Prithviraj Kapoor was a king among men. Not because of his imposing mien, which he used to great effect in his films, but because his head and his heart spoke for the people. In 1944, after becoming a known actor, he founded a travelling troupe, a band of merry men, called Prithvi Theatres. Between 1945 and 1956, he commissioned seven original plays that voiced his concerns: Deewar was a tale of two feuding brothers, staged two years before Partition; Pathan showed the community beyond the stereotype of loan sharks and gatekeepers; Ghaddar featured Indian Muslims who were labelled Pakistanis and, therefore, traitors in new India; Ahooti dealt with the stigma of rape among female refugees; Kalakar discussed life in a jungle versus the concrete jungle; Paisa tackled corruption; and Kisan detailed the problems of farmers. They performed 2,662 shows in 112 towns, in which Prithviraj played the lead every single time.

"Even though he was a major star, he would take the time to travel to small towns," says theatre critic Deepa Gahlot, who has co-written a book called The Prithviwallahs. "Every town didn't even have an auditorium; they performed wherever: in school halls, cinema halls. It was a proper travelling theatre company, [which] he ran with great love and care."