Prithvi Theatre festival from November 3-19

Mumbai, Oct 19 (UNI) Prithviraj Kapoor's birth centenery will be the main highlight of the annual Prithvi Theatre festival to be held in Mumbai from November 3 to 19.

An exhibition on Prithviraj Kapoor, ''Prithviraj and Prithvi theatres'', has been organised from November 4 to 19, Sanjana Kapoor of the Prithvi Theatres said here yesterday. About 28 theatre groups are participating in the event.

Sanjana said her grandfather Prithviraj Kapoor was one of the doyens of contemporary Indian theatre. He was not only a star of Indian cinema, both silent and talkie, but was an active Rajya Sabha member and took his role as a citizen of independent India very seriously, she added.

Prithviraj Kapoor contributed enormously to the growth and development of Indian theatre with his travelling theatre company ''Prithvi Theatres'' that toured every nook and cranny of India for 16 years, performing over 2662 shows, with his repertoire of eight productions on burning social issues of the times -- imminent artition, farmers woes, Hindu-Muslim relations and the influence of money on society when it becomes the sole objective of our lives.

Crossing the barriers of language and class, Prithvi Theatres was a living example of the efficacy of theatre in modern society.

Eighteen years after the closure of the theatre company, an auditorium was built in Mumbai in memory of Prithviraj Kapoor and named ''Prithvi Theatre'', which today celebrates its mentor's centenary with a festival focused on his motto and an exhibition telling his story, Sanjana said.

The exhibition on Prithviraj Kapoor endeavours to tell the tale that brought this young Pathan to the heart of the film industry Mumbai to become an actor -- who then went on to become the leading contributor to theatre in India while at the height of his film career.

UNI MR MAZ PR DB0931