After 50 years: The writer also became a coffee seller in 'Prithvi', his theater staff know 'Papaji' so much
It has been 50 years since actor prithviraj Kapoor passed away from the world. The 'Prithvi Theater' built on the seashore in Juhu, mumbai, named after him, is still buzzing with his memories. The people working here get emotional only when talk of 'papaji' is spread, saying, 'No day goes by when no one here disturbs his talk.' Prithviraj Kapoor was also called 'Papaji' by those who worked with him, and even today, in the world of 'Papaji' settled in the Prithvi theater, as soon as the evening falls, the nine juices of life begin to appear in different plays, there is hardly anyone related to theater and cinema. There must be a person who does not know prithviraj Kapoor and prithvi Theatre, to spend a few moments with their memories,let's see what the fans of 'Papaji' say.
Rahul Rawal is in Prithvi theater since 2019. He says, 'I do whatever work I get here because I get to learn a lot from it. Have read a lot in the newspapers about prithvi Theatre. As far as I know, prithviraj Kapoor Sahab started the theater from a very small level by building a hut here. It would have developed slowly, but it has reached here today. This theater is very famous even outside Mumbai.
On the other hand, Nitin Malik, who started work here just two weeks ago, says, 'It is a big deal for me to be associated with prithvi Theatre. I had heard a lot about Prithvi theater and that very big stalwart have worked here. But I have heard a lot about prithviraj Kapoor from my grandfather and grandmother. Both were huge fans of his and used to watch his movies a lot, I have also seen 'Mughal-e-Azam' with him. It has been 50 years since such a personality left the world, and the mind is not ready to accept it.
Ved Man Singh works as a volunteer at prithvi Theatre. He says, 'When I reached mumbai on the first day, I had come straight to see Prithvi theater on the same day. I have been working here as a volunteer for five years now. The theater was first started by prithviraj Kapoor Sahab. After that satyadev Dubey made his theater debut. I have seen prithviraj Kapoor's film 'Mughal-e-Azam'. A lot can be learned by watching his performance as a method actor.
And, the matter of Irfan ahmed Qureshi, who works in the cafe of prithvi Theatre, is different. He says, 'I have been working here for 13 years. Seeing everyone's performance in theatre, I became a writer. I write stories, songs, and ghazals. I have also performed in the theater once. Whatever is known about prithviraj Kapoor, known from his son Shashi Kapoor. Every time he used to come here, I used to serve him fresh lime soda and iced tea.
Sanjay Pawar is working in the Prithvi theater office for the last 25 years. He says, 'We affectionately call prithviraj Kapoor 'Papaji'. As much as I have heard about prithviraj Kapoor, he has heard from shashi kapoor Sahib that he did not discriminate against anyone. He said that it is very important to do theater before stepping into films. For this purpose, he established Prithvi theater and shashi kapoor Sahab made his dream come true.
Suresh Solanki, who handled the housekeeping work at prithvi Theatre, explained to us how theater removes the distinction between big and small and high and low. He has been doing cleaning work in Prithvi theater for the last 26 years, says, 'When I came to Naya Naya, I did not know so much about Prithvi theater and prithviraj Kapoor but slowly I came to know about them. And the more I got to know him, the more my respect and love for him grew.'.
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