Most famously known as the screenwriter for Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s Parinda (1989) and Sudhir Mishra’s Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi (2015), Shiv Subrahmanyam, who passed away earlier this year, left a legacy behind with his one-act plays that continue to be performed in theatre venues across India. To celebrate his body of work, Prithvi Theatre is showcasing For You, Shiv — a four-day tribute comprising plays and films. The festival is being spearheaded by his wife and actor, Divya Jagdale, with whom he had started the Playtrix Players theatre company in 2016.

The festival kicked off with the book launch of Irani Café and Other Plays, a compilation of three of Subrahmanyam’s plays, including his first full-length one — Snapshots from an Album. The book also includes a foreword by Naseeruddin Shah and an afterword by Kenneth Desai — actors and friends who have spent time with him on stage, and remember him for his wit and tenderness. For director Sunil Shanbag, the plays in this collection represent Subrahmanyam’s “keen sense of time, a deep interest in people, gentle humour, sharp intellect and a love for language.” For theatre personality Leena Yadav, they offer his “tongue-in-cheek worldview.” Irani Café will be staged today.