Kolkata, July 01: Bollywood veteran Shashi Kapoor would soon pen memoirs of India's best known theatre group -- Prithvi Theatre -- in a book co-authored by daughter Sanjna as the family's performing arts tradition enters its silver jubilee year. The father-daughter duo would come up with a coffee table book that brings alive the awe-inspiring years of Prithvi theatre's existence by this year-end. "In this book, we are talking about the passion behind the establishment of the group, the old theatre and the new theatres, the many people associated with it and the great shows it has given year after year," Shashi Kapoor said over phone from Mumbai. Replete with lots of photographs of the Kapoor family theatre enthusiasts, the book traces the history of the old Prithvi theatres -- a Hindi theatre company launched by the late Prithviraj Kapoor in 1944 with Kalidasa's 'Shakuntala' as its maiden production. Narrating his father's days as the actor-manager of the production troupe and his wish to eventually construct a theatre -- a dream that couldn't become a reality till his demise in 1972 -- Kapoor talks of how the company later crossed paths with Geoffrey and Laura Kendal's English Theatre Shakespearana to marry two distinct traditions of theatre and give birth to today's Prithvi theatre.

Through interesting anecdotes, typical of someone who can speak from family experience and personal contribution, Kapoor would co-author the book with Sanjna and Mumbai-based film journalist Deepa Gehlot.

Bureau Report