Bollywood Gallery #8 - Page 29

T here are two occasions at the 29-year-old Prithvi Theatre when Hindi drama groups and audiences assemble — in memory of Jennifer Kapoor's birth anniversary on Februrary 28, and on the anniversary of the the- atre on November 3 to commemo- rate Prithviraj Kapoor's birthday. On Jennifer's birthday, tabla maestro Zakir Hussain performs and designs a concert, amd makes it a memorable evening. Since 1984 (with just one drop-out), the Zakir concert has become a tradition. It is an evening to remember Jennifer whose contribution to the Prithvi and the city's theatre culture has been incalculable. Which is why, nearly a quarter of a century after her death, everyone from veterans like Satyadev Dubey, Dinesh Thakur, Om Katare, Ila Arun and Lillete Dubey, to the relatively younger theatre personalities like Makarand Deshpande, Vikram Kapadia, Jaimini Pathak and Shiv Subrahmaniam turn up infallibly at the concert and then the dinner at the caf. Shashi Kapoor and kids Kunal and Sanjna playing gracious hosts. Shabana Azmi, Javed Akhtar, Lara Dutta and Kelly Dorji were present too this year. Sanjna Kapoor, who now man- ages the theatre, recalls that it was during the making of Heat and Dust in Hyderabad that Jennifer and Zakir struck up a friendship of the mutual adoration variety. Jennifer had always wanted Zakir to perform at Prithvi. After her death in 1983, the annual Prithvi Festival was postponed to February '84. Zakir asked if there was something he could do. "You don't say something like that to my family unless you mean it," laughs Sanjna. Since then, Zakir has per- formed at the Prithvion February 28, every year. Every time he selects unusual performers to accompany him and make the concert unique. Remarks Sanjna, "He designs the evening and there are always marvellous surprises. One has seen him per- form so many times and he is always wonderful… but at Prithvi he is mind-blowing. The baithak scenario is so beautiful, I wish more musicians would perform at Prithvi, our acoustics are fantastic. I wish jazz musicians would come and jam at least once a month." The concert is packed to the ceil- ing every year; those who can't get into the 200-seater, watch the show 'live' on large video screens placed close to the caf. The evening indicates that the Prithvi could become a mecca for classical and free form music. "My dad (Shashi Kapoor) remembers places like Bombelli's at Breach Candy which would have live jazz performances in the 1960s. Now everyone is so busy that the tradition of caf music is almost dead.. which is such a pity," says Sanjna. "I would be delighted to throw Prithvi open for intimate music concerts.. it's wonderful how Zakir's performance on mum's birthday pulls everyone together. And the audience keeps coming back year after year." Prithvi is the only space in the city that is run with a personalised touch—which is why watching a show or just hanging out at the caf is a must for any culture afi- cionado. It's not as if other the- atres in the city don't have the space or personnel, they just don't have the will to reach out to audi- ences with such warmth. For years, Prithvi has the same watchman, the same ushers, the same caterer – anyone who works there usually just stays.. which gives the place a sense of timeless- ness. The older groups that perform at Prithvi still have a following. Per- haps what hasn't quite worked late- ly is audience loyalty to the rela- tively younger groups. "Very few new groups perform consistently," admits Sanjna. "After Makarand Deshpande, there was a gap for a while. There is younger talent like Jaimini Pathak, Ramu Ramanathan, Shiv Subrahmaniam, Vikram Kapadia, but they perform on and off, so they haven't developed the kind of following the older groups did—you can only do that if you are regular. (The group) Rage has a following I think, the Writers' Bloc does too. We are working on our date allocations and resched- uling things." "There was a time when we had these stands displaying posters and information about various groups and plays. Once these fell apart, we've been wanting to replace the stands.. but in vain. We hope to bring them back soonest.. so when people walk into the the- atre they have an overview of what's happening. The quality of posters is getting so much better, we must display them. In the tiny space we have, we must do as much as we can." Sanjna and her team keep exper- imenting with ideas-- like the recent poetry festival, regular readings and the lately started film shows. She believes that to attract the new generation, the groups have to work hard too. "They can't just place an ad in the papers and think that's it. An ad is the least of the things that can be done. So much more needs to be done to reach out to the audi- ence. The groups have to do a real- ity check on who they are and what they are capable of." As always, Sanjna's sense of adventure gets the better of cau- tion. She has already announced a Festival of Musicals for the Prithvi fest this year-end. Various groups are scrambling to put together musicals and find singers and musicians. She wonders how it will work out. "Yes," she laughs that robust Kapoor laugh, "You bet there will be suprises."

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