Sanjana Kapoor
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Family
Personal details
Born in 1967
Of cinema and theatre/ 2011
Theatre is in her blood, but she loves scuba diving. She misses acting, but enjoys managing theatrical productions. The elusive Sanjana Kapoor opens up about her tryst with Prithvi Theatre and more
Her stature and almost tangible dignity are some of the first things you notice about Sanjana Kapoor, the face behind Prithvi Theatre. She successfully showcased one of international theatre's most renowned productions, Complicite's A Disappearing Number recently. "I'd seen the play three years ago in London and was moved by the concept-Ramanujan's mathematics and his quest to answer infinity," she narrates. Irresistibly, the play is a piece of incredibly brilliant theatre-a quality that Sanjana passionately wants to achieve among Indian productions.
The spark of energy heightens when she talks about theatre. "People here want events like the Edinburgh Festival. Organically, Edinburgh comes out of a huge mass of work that has existed for over 2,000 years. Indian theatre is only 250 years old! So, we are fledgling; we need government support, and that requires a change in mindset."
Sanjana had kickstarted her career-like her nieces, Karisma and Kareena Kapoor-as a lead actor in Hero Hiralal (1988). Then what made her take on the mantle of Prithvi? "I did a film when I didn't even know how to act. I went to New York Drama School right after, and that's when I realised that theatre is what I love!" She adds, "I have inherited theatre from both sides of my family-my father, Shashi Kapoor and mother, Jennifer Kendal, who was from Shakespeareana. People tend to forget that. So, it was only logical that this section of Prithviraj Kapoor's lineage would focus on this area." Nevertheless, she confides, "I miss acting at times, but I'm an extraordinarily lazy actor. You need at least eight hours of rehearsal everyday and I don't have that kind of time. I have a family (she is married to Valmik Thapar and has an eight-year-old son) and I'm based in Delhi."
Sanjana's tryst with Prithvi has come a long way, since she took over the reigns in 1993.
"I have watched every play at Prithvi since 1990. I initiated the trustee with a five-point plan: to restart the art gallery, revive the cafe that's essential to be part of a hub, start a production (Prithvi Players), a summer-time programme for children, and a library, which hasn't yet materialised," she marathons, adding, "When I took over, my family just asked me to go and find the money for all my plans. I learnt it the hard way."
So, did her second name help her cause? Sanjana is candid. "I wish my second name didn't matter actually. It's easy for people to pay attention to us rather than an anonymous person, which is probably also why we don't have another Prithvi-like establishment in the city. However, the problem areas have been miniscule compared to the incredible goodwill I've garnered. The only detriment of being a Kapoor is that people, especially government sources, think we are rich, and so we should pay from our pockets. That is shocking! Why should a private family put in their money for a public cause?"
She fortifies, "We haven't been able to articulate what we do. No one knows how we work, and that we need money all the time!" Yet Sanjana's hopeful, "In a strange way, the younger generation in Mumbai has a special feeling towards theatre. And if they could earn a reasonable living from it, their choice would be to do theatre full-time. That'll happen only if there are 10 more Prithvis in town! If we don't create a stabilised scenario in the next three years, we'll lose talented people from theatre," she continues, "Films are still okay because they demand a certain rigour. But television is the worst criminal because it breeds bad habits. Actors, writers and directors become sloppy!"
With Naseeruddin Shah as her superhero, Sanjana breathes and lives theatre. She claims, "Moving to Delhi has actually been a blessing in disguise. It's tough because I'm a control freak, but I've managed to establish a good team in the past eight years." As she breathes a sigh of relief with the completion of her momentous task of getting down Complicite, she says, "I want to go scuba diving with my son now."
She signs off, "If you want to be in theatre, you need to be tough on yourself. Do your riyaaz and don't be lazy."
Filmography
As an actress
1979 Junoon
1981 36 Chowringhee Lane
1984 Utsav
1988 Hero Hiralal
1988 Salaam Bombay!
1994 Aranyaka
