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Journalism of Courage
SHE8217;s surrounded by opened trunks, bulky envelopes and black 8217;n8217; white photographs. Sorting the pile around her, before rushing off to Delhi, Sanjna Kapoor8217;s in the midst of putting together next month8217;s national festival, celebrating 25 years of Prithvi Theatre.
But a chance picture allows a slip into Nostalgia Lane. 8220;I8217;ve been reading books on both my grandparents Prithviraj Kapoor and the Kendals, Geoffrey and Laura, chancing upon old letters, photographs. I8217;ve even found writings by Mulk Raj Anand and Zohra Sehgal, on the old Prithvi Theatres8230;8221; she trails off, 8220;Their lives were so romantic: travelling, living together, obsessed with theatre. It8217;s the life I would8217;ve loved to have.8221;
Kapoor8217;s out to turn the treasure trove of history and nostalgia into an organised archive. 8220;We want to create a collage that works visually, maybe even get it published,8221; she reveals, gazing at a yellowed photograph of young Jennifer Kendal. 8220;There are so many anecdotes even Dad didn8217;t know. Like why Papaji8217;s Prithviraj company was called Prithvi Theatres, in plural. He hoped to set up theatres all over the country,8221; she smiles, before agonising over another misplaced find: handwritten pages from the log of 15-year-old stage manager Shashi Kapoor, critiquing a Prithviraj production.
8220;I always thought my mother was set upon the current theatre on the land Papaji had leased. But I found a letter to her sister saying, 8216;Shashi8217;s gone mad, he wants to build a theatre.8217; It was, after all, his father8217;s dream,8221; she says, about the theatre which was finally set up in 8217;78. Referring to how Raj, Shammi and Shashi are associated only with the silver screen, she points out, 8220;They all travelled with their father. Raj Kapoor was a brilliant technician and did a lot of the music, which Dad8217;s now planning to release. And there was this time Shammi Uncle shouted away a crowd of angry students in Calcutta, without raising a finger,8221; she says, tales tumbling over each other.
8220;Earlier, this Juhu site was all jungle, we8217;d come here for school picnics,8221; recalls Kapoor, who used to pore over the architectural plans as a kid. 8220;But I don8217;t remember any plays. They would stretch beyond my bedtime and the back rows were usually empty. So I8217;d stretch out and sleep!8221; And she insists that the first festival, in 8217;83, remains the best. 8220;It was the first time I was really involved, at 15, the lowest of low volunteers. But Mom had this amazing ability to make people feel terrific,8221; she says, 8220;Besides, the theatre groups treated it like their festival. In five years, they8217;d created a theatrical atmosphere enough to celebrate.8221;
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I don8217;t recall any plays from when I was a kid. They were past my bed-time. So I used to stretch out on the empty back rows and fall asleep
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As for her own involvement: 8220;My problem8217;s that, in my mother8217;s womb, I only learnt how to get into the Chakravyu, not the way out. I8217;d no doubt about the intention of my grandparents and my parents8217; passion for this precious little space.8221; Of course, running the theatre for 13 years has resulted in a very frustrated performer. 8220;I8217;ve always wanted to act. But it8217;s a full-time job. I can8217;t call myself an actor till I give it all my heart8212;and time. I wish both my babies would grow up and leave home!8221; she mock-moans. 8220;I want my son to be a circus performer. I8217;ve always longed to be a trapeze artist and Dad would take me to the circus every birthday. I never learnt the ropes but my baby8217;s already climbing walls,8221; she chuckles.
Her first baby8217;s done some climbing too. It has come a long way since theatre groups had to accost people on the streets and Naseeruddin Shah performed to an audience of three people! But now, the summer children8217;s workshops are chock-a-block 8220;and soon we8217;ll have a knowledgeable theatre audience that throws shoes at bad actors8221;. The gallery8217;s got a new lease of life, and tie-ups with other galleries, like Sakshi, are underway. Then there are 8220;pipe dreams8221; of a library, a riyaz centre and a permanent repertory company.
But, for the moment, it8217;s the festival that demands her attention. Apart from stagings from groups across the country, a five-day forum will unfold too. 8220;We hope to create national alliances, so the isolated theatre community can at least share passion, conversation and efforts to improve quality,8221; she explains, 8220;And the barter8217;s easy: your soul will belong to us8212;it8217;s a small price to pay!8221;
