“Twenty-five years is a lot of time to keep the josh barkarar [enthusiasm alive]. The festival has become a ritual, if Kala Ghoda festival doesn’t happen then Mumbaikars will say nothing happened this year,” says actor-writer-director and noted theatre personality Makarand Deshpande who will be performing his most recent play Piyakkad, a solo act that he has also written and directed, at the Kala Ghoda Festival 2025. A nine-day annual arts festival kickstarts on January 25 and will conclude on February 2.
Asia’s largest multidisciplinary street arts festival, the iconic Kala Ghoda Arts Festival (KGAF), celebrates a big milestone this year as a significant pillar of Mumbai's vibrant art scene marks its 25-year journey in the city, art and culture enthusiasts can enjoy a captivating blend of theatre, literature, food, dance, cinema, and more. Suffice to say, KGAF 2025 is about to be even more exciting than ever before with an extensive line-up of events across art and culture domains.
What started as a local event in 1999 has become one of India's longest-running and most prominent neighbourhood festivals, attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors from the city and beyond. With 300+ programmes across 14 verticals—such as visual arts, dance, music, theatre, literature, cinema, heritage walks, urban design and architecture, stand-up, and food—the festival will be held across more than 25 venues.
The 2025 edition kicks off with a spectacular Silver Sitaare Fusion, featuring 25 unique dance styles performed by 55 renowned artists and institutions that have graced the festival’s journey. Adding to the fanfare, celebrated composer Shantanu Moitra will launch the KGAF Anthem as a tribute to the festival’s enduring legacy. Art lovers can also take home a piece of KGAF history with a limited-edition Coffee Table Book -- The Spirit of Kala Ghoda chronicling the festival’s milestones through contributions by luminaries like Brinda Miller, Ranjit Hoskote, and Sabyasachi Mukherjee. Says Brinda Miller, “For 25 years, Kala Ghoda Arts Festival has brought out the best of Mumbai’s creative spirit, giving all kinds of artists and art forms the platform and freedom to express, engage, and inspire. We’re delighted to present the Silver Jubilee edition – standing testimony to the incredible past and present of the festival, and an even greater future – for our shared heritage, diverse arts and celebrated culture.”
Adds actor-writer-director (he performs in theatre as well) Akarsh Khurana, “These days if any cultural event lasts for 25 years it is a big thing. KGAF has been only going strong and growing every year. Also, post-Covid it has got a further boost and has got even bigger as they have got new partners. They have expanded in terms of venues. Earlier, the festival would happen only in the area around Horniman Circle and Cama Hall but now it is happening even at Y B Chavan centre and many other venues. It has become a very important event in the Mumbai calendar, just like Kochi has biennale we have Kala Ghoda.” “It is so rare to see people coming in festive mood and they are not there to judge anybody. They just come to enjoy... they are far more open to any kind of idea at KGAF,” adds Makarand Deshpande.
And if you’re a theatre enthusiast, besides Deshpande you will be able to witness productions of Juhi Babbar and Akarsh Khurana, along with some interesting works by Anjor Production, Akvarious Productions, Milap Theatre, Ansh Theatre Group, and more at YB Chavan Centre. “We are doing a series of short plays in a story-telling format called Teen Kahaniyan. It is three simple short stories based on renowned author Bhagwati Charan Verma’s works. Well known actor-director Faisal Rasheed has directed them and he is also acting in one of them. Earlier, in 2012 or so we were doing Hindustani plays at Kala Ghoda festival but later we moved towards English and Hinglish. But since last year we have gone back into the Hindi space,” says Khurana.
Juhi Babbar who has been the curator of the theatre section for KGAF for seven years will be performing the curtain raiser for the theatre vertical this year. “I am doing a dramatised reading, it is not typically a play but it is not just a reading either. It is an amalgamation of a reading and performance. This is a play called Meri maa ke haath, it is written by my mother [noted theatre personality Nadira Babbar] and she has written about her mother. So, I will be playing my grandmother when I am performing. I am so excited because where does any actor get this kind of opportunity? What is most interesting is that we are going to have a special appearance of my mother,” says Juhi Babbar.
There is a huge treat for music lovers, too, with Usha Uthup Live in Concert at Cross Maidan on January 27. Not just that there will be Anupam Shobhakar, a musical virtuoso and one of the finest musical storytellers who will return to mesmerize at KGAF 2025. Returning to India from Brooklyn, New York, Shobhakar, the globally acclaimed sarod maestro, composer, and innovator, is poised to enchant audiences with his spellbinding performance on January 31. “I am very excited to return to Kala Ghoda, being a Bombay boy it is a special honor. I am so excited to bring my new Doubleneck Guitar known as Kalima dedicated to the goddess Kali to the festival. I am planning a special concert with my brothers in music, the great Tabla maestro of the Benaras gharana – Amit Mishra and the prince of Kanjeera – Swami Selvaganesh. This performance also leads up to my new solo album titled ‘Liquid Reality’ which releases worldwide on March 14. This concert is especially important to honor the legacy and genius of Late Ustad Zakir Hussain. His music has had a huge impact on me as an artist,” says Shobhakar.
The dance line-up includes extraordinary performances at Cross Maidan by Aditi Mangaldas, Smriti Talpade, Prachee Shah Paandya, Geeta Vijayshankar, Veena Murthy, and Padma Shri Narthaki Nataraj, among other performers and dance troupes. From Bharatanatyam, Kuchipudi, Kathak and Lavani, to Contemporary, Bollywood, Fusion and Salsa, KGAF 2025 has it all. If you're an avid reader of modern queer stories, fascinated by ancient myths, or just love a good brain-picking session, or then simply love participating in thought-provoking discussions, visit the David Sassoon Library Garden and you'll have the chance to hear from amazing minds like Gurcharan Das, Anjali Purohit, Jerry Pinto, Devdutt Pattanaik, and more.
There is also a laughter fest and some comedy shows lined up featuring comedians like Sreeja Chaturvedi, Neville Bharucha, Vineeth Srinivasan, Md. Hussain, Atul Khatri, Urooj Ashfaq, Sharon Verma, and many others. The food segment this year pays homage to the culinary arts, and has a bunch of delightful events and workshops in store across cafes and restaurants in the Fort, Kala Ghoda and CST [Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus] areas. There will also be a celebration of Om Puri’s legacy with a chat with his family and friends, and a screening of The Hundred-Foot Journey, the 2014 comedy-drama in which he appeared alongside Helen Mirren.
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