Last month I went to visit New York.
Apart from the Statue of Liberty, The Empire State Building, the Fashion Avenue, the New York Stock Exchange 'Bull' and the night life the city that never sleeps, there's something more that is a 'must see' in the New York City. They are the 'Broadway Shows'.
Luckily, the 'Broadway' theater in the theater district, was playing the musical 'Bombay Dreams'.How could I afford to miss it!I managed the tickets for the show and there I was watching the 'Bombay Dreams'.
It was an absolutely overwhelming experience and turned out to be the most worthwhile part of my visit.
For those not really aware with this concept,A Musical is a play or a film whose actions and dialogue is interspersed with singing and dancing.
Bombay Dreams is an A.R Rehman Musical presented by Andrew Lloyd Webber,a well known Broadway personality.Shekhar Kapur also contributes to the Idea of this Musical and is the Associate Producer.It is based on a book by Mira Syal and Thomas Meehan.
Bombay Dreams started in London in 2002. And after being a hit, it is now playing in US.
The maestro A.R Rehman proves himself like ever. Its good to see people around the world appreciating A.R Rehman music.
I remember the American lady sitting by my side enjoying 'chaiyya chaiyya' as much as I did!
Not any less is the choreography by Anthony Van Laast and Farah Khan. They did an equally good job.
The story of Bombay Dreams belongs to the genre of regular Bollywood movie with twists and turns and drama.
What is extraordinary here is the people presenting the story on stage, i.e the actors.
These actors not only act well, but they are great singers too.
I've really not seen such talent,ever!
The Story
Akash(Manu Narayan) comes from a Bombay slum called Paradise.Shanti(Madhur Jaffrey),his grandmother and Sweetie(Sriram Ganeshan),his best friend are his family.
Sweetie is a eunuch(Hijra).Among all the actors,Sriram Ganeshan was the best as Sweetie.Apart from being so spontaneous on stage,he had an amazing voice.There are certain scenes of Sweetie that are comical!
To save the slum from being bulldozed down,the slum people need to raise money.so, Akash sets on a journey to become a Bollywood 'hero'.
Priya(Anisha Nagarajan) is a filmmaker and is engaged to Vikram(Deep Katdare) who is a lawyer,fighting for the slum people.This is how Priya and Akash meet. They like eachother,instantly.
One day, Akash sneaks in to Miss India Pageant and meets Rani(Ayesha Dharker), a successful film actress. Ayesha Dharker was nominated for the best actress award for her role in 'The Terrorist' in the National film awards.She is brilliant as Rani.Now,Rani likes Akash and gets him the role of her costar in her next movie. And Akash becomes a Bollywood sooppperstar!
But, he gets lost in the fame,glory and Rani's (wicked) charms.He forgets his slum, his granny and Sweetie for a while. He's also unaware of his budding love for Priya.
After a lot of drama, Vikram turns out to be the bad guy. After Sweetie is killed by Vikram, our 'hero' realises all that he is suppose to! He saves the slum and also gets Priya!
Yep, Kahani poori filmi hai!
Musical Numbers
Although the entire music was wonderful, I particularly liked the following ones :
Salaam Bombay : Amazing choreography.Great dancing by the ensemble. Phew.! Do these dancers ever get tired??!They are full of energy.
Bombay Dreams : Good lyrics by Don Black.
'Contradictions, city of extremes,
Everything is possible in Bombay dreams'
cool, huh!
3.Love's never easy. sung by sweetie and Priya.I really liked this soft and slow song.
4.shakalaka baby : Well,I'm Not talking about Sushmita sen dancing on the tunes of Shakalaka baby in the movie, Nayak. It is Ayesha Dharker! Its more or less the same song with lyrics of Don Black and some variations.This song was a total
entertainer. Again, incredible choroegraphy. Also the colorful and grand costumes and stage settings are worth appreciation.
5.Chaiyya Chaiyya : Who doesnt like chaiyya chaiyya?!! its not exactly the same song from Dil se. There are a lot of
variations and beats added which only make the song better!! The orchestra did a great job!
6.Wedding Qawali : The qawali was great. Sukhwinder singh gives the lyrics to this qawali.'Sona sona, mera sona, sona sona,
mahi sona'. Excellent Music, Excellent costumes !
7.Closer than Ever: Derived from the music of 'Taal', this song is no less.
Bombay Dreams is a very sincere effort which brings forth Indian talent to the world.The acting, the music, the choreography ,the costumes,the colors, the stage sets..everything was very well done.And together they keep you entertained and captivated all the time.Being an A.R. Rehman fan, I would definitely give a higher score to the Music!
All said and done! But I still feel, I've not been able to convey 'Bombay Dreams' as much as I enjoyed it and as much as it deserves.
For those who can watch Bombay Dreams in a theater nearby, its something not be missed!
And for those who dont have that opportunity, the music album of Bombay Dreams is a good buy.
Bombay Dreams..rocks!
Cheers,
Senorita.
