Last weekend, I had the opportunity to see the West End’s newest musical ’Bombay Dreams’ which is playing at the Apollo Victoria Theatre, Wilton Road, SW1.
The musical which opened on the 19th of June 02 is produced by Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber (no introduction needed I’m sure!) and is based on the book by Meera Syal, who is perhaps better known for her acting involvement in the BBC Asian sketch show ’Goodness Gracious Me’. The musical score is by none other than the very talented A R Rahman who has teamed up with lyricist Ron Black whose past works include music for films such as ’The Italian Job’, ’Dances With Wolves’ and a quintet of ’James Bond’ theme songs.
Now to the plot. Akaash played by Raza Jaffrey is a slum boy with big dreams (hence the name I suppose!), to be Bollywood’s next biggest HERO. His best friend and fellow slum inhabitant Sweetie, who happens to be a eunuch helps him achieve his goal; they join a group of feminists and disrupt the staging of a Miss World Competition. In the hustle and bustle that follows, Akaash gets his big break and runs onto the stage, grabs the mike from the presenter and re-enacts a famous Hindi film score in front of a live TV audience of millions. Madan, played by Dalip Tahil is a famous but fading film director, likes what he sees and offers Akaash the male lead in his make or break come back film which is co-directed by his daughter Priya (played by Preeya Devdas). She becomes Akaash’s love interest in the story, however is engaged to Vikram (Ramon Tinkaram who was Jai Kumar in ’Kama Sutra’!!) who is a hot shot lawyer who unknown to her, is working for Mumbai mafia baron JK played convincingly by Raad Rawi.
Anyway.....Akaash’s debut film becomes a smash blockbuster and in the process of becoming Bollywood’s premier HERO denies his humble origins and forgets his slum friends. Madan gets murdered by JK when he refuses to hand over the film’s distribution rights....and Akaash falls BIG TIME in love with Priya and vice-versa. There are other twits and turns within the storyline but I don’t want to confuse you further ( if you are not lost already!!!)....but I can tell you that the BOY does get the GIRL and a happy ending is assured.
The storyline may not be highly original but to see it enacted on stage is something else. The musical performances and choreography was awesome....memorable songs include ’Chaiya, Chaiya’ and ’Shakala Baby’ which has been released as a single in the British music charts. The production standards, the set and props are needless to say, TOP CLASS as one would expect from a Lloyd Weber production. I was very impressed to witness the collaborative efforts of top Indian & British artists....and as a British Indian was particularly proud and excited to see second generation Indians making their mark in the West End.
At the moment ’Bombay dreams’ is only playing (to packed) audiences in London....but I have heard that there may be plans to take the production to Broadway.....and who knows maybe one day to the city from which the musical draws its inspiration, although it may be need to be re-branded ’Mumbai Dreams’ to be politically correct!!!