Prithvi@40: The enduring legacy of one of Mumbai's best-known theatres

The idea behind building the theatre was to create a place where people came to be entertained and informed and, perhaps, also enlightened

Kunal Kapoor stares quizzically when you ask him about the business of running Prithvi Theatre, a 40-year-old institution that has become an iconic subset of Mumbai’s cultural legacy and the country’s theatrical heritage. “There is no business. Period. No question of a business model or any such thing,” says Kapoor who runs the show at Prithvi, a theatre that his parents, Shashi and Jennifer Kapoor, set up in the 1970s.

For the former adman and member of a large film family that spans several generations, the theatre is a labour of love, one his grandfather envisioned and his parents nurtured.