Me, My City, and Cinema: Prithviraj Kapoor Once Performed His Plays at Bikaner’s Ganga Theatre…

By Shantiswaroop Tripathi

Originally from Bikaner, theatre artist, film lyricist, and renowned numerologist and palm reader Dr. Kumar Ganesh needs no introduction. He is well known across India. His predictions about films and film personalities have often made headlines. He has also kept a close eye on the state of cinema in Bikaner. Presenting an engaging conversation with Dr. Kumar Ganesh on the theme “Me, My City, and Cinema” about Bikaner and its cinematic culture…

You have been a professor and theatre artist. You are also a numerologist and palm reader. But when did your interest in cinema begin?

Ganesh: To be honest, it wasn’t just an interest in cinema—it was an obsession. And not something that developed recently, but since childhood, from an age when one doesn’t even truly understand films. The cinematic landscape of my hometown Bikaner today has reverted, in the last four to five years, to the condition it was in when I was just four or five years old.

Back then, the oldest theatre was Ganga Theatre, built by the royals. It was constructed in honor of the famous ruler Ganga Singh, who also created Bikaner’s “Public Park,” modeled after a well-known London park. Within this park stood Ganga Theatre, which holds a legacy of its own. Prithviraj Kapoor himself performed plays here, even acting in them. Originally designed for theatre, Ganga Theatre was later converted into a cinema hall.

From my home and our ancestral shop, within just a one-and-a-half-kilometer radius, there were several theatres. First came Prakash Chitra, but sadly, I never got to watch a film there. About 300 meters ahead was Kot Gate, the heart of Bikaner, and nearby stood Vishwajyoti Theatre—demolished two decades ago, now replaced by a shopping mall. Further ahead was the Minerva Theatre, another hall where, unfortunately, I never watched a movie. After that came Ganga Theatre. So, within a single stretch of 1.5 km, there used to be four theatres! Posters of new releases were displayed outside tea stalls or small shops nearby.

But coming from a conservative family, how did this passion for cinema grow in you?

Ganesh: Indeed, in our home, watching films was considered a punishable offense. Also, television sets only entered a handful of homes around the time of the 1984 Seoul Olympics. Our house was made of mud walls, so a TV set was a luxury far beyond reach.

But around 1975, films were promoted in Bikaner on tangas (horse carriages). A man would sit on the back seat with a microphone, with loudspeakers fixed in front and behind. Songs from the latest films would play, posters would be displayed, and announcements made. Watching and listening to these tangas ignited my obsession with cinema. On my way to school, I would stare at the posters outside theatres. At neighbors’ houses, I would watch films on TV, carefully noting the names of producers, directors, and actors in my notebook.

Film Division vans also visited neighborhoods, screening films on whitewashed walls instead of proper screens. I would try to understand cinema deeply, even then. 

By 1994, at the age of 23, while teaching at a coaching class and studying for my B.Ed., I finally watched my first film in a theatre on 24 July 1994. Initially, I tried to see Bandit Queen at Prakash Chitra, but since it had already started, we went to Ganga Theatre instead and watched Mani Ratnam’s Bombay.

Soon, Bikaner got a grand theatre called Suraj Talkies, where I watched Hum Aapke Hain Koun..!. I was mesmerized by both the film and the theatre. Later, I saw Sunil Darshan’s Ek Rishtaa: The Bond of Love in its box seating—an unforgettable experience. Sadly, Suraj Talkies too has been demolished, likely to make way for a multiplex.

I even watched magician O.P. Sharma’s live show at Ganga Theatre. Truly, the joy of watching a film in a single-screen theatre is unmatched. Multiplexes feel more like shopping malls—dominated by popcorn culture—where films become secondary to food. Today, Bikaner has lost all its single-screen theatres, replaced by multiplexes. In my view, every city should preserve at least one single theatre where 800–1000 people can sit together and experience cinema as a community.

Bikaner has given Bollywood lyricists, actors, and musicians, hasn’t it?

Absolutely, the biggest name is lyricist Pandit Bharat Vyas, discovered by V. Shantaram. He wrote iconic songs like “Maalik Tere Bande Hum…” and penned hundreds of Hindi and Rajasthani songs. His younger brother B.M. Vyas acted in films like Do Aankhen Barah Haath, often as a villain in historical dramas.

Actress Begum Para (Dilip Kumar’s sister-in-law) also hailed from Bikaner. Pakistani singer Reshma was born here. Legendary composer Ghulam Mohammed (Mirza Ghalib, Pakeezah) was from Bikaner too. Many more—Chand Pardesi, Pandit Madhur, Kamal Rajasthani, singer-composer Rafiq Sagar, Raja Hasan, and others—carry the city’s artistic legacy.

What about Bikaner’s theatre culture?

Ganesh: Bikaner’s theatre was once very rich. Icons like Prithviraj Kapoor toured here with Prithvi Theatre. Before that, figures like Mohan Singh Madhup, Lakshmi Narayan Mathur, and Nirvahi Vyas contributed greatly. I myself wrote, directed, and acted in many plays—especially pioneering one-act plays in Hindi and Rajasthani, including political dramas. Even before independence, Bikaner had a vibrant stage tradition.

You first entered a theatre in 1994. How do you see Hindi cinema’s journey since then?

Ganesh: The 1950s–70s were the golden era. The 1980s saw violence-driven cinema. Between 1991 and 1999, Hindi music was melodious but wasted on films without depth. Directors lacked understanding, though music saved many films. From 2000 onwards, technology advanced, but storytelling died. Films today feel robotic—assembled, not created. Storytelling and soulful music are gone, replaced by artificiality. Cinema has been in a dying state for 25 years.

How can cinema revive?

Ganesh: Strengthen the music first—bring back melody. Hindi film music’s true identity is in composers like Laxmikant–Pyarelal. Also, let those with a genuine sense of storytelling make films. Only then can Hindi cinema rise again.

Actor Dharmendra also had a connection with Bikaner?

Ganesh: Yes. Dharmendra always remained indebted to Bikaner, which supported him immensely. The city, known as the “City of a Thousand Havelis,” was also a great shooting location. Films like Laila Majnu, Razia Sultan, Alibaba Aur 40 Chor, Mughal-e-Azam, and Kshatriya were shot here.
At Dammani Chowk, a unique spot in Bikaner, Indeevar’s socially critical song “Ek Taara Bole…” was filmed under its special canopy—an exception at the time when such structures weren’t usually permitted by the royals.

FAQs

1. Why is Prithviraj Kapoor’s rise from a cowshed to the theatre stage being talked about now?
   A recent feature revisited his journey from living in a cowshed in Girgaum to founding the iconic Prithvi Theatres—highlighting his classic rags-to-riches story. 

2. How is the Kapoor family’s film legacy being celebrated today?
   A recent photo-story traced the debut films of five Kapoor generations, starting with Prithviraj’s silent debut Be Dhari Talwar (1929), showing how the dynasty shaped Bollywood.

3. Are there new TV portrayals inspired by his name?
   The historical drama Chakravarti Samrat Prithviraj Chauhan evokes his timeless image, with recent praise for the character's enduring cultural relevance.

4. Why are so many recently revisiting stories about Prithvi Theatre?
   The theatre he founded remains a touchstone in Indian arts—recent mentions celebrate its legacy in nurturing talents and keeping live performance relevant in modern Mumbai.

5. What’s the Kapoor family saying about their patriarch these days?
   Modern articles reflect on how Prithviraj laid the foundation for one of Bollywood’s first families, blending family lore and film history for a new generation.

6. Who was Prithviraj Kapoor, and why is he important?
   Born November 3, 1906, and active until 1972, he was a pioneering actor and founder of Prithvi Theatres, and the patriarch of Bollywood’s Kapoor family. He earned the Padma Bhushan (1969) and Dadasaheb Phalke Award (1971).

7. What were Prithvi Theatre’s highlights and legacy?
   Established in 1944, it toured India staging over 2,600 plays in 16 years—often with Prithviraj in the lead—launching the careers of several industry legends.

8. Which landmark roles made him a legend in cinema?
   From early appearances in Alam Ara (India's first talkie) to iconic roles like Alexander in Sikandar (1941) and Emperor Akbar in Mughal-e-Azam (1960), he left an indelible mark.

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