When Shashi Tharoor played Antony to Mira Nair's Cleopatra

Twitter on Wednesday threw up a blast from the past in the form of a photograph featuring Congress MP Shashi Tharoor playing Roman general Mark Antony and filmmaker Mira Nair as Cleopatra.

The black and white photograph dates back to 1974 when Shakespeare Society of Delhi's St Stephen’s College produced a version of Shakespeare’s iconic play Antony and Cleopatra. It was clicked by photographer Pablo Bartholomew.

It resurfaced on Twitter when a banker, who goes by the handle @arishtweets, asked Tharoor if it was him in the photo.

Is that you Mr Tharoor, that handsome prince ?@ShashiTharoor pic.twitter.com/f2BHwKDVSi

— Ayrish Jay Hey (@AyrishTweets) February 2, 2022

To which the MP from Thiruvananthapuram replied, "Yes, with Mira Nair, 1974."

Mira Nair had, in a 2012 interview for the Entertainment Times, recalled the time and said that she found Tharoor to be pompous. “I used to eat onions before my love scenes with Shashi Tharoor because he was so pompous. I also remember playing Cleopatra where I had six slaves in langotis (loin cloths)," she had said.

Tharoor had in 2019 shared a colour version of the same photo and revealed that author Amitav Ghosh was also a part of the production among other major achievers.

This classic b&w pic by Pablo Bartholomew of @MiraPagliNair & me in the St Stephen's College production of Shakespeare's "Antony & Cleopatra", 1974, turned into colour by @KS1729. The play also featured @GhoshAmitav, AmirRazaHusain &others who have gone on to major achievements. pic.twitter.com/MjYYMwDcXv

Story continues below Advertisement

Remove Ad

— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) November 15, 2019

Sharing details from the production, writer Joy Bhattacharya had tweeted on Nair's birthday in 2020, "Cleopatra’s slave boys included writer Amitav Ghosh and advertising legend Piyush Pandey, wearing langotis, no less."

Theatre personality Amir Raza Hussain played a significant part, and a host of prominent civil servants including Ramu Damodaran & Arun Singh also featured. And Cleopatra's slave boys included writer Amitav Ghosh & advertising legend Piyush Pandey, wearing langotis, no less.

— Joy Bhattacharjya (@joybhattacharj) October 15, 2020

The play, which was first performed in 1607, explores the relationship dynamics shared by Egypt's queen Cleopatra and Roman general Mark Antony, right from the time of the Sicilian revolt up until her suicide.