As the Prithvi Festival opens today, old guns like Yatri, Ekjute, Motley and Ansh, bring fresh productions on stage theatre
(Clockwise) Heeba Shah, Ratna Pathak Shah and Vivaan Shah at play rehearsals
While streamers, lights and posters give the buzzing Prithvi Theatre a festive makeover, the spotlight turns on some of the biggest names in Indian theatre that will treat audiences to fresh productions at the 33-year-old festival. While young blood will be part of the fest as always, it’s the veterans who entice us with casting coups, interesting firsts and scripts that keep up with the times. Here’s a line-up of the stalwarts acts.
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A poster of Riding Madly Off In All Directions
A Motley bunch
Opening tomorrow, Motley’s latest production will star Naseeruddin Shah, Ratna Pathak Shah, Heeba Shah, Imaad Shah and Vivaan Shah. Riding Madly Off In All Directions is a continuation of Motley’s attempt to introduce literature on stage; this time in English. The script is a collage of stories by Stephen Leacock (1869-1944), a Canadian political scientist and teacher. “He was considered a humorist by economists and an economist by humorists,” says the senior Shah who has also directed the play. “I have always loved Stephen Leacock’s writing and was wanting to extend our storytelling repertoire into English as well. They are ruminations rather than stories and have no connection with each other, hence the title. The writing is from the late 19th and early 20th centuries but astonishing in its universality and prescience. It’s a collection of essays actually, but I felt they are very performable,” he adds. The group has earlier also performed Dear Liar written by George Bernard Shaw, which uses Old English.
A scene from Yatri’s Hum Paanch
Talking about having the family perform together for the first time, Shah says, “It was a brainwave! It was an excuse for all of us to spend more time together and gave me a chance to train the kids in theatre as well. But, working with the family was like working with any group of actors who love their jobs.” Since Motley tries to showcase a new production annually, this is the one for the coming year. The Shahs have had a long-standing relationship with Prithvi and look forward to the fest. “Any association with Prithvi is pleasurable. It is like home to many theatre folks. In our play Dear Liar, I am still wearing the costume that Mr and Mrs Kendall (Sanjna Kapoor’s maternal grandparents) presented to me,” he adds.
Nadira Babbar in Ekjute’s Meri Maa Ke Haath
The long Yatri
Theatre group Yatri that started in 1979, will present a play with an all-women cast, something they haven’t done before. “The story is about a single mom and her four daughters. The script is not typical, as the mother doesn’t talk about her struggle but just attempts to make her daughters strong enough to face the challenges in life. I wanted an all-woman backstage crew too but availability was a problem,” says director Om Katare. “The script is inspired by many news items that I have read recently, and stories of single mothers who I have interacted with. Things are not good for women these days. While many groups choose to present great literary works to fetch accolades in theatre, I think it’s important to use this medium to talk about problems that are relevant today,” he elaborates. While Katare admits that the audience at the festival is different from what it was earlier, he feels the change is for the better. “Kunal (Kapoor) made the café vibrant such that people who drop by to hang out can’t escape the vibe. They end up sampling some theatre in the process and then get addicted,” he shares.
A scene from Shakespearecha Mhatara
Ekjute’s 35-year affair
Nadira Babbar’s Ekjute, which recently completed its 35th year, will stage a new play, Meri Maa Ke Haath, at the festival. Directed by Makkarand Deshpande, the story is based on Babbar’s mother Razia Sajjad Zaheer’s life. A political worker, a social activist, an eminent Urdu writer and a professor in Lucknow University, Zaheer had a tough life. “I had been thinking about writing a play on her life for many years. I finally got around to writing two months ago. I wanted to do a new play for Prithvi and there can’t be a better place to tell this story than a big festival,” says Babbar. “Earlier, I wanted to direct it myself but I felt it was too personal. All children are attached to their mothers and she was a lovely person who led a difficult life. It’s about her childhood, how she grew up, got married and the challenges she faced post that. I thought I’d get emotional and too involved if I directed it. Makkarand is a friend and I have great respect for him as a director and luckily he agreed,” she adds. The play is also the first solo act by Babbar who will play both her mother as well as herself in the play. “I’m very involved with this production and very nervous too as I haven’t done this before. It’s good to have a stellar director. We have lighter moments at the rehearsal and laugh a lot which makes it easier,” shares Babbar. “Solo acts are most difficult. My biggest challenge was to decide which sections to retain. Suddenly, Nadira would tell me a story about her mom and I would be tempted to incorporate it as well. She is a powerful actress and manages to hold your attention throughout the 80-minute long play,” reveals Deshpande.
One Ansh at a time
Apart from directing Ekjute’s play, Deshpande will be directing and acting in his first Marathi play Shakespearecha Mhatara with Ansh, which will be their take on King Lear. “The story is set in two eras, the original one that Shakespeare wrote about and the consequences of what happened then in today’s times. I enjoyed this most as a writer,” shares Deshpande. Promising a dose of drama-melodrama, tragedy-farce, poetry and prose, the play looks at how Shakespeare’s King Lear is haunting the world for 400 years, and it is the curse of his own decision that exists even now. “I am trying to balance my time between the two plays and the piece for the carnival,” he sums up.
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