, and theatre buffs will flock to Prithvi Theatre, built by actors Shashi and Jennifer Kapoor in memory of Prithviraj Kapoor, stalwart of Hindustani theatre, to enjoy the annual festival that starts on November 3, the latter’s birth anniversary. It will be two weeks of celebration when plays, musical programmes, dance recitals and story-telling will keep viewers enthralled. Altogether, a packed schedule, with varied fare appealing to different tastes.
Needless to say, a lot of hard work goes into putting it together. The man at the helm is Prithviraj Kapoor’s grandson, Kunal Kapoor. Deciding what will be staged, fine-tuning the programmes, providing the facilities required, coordinating with theatre groups, dancers, musicians, the media and countless other people, is no easy task. Continuing the tradition started by his parents more than forty years ago is indeed commendable! We do a quick interview with him, in the midst of the hustle and bustle preceding the grand event, which begins on November 3.
Excerpts from the interview:
There are a large number of Hindi and Hindustani plays this year…
That has always been the case because my grandfather, Prithviraj Kapoor, was a doyen of Hindustani theatre which he promoted across the length and breadth of the country with his travelling troupe. It is a legacy we have inherited and want to keep alive.
Interestingly, there are four productions using the centuries’ old dastangoi form.
That is a coincidence. But it is interesting how this traditional form will be used in some of the productions to tell stories as varied as Alice in Wonderland and Geetanjali Shree’s Ret-Samadhi whose English translation, Tomb of Sand, won a Booker prize.
There is an adaptation of a Hollywood film as well!
Yes, Akarsh Khurana will be staging It’s A Wonderful Life, an adaptation of the 1946 classic Christmas movie by Frank Capra.
Many regulars at the festival every year, like directors Naseeruddin Shah and Makarand Deshpande, will be staging shows this year as well. Can you name some of the directors who will be showcasing their talent at the festival for the first time this year?
Divya Jagdale, Mahmood Farooqui, Rukhmini Vijayakumar and most of those performing at Prithvi House where there will be 16 Fringe productions. Feroz Abbas Khan will make a comeback to the festival after many years with Hind, a Hindi version of August Wilson’s Pulitzer prize winning play Fences, with Sachin Khedekar playing a disillusioned patriarch.
Can you name some of the upcoming talent who will perform at Prithvi House, in the Fringe section?
There is writer-director Lovely Raj who will stage Aham Murakami in Hindi, English and a bit of Japanese. Bhavya Rampal will put up Annie Zaidi’s Jam. Writer Gagan Dev Riar’s Sarenta will be directed by Bhagyashree Tarke. The Fringe section gives an opportunity to small groups to express their talent before avid theatre lovers.
Why did you decide to open this year’s festival with a qawalli show?
It’s a good way to celebrate. In the past, we have had Sufi, Folk, Classical programmes on our opening night.
Apart from this, can you elaborate on the other musical events of the festival?
Louiz Banks will be presenting Jazz@Prithvi with three other pianists for the grand finale of the festival. There will be C. R. Vyas’ Bandishes at 7.30 in the morning for Udayswar@Prithvi, in its ninth year. Symphony Orchestra of India will put up SOI@Prithvi which will be western classical music with a special focus on works by Sibelius, Vivaldi, Bizet and Mozart. The evening will include Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 21, in C major, by 10-year-old Ayaan Deshpande who is a student of SOI’s Music Academy.
You have an evening of dance as well…
Yes, there is Abducted, a dance recital by Rukmini Vijayakumar, critiquing the objectification of women and the treating of their bodies as commodities.
For some years now, your son Zahan and daughter Shaira have been actively involved in organising the festival. Who does what?
Zahan looks after the social media content, video and still photography. Shaira, who is a Production Designer, oversees the décor and look of the venue. Both have a team of young boys and girls assisting them, who in turn are supervised by Lalit Sathe and Sanjay Pawar.
When does the discussion about the festival start at the dinner table?
It never ends; therefore there is no beginning!
What is the feeling when it is over?
Relief and exhaustion!
