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06. CULTURE |
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“The
Merchants of Bollywood” in Australia
BY KYLIE BOLTIN |
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It’s
all about dancing in Sydney and Melbourne at the moment with
the arrival of the stage show, “The Merchants of Bollywood”
the extravaganza about a successful Indian choreographer, Vaibhavi
Merchant and her grandfather, the late Shri B. Hiralal (also
known as Hiralalji Merchant). “We thought it was an interesting
point of view,” says Toral Shah, the project’s line
producer from Mumbai. “Song and dance is such a big part
of our films to look at it through the eyes of the choreographers…
it makes it easy to bring in the dancing!”
Trained in the major Northern style of classical dance, Kathak
and also Bharatnatyam, 29 year old Vaibhavi gained her first
experience assisting her uncle, Chinni Prakash before working
independently on the hugely successful features, LAGAAN (Ashutosh
Gowariker, 2001) and DEVDAS (Sanjay Leela Bhansali, 2002). Her
grandfather, Hiralaji is recognised as a hugely influential
choreographer himself.
The show marks the shift in Bollywood choreography from the
classically influenced styles of the 1950s and 60s towards the
contemporary style with its emphasis on music videos. |
The 22 dancers, the actors and the support
cast perform to some of the most famous songs of the cinema in this
colourful, highly entertaining show dancing to medleys that incorporate
numbers made famous by Raj Kapoor right through to the most recent
Bollywood “hit” SALAAM NAMASTE, which was shot entirely
in Melbourne.
Says Toral, “a lot of changes have taken place in Indian over
the last 50 years… the story is about that shift from the classical
dance to the modern and western and how we still manage to stay true
to our roots as well as incorporating the new influences that we’re
exposed to.”
Toral is not at all nostalgic for the past. For her, Bollywood is
an extension of life. “You can’t deny the new influences.
It’s bound to reflect what young people think and feel and do.”
Twenty-three year old dancer, Saira Shaikh(Cookie) agrees. Having
joined contemporary choreographer, Farah Khan at 19 before moving
to stage shows with Ganesh Hegde and now Vaibhavi Merchant, she says,
that for her, “dance is getting more difficult now because it’s
a very cut-to-cut movement before it used to be more soft and lyrical.”
It’s a shift that informs all aspects of Bollywood cinema so
makes a Bollywood cinema “hit”? According to Toral, “marriage
is a big deal… any story that talks about different generations
and family and keeping things happy; and has a happy ending…
that would work. With some good, catchy music and some popular faces.”
Australia is the first destination for the show and Toral herself
notes, it’s “not just Indians who have come to watch it
- sorry if I’m being racist but there’s a lot of white folk
_ locals _ who have come to watch it too!”
And does, “The Merchants of Bollywood” have a happy ending
- of course! |
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