A Loud Call Rings Out

• Its acclaimed theatre festival has been hit hard. It has had to give up hosting foreign groups, even Indian ones not from Mumbai.

• The reason, say experts and others, is corporate sponsors’—and government’s—apathy towards such a long-form festival

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The line-up for the much awai­ted, two-week long Prithvi Theatre Festival every November usually has about 40 productions, many of them internationally acc­laimed plays on varying themes. However, this year, lovers of ser­ious theatre may not encounter any of the London or Paris groups, only local ones. In what has been a gathering trend in recent years, the predictable bogey is a lack of funds. For some years, the festival has had no money, which comes from different sponsors instead of one chief financier, forcing them to limit the festival to local productions.

“We are running the festival at a loss. But we have increased the number of shows all year round and are able to sustain the festival because of that. But if we get groups from outside, the expenditure simply doubles,” says Kunal Kapoor, actor Shashi Kapoors’s son, who has been managing the theatre since his sister Sanjana gave up handling day-to-day affairs at Prithvi to create and run Junoon, a travelling theatre experiment. “Travel and stay expenses run into lakhs of rupees. So we get local groups that do not need to be put up or have their own arrangements.” Prithvi had a record 648 shows last year, allowing them to break even. If the festival, in its present, stripped-down avatar, costs about Rs 50-70 lakh, hosting foreign groups and those from across India would almost double the costs, Kapoor says. “It has become difficult to convince corporates to sponsor a festival.”

That’s baffling, for few would harbour any doubts about Prithvi’s quality of work or the brand that Prithvi Theatre—run by the Kapoor family—embodies. The festival, which started in 1983, has consistently INS­pired theatre enthusiasts. “The Prithvi Theatre Festival is like an injection that rejuvenates you. I often say that Pri­thvi is the heart that pumps cultural blood into the city, into the country. I remember one festival was about musicals. Those days there weren’t many musicals, but after that many were made here. That’s how important it is,” says Quasar Thakore Padamsee, theatre actor, director and son of thespians Alyque Padamsee and Dolly Tha­kore. Shernaz Patel, an accomplished actor and founder-member of theatre group RAGE, says, “When I first attended the festival in 1985/86, it changed the way I looked at theatre, it changed my perspective.” Pri­thvi had theme-based festivals; in 2006, groups were invited to stage socially-relevant plays on Prithviraj Kapoor’s motto for his theatre, ‘Kala Desh Ki Seva Mein’, while in 2007, the focus was on musicals. They have celebrated the lives of doyens like Habib Tanvir, Prithviraj Kapoor and Satyadev Dubey and brought out yearbooks.

For a long time, Prithvi had a single sponsor, the telecom firm Orange/Hutch, when they were able to bring productions like Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure by the British group Complicite, and the group Footsbarn from France. In 2010, Complicite visited for the second time with A Disappearing Number. Experts say it is alw­ays better to have one sponsor rather than several, as Prithvi has had to rely on in recent years. Kapoor says the travails of Prithvi are true of performing arts the world over. Thakore’s Q Theatre Production’s festival Thespo has been crowd funded for six years now. “We know how difficult it is to raise money. And basic finances need to be in place so that performers can travel,” he says.

Theatre festivals at Nehru Centre, Kala Ghoda and the NCPA are not uncommon, but it’s getting tougher convincing marketing people of their worth. Many are happy to sponsor a one-evening event like a music show with a popular Bolly­wood singer, but shrink from wanting to build a long-lasting product like a theatre festival, say insiders. “Even today, people remember the association with Hutch. We have tried exp­laining the reach of a Prithvi Festival or Sum­mertime at Prithvi, where we have multiple locations and shows, and workshops. Imagine the reach over a period of two-three weeks. Also, some sponsors want to own the festival, which is not possible. They need to think about Prithvi’s values, the way we approach theatre,” says Kapoor, adding that if one counted the many who have ‘journeyed’ through Prithvi and have won awards like the Padmashree and Sangeet Natak Akademy award, it would adequately reflect Prithvi’s contribution.

Theatre expert Shanta Gokhale highlig­hts the salutary role culture plays. “How can one explain the importance of having a thriving festival to a corporate? Culture balances material aspirations of people.... Without that, there is nothing for the mind, nothing for the spirit. The human urge is to create, from the times of caveman paintings.” Other experts concur, saying it may have to do with our basic attitude towards theatre, right from school, that it is a frivolous activity. “From the eighth standard, we categorise and train children for arts, commerce, science. Because of that, a marketing manager does not see value in art. There is no policy to involve students in culture,” says Thakore.

Shernaz Patel is fortunate to get sponsors for their festival, Writers Bloc, which trains playwrights. “There are a few corporates like the Jindals who fund Writers Bloc (also funded by JSW Foundation, the Royal Court Theatre, UK and the British Council). They understand that it needs to be done for the sake of art and not for any returns. Although I believe that corporate funding through CSR needs to increase, we cannot only rely on that. The moot question is of non-existent government funding. Unless a certain amount is guaranteed, one cannot think of upp­ing the quality of design and sets. It is not possible to experiment,” she says, giving the example of the Arts Council in the UK. Kapoor couldn’t agree more. “Countries like Denmark, Germany and Holland, which have a higher happiness quotient, have one thing in common. They have given importance to sports and cultural centres. Each town, each region needs a theatre like Prithvi. Art galleries and libraries too. That is what creates a healthy community. Studies show that having these in extremely poor, crime-ridden areas in NY showed dramatic results.”

That may be a long shot for now, and Kapoor is busying himself with this year’s schedule. Over time, they have figured out how to cut costs with best results. “We in the family do everything on our own. Keep costs realistic. Nothing is fla­shy. We even make our own lights,” he says, while pointing out that the overhaul of air-conditioning is slipping out of budget. There will not be any big world productions, but a group from Haryana has agreed to perform without Prithvi having to foot their travel bills. While that is a wonderful gesture, the fact that Prithvi has to depend on such generosity exposes the deficiencies of Mumbai’s cul­­ture-­scape—and lights it up as if under a harsh arc-light.