From a tale based on William Shakespeare’s The Tempest and an intense story of the sufferings of three women to a series of storytelling sessions, this year’s Prithvi Theatre Festival (PTF) offers a wide canvas. Add to that some music, dance, discussions and play screenings, and the choice is even more varied.
Now in its 47th year, PTF has become a landmark in Mumbai’s cultural calendar. Traditionally organised to celebrate thespian Prithviraj Kapoor’s birthday ( November 3), this year’s festival will be held from November 1 to 17. Interestingly, the Motley theatre group, a regular at PTF since it was founded by Naseeruddin Shah and Benjamin Gilani in 1979, is not on the schedule this time.
Like last year, one of the highlights will be performances of dastangoi, the Urdu art of storytelling. The Delhi-based Dastangoi Collective, led by Mahmood Farooqui, will have three presentations, including Dastan-e-Guru Dutt, written and directed by Mahmood to mark the legendary filmmaker-actor’s birth centenary.
Mahmood Farooqui’s Dastangoi Collective will stage three presentations this year
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Special Arrangement
Mahmood, who is credited to have revived dastangoi in 2005, feels Prithvi is an ideal place for the art form. He elaborates, “Dastangoi performances are somewhere between a baithak and the formal assembly. What we did was, put it as a form of stage. We followed a lot of the stage technique and requirements such as entry, exits and lights, which didn’t exist earlier. Initially, the stories would be about magicians, tricksters, fantasy, love and romance. They are fantastic stories which I can’t match.”
However, he feels there are other stories with a dastanic element, whether they are derived from folk stories, magic realism or the lives of known personalities. Last year, the Dastangoi Collective presented Dastan-e-Ahwaal-e-Kapoor, written by Sibtain Shahidi and directed by Mahmood. “It was based on the life of Raj Kapoor and has been one of our most successful productions, using a lot of songs. The performers, Rana and Rajesh, are among the seniormost dastangos.”
Dastan-e-Guru Dutt premiered in Delhi in October. Says Mahmood, “It’s not just about Guru Dutt, but about his time. I talk about the studio system he was trained in, about Geeta Dutt, and the golden era of the 1950s. It is also about the ‘big four’ — Raj Kapoor, Bimal Roy, Mehboob Khan and Guru Dutt — and the films they made and issues they raised.”
At PTF, the Dastangoi Collective is also presenting Dastan-e-Kabir, written by advertising professional Udit Yadav and directed by Mahmood. “He has researched not only on Kabir but also on his contemporaries and how his philosophy impacted generations. We are also presenting Dastan Raja Vikram Ke Ishq Ki, based on the folk tales by scholar A.K. Ramanujan and poetry of Mir Taqi Mir.”
Prithvi Theatre trustee Zahan Kapoor with his father Kunal Kapoor.
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Special Arrangement
Other theatrical productions at PTF include the fantasy-filled A Fish Ate My Cat, directed by Yuki Elias, Daniel D’Souza’s period drama Queen, Mohit Takalkar’s intense Anatomy Of A Suicide, Akarsh Khurana’s A Perfect Time To Panic, based on The Tempest, and Atul Kumar’s Ambaa, adapted from the Greek comedy Lysistrata. Mahabanoo Mody Kotwal and Kaizaad Kotwal, has directed Eden Creek, which tells the story of six Calcutta women post the 1943 Bengal famine.
Besides the plays and dastangoi, PTF also features jazz by Louiz Banks and his group, sitar by Shujaat Husain Khan, western classical by pianist Isa Trott and the SOI Chamber Orchestra, and Bharatanatyam by Shreema Upadhyaya.
Zahan Kapoor, trustee, Prithvi Theatre, says, “The effort has been to bring together some of the finest directors in the fraternity”. His father, Kunal Kapoor, sums it up by adding, “The festival has always been about rejuvenating the world of theatre.
Published – October 25, 2025 02:18 pm IST
