Experience the spirit of Prithvi in Dubai

Dubai's cultural calendar is experiencing a landmark event as Mumbai's iconic Prithvi Theatre comes to Dubai for the first time for a five-day festival

FOR THEATRE LOVERS, Prithvi theatre is the nerve center of Mumbai's throbbing theatre scene. It is a haven for struggling young actors, producers and playwrights in India. They just come there and hang around, they look for work, they put platform performance in the café and the management encourages this kind of activity. This passion project of Prithviraj Kapoor started in 1944. However, the theatre was shut down for a short while due to his failing health. After his death in 1972, his son Shashi Kapoor along with his wife Jennifer Kapoor took over the responsibility of renovating the theatre in his memory. And they successfully ended up revitalising Indian theatre.
For the first time ever, Prithvi Theatre has come to Dubai thanks to Raging Tiger Events Co. They have plans to make this an annual event, eventually inviting theatre personalities from across the world to participate in Dubai. The 5-day festival showcases a selection of exciting productions performed at Prithvi Theatre by some of their regular theatre groups. The festival which began last night with Naseeruddin Shah and Ratna Pathak's King Lear will continue until Sunday, May 1. The highlight of the event will be the inclusion of celebrated personalities like Naseeruddin, Shabana Azmi and Javed Akhtar who have been with Prithvi Theatre since its beginning and belong to the Prithvi fraternity. We had a fun session with Naseeruddin, Ratna, Rishi and Kunal Kapoor who were in Dubai on Tuesday to promote the festival of plays.
Naseer and Ratna's love corner
It is easy to notice how graceful and beautiful 59-year-old Ratna Pathak Shah looks. We had the opportunity to enjoy this wonderful tête-à-tête between the husband and wife duo after we asked her the secret of ageing so gracefully.
NASEER: Me, Me. I am the reason!
Ratna: Yes definitely, it's him and also happiness. I have had so much  fun in my life and why should it not show in my face?
Naseer, have you seen her last film Kapoor & Sons?
Naseer: Oh yes, I loved it. In fact, it is one of the rare Indian movies where the performances are excellent across the board. Otherwise, one sees a couple of good pieces of acting but here starting with Rishi Kapoor, Siddharth Malhotra, Fawad Khan, Alia Bhatt, all of them were wonderful. And Ratna was terrific.
Ratna, have you seen his forthcoming film Waiting?
Ratna: Yes. It is so beautiful and so different. It is lovely because in the last 4-5 months such variety of films are coming out which are interesting in their own way. You should also see my other film called Nil Battey Sannata.
Naseer: Maybe Indian films are growing up at last and more and more women are making movies. Today in every department of filmmaking, you see females - be it camera, editors, photographers, writing, producing, assistants. It is fantastic.
Can you tell us more about the journey of Prithvi over the years?
NASEER: Nobody had much hope from Prithvi when it was built. In fact, many mocked the idea of having a 200-seater theatre. I too had doubts that Jennifer and Shashi (Kapoor) had invested so much money and love that I was worried for them. Initially, not too many people would there but it survived for 36 years now and it's getting better every day.
'I am too expensive to play a regular father'
THE MOST OUTSPOKEN man from the Kapoor family, Rishi Kapoor started the conversation by saying he regrets not exploring theatre apart from doing a small cameo on stage when he was a little child. But he was more than happy to share his love for Dubai with us."I have been coming to Dubai since 1977. I actually celebrated my 60th birthday in Dubai. That's the love and affection that I have for Dubai." He also told us why the Kapoor family is all about food.

Were you anticipating so much love for your last film Kapoor & Sons?
All my hard work and the torture of sitting and doing make up for five and a half hours every day for a month and one hour to remove it paid off. There was a lot of hard work but no one was complaining because you are meant to do hard work.

At 64, are you still getting good movie offers?
No. Right now, I am a jobless actor. Hopefully now I expect writers to write good parts for me. I don't want to play a father of my age, I am too expensive and also, I am not cut for that. I have done a variety of roles and even my look has been different in Patiala House, Do Dooni Chaar, Agneepath where I played the baddie, Luck By Chance, Fanaa, Hum Tum or Kapoor & Sons. Few turkeys and few successful films but that's okay because in this industry sometimes you do films to oblige people but when those films don't work, it's a double sorrow. I just have one film with Parel Rawal in the coming days.

When Kapoor family meet for festivals and functions, do you discuss movies?
We discuss food! When I just walked in here, Kunal was telling me how he met his Goan friend from Dubai who makes the best shrimp in this city. So Kapoors are always talking about food. On breakfast we discuss what we are having for lunch, at lunch we discuss what we are having for dinner. We never carry our work home.
On a serious note, we are all individuals. We all take pride in being whatever we are in the industry of our forefathers. From my grandfather Prithviraj to Raj to Rishi to Ranbir, this is the fourth generation of male actors, which is a world record in itself. My grandfather started his career in 1931, so it's 85-86 years of the Kapoor legacy. Indian film industry is 100 years old in which Kapoor family contributed for that many years. 
Kunal Kapoor tells us why young breed of actors are the best ones
"You have this new breed of actors who are very clear on acting on stage. For example,  Jim Sarbh who is in The Glass Menagerie, he did a film called Neerja recently and he got a lot of attention. He is shooting in Budapest right now but he is actually flying down at his own expense. He will arrive in the UAE at 5am, will perform his play, drive one hour to Abu Dhabi to catch his flight next morning at 1.30am to go back to Budapest to shoot his film the next morning. This shows his dedication towards his craft."
 
Magic of Prithvi Café in Dubai
There are lots of people who come to Prithvi just to eat in the café. Prithvi is popular for its Irish coffee, brownie, and samosas. To really recreate the Prithvi vibe in Dubai, DUCTAC has been transformed to capture the essence of the popular theatre, replete with Cutting Chai, Irish Coffee and vada pav.
arti@khaleejtimes.com
Don't miss the free stuff

Some of India's finest actors and directors will talk about their work, their journey, their aspirations and theatre before their shows every day at 7pm and on Sunday at 11pm. Don't miss the opportunity to get insight into the lives of Sonali Kulkarni, Milind Pathak, Vinay Pathak, Rajat Kapoor, Shernaz Patel, Rajit Kapur, Shabana Azmi and Javed Akhtar. It's limited seating, so go well before time.

Schedule

White Lily and Night Rider with Sonali Kulkarni, Milind Pathak and others on Thursday, April 28
Nothing Like Lear with Vinay Pathak on Friday, April 29

The Glass Menagerie with Shernaz Patel and Jim Sarbh on Saturday, April 30

Kaifi aur Main with Shabana Azmi and Javed Akhtar on Sunday, May 1st

(Naseeruddin Shah and Ratna Pathak Shah performed King Lear on Wednesday)

For more info on the Prithvi Theatre in Dubai, contact renu@ragingtiger.com or call 04 4179427