Aadyam theatres’s fourth play for the season, MUMBAI STAR is all set to debut in Mumbai. The dancers pirouettie, swirland fly around her as they rehearse for the Indian premiere of this grand dance musical. Deepa Karmalkar meets director Nadir Khan, writer-producer Devika Shahani and choreographer Avantika Bahl.
By Deepa Karmalkar
DK: Hello! Best wishes on the Indian launch of MUMBAI STAR, a show that premiered in Japan. How did you get to do that? Devika: Thank you! The Min-On Concert Association, Tokyo, Japan intends to bring people together through the power of music and culture. Min-On literally means “the people’s music,” and when they brought a Japanese folk production to India in 2017, I was their line producer. When they recommended me to produce a dance musical for their 60th anniversary, it was a special honour indeed!
DK: How did you zero in on this story about a struggling star? Devika: I wanted to show modern India and not the Indian exotica that has been done so often. I wanted to move away from the fantastical depiction of images of old India with elephants and all that. I wanted both the sound and visuals to be different. So, Mumbai Star music is so contemporary. Secondly, I am greatly influenced by my mentor, Daisaku Ikeda, president of Soka Gakkai International - I wanted to tell a story about the importance of having a mentor.
Nadir: The story is a vehicle for delivering a message. About the importance of a mentor and mentorship. Simplistic yet apt for this concept. Since Min-On is about delivering peace through music and performing arts, this story was just right.
DK: How different is this show from the one you put up in Japan? Nadir: It is essentially the same but it is more robust storytelling,because of the language barrier in Japan we relied heavily on dance. However in India, the script changed while music and dance remains the same.
DK: How did you rope in Ishitta Arun for lyrics, Dhruv Ghanekar for music and Avantika Bahl for choreography? Also Nadir to handle the direction. Devika: Ishitta and I go back to college days when I directed her. We have grown together. When Min-On approached me for this project, my first instinct of telling a modern Indian story through music, certainly pointed at Dhruv. He was the first person I thought of being on this show. Dhruv’s music is modern and he has a deep knowledge of Indian classical as well as western music.
Nadir is also my friend from college days, we worked together on one of Pearl Padamsee’s productions.
Since we chose not to have live music, dance is the focus of the show. I chose Avantika, she has the ability to choreograph a spectacle of this magnitude. As a producer, my focus is to build a team that will create a vision. And I have been really lucky in getting the right people together.
DK: Nadir you have a lot to handle in this show - story, dance, music and the flow. What was the process in balancing it all? Nadir: In my regular work, the process is the amalgamation of inputs from different heads of production. It is certainly my vision augmented by different professionals, but for the first time that isn't the case. It isn't entirely my vision as I am neither a dancer nor a choreographer, I can say this is the way the story will be told but for the rest Avantika comes in. This is truly a dance musical - 90 percent of the story is told through dance and 10 percent through spoken word which narrators Rajit Kapur and Shashi Shrivastava do for us.
A method of storytelling through movement based on how the choreographer reacts to music and my story telling skills come in here to create the scenes. Avantika understands well how to tell a story through dance.
DK: Avantika, how did you align different choreographers - Sangeet Natak Akademi Awardee, Uma Dogra for kathak, Vivaran Dhasmana for hip-hop, Krutika Mehta for Bollywood - to the storyline? Avantika: We had a clear choreographic arc, movement language and it was important to convey that to the guest choreographers. It is equal parts music, dance and story - none can stand independently.The choreography and music propel the storytelling. It has been a great collaborative effort.
DK: The cast comprises a troupe of 15 dancers and two narrators, how did you convince Rajit Kapur to be a part of this dance musical? Nadir: Rajit Kapur has been my friend since ages, he had watched the show before we went to Japan and he loved it. So when we pitched it to Aadyam, the theatrical aspect had to be enhanced. Akarsh Khurana and Argya reimagined the show, they thought of characters which included a senior actor and Rajit is my number one choice for any actor above 50 years and if they wanted a 50 year old actor with a soul of 12-year-old, I would say Rajit!
He knew the show from before, he was excited to come on board. Srishti Shrivastava is the other narrative, she seemed to be the perfect fit.
DK: What about the remaining cast ? Devika: This cast is very unique, in terms of age, experience and backgrounds. They are a bunch of dancers with chameleon-like proficiency in all dance forms. While they are trained extensively in one or two dance forms - they are able to adapt proficiently to other forms - kathak, hip hop and contemporary. Avenav Mukherjee as Dev, Abhishek Choksi as Tilak are a treat to watch. They all dance with rigour and enthusiasm. Each of them is trained for at least 15 years. They all come together with such supportive energy.
DK: What does MUMBAI STAR offer the audience? Nadir: This show will be an exciting experience for everyone, it is an absolute joy to watch for. This dance musical is also very exciting for me as I have not seen this sort of form here. Dance musicals are a popular genre in the West but it is not as popular as a means of storytelling here. This show is a true depiction of India right now - modern as well as respectful of our traditions. We have such a wealth of traditional dance forms and we showcase our heritage proudly. It highlights our identity, we have developed our language of arts which has a form of its own. Devika:Nothing in the show is distant, it reaches the audience. The brief for the show was to evoke joy.
DK: How did collaboration with Aadyam come in? Devika: This is my third production for Aadyam viz. A Few Good Men and As Bees In Honey Drown , so it seemed like a natural progression to propose this one also to them, they have been the reason that I became a producer. I am grateful to be able to tell this story, my third production with Aadyam, and an ode to my mentor, on this beautiful stage!
Nadir: Aadyam is the patron, they are invested in the creative in terms of quality of the show. They trust us with the rest. As the Co-Programming Consultant with Shernaz Patel for Aadyam’s seventh season, we are only concerned with a certain benchmark of quality.
DK: How different is this struggler’s saga? Nadir: The story is in the telling - about the how and why of it. It's a refreshing perspective on how mentor - disciple relation can affect a person more than just achieving his dreams in terms of materialistic success but how it gives you an inner sense of direction. The conflict here is internal, to find the right moral compass. MUMBAI STAR asks a poignant question: Will the soul survive the success that fame brings?
DK: How long has it taken to deliver this project? Devika: A year long preparation and three months of rehearsal. But my journey goes back to 2018. It took so long due to the pandemic.
DK: Your favourite moment or scene from the show? Nadir: In the second act, the part of the instrumental track called The Rise, Dhruv’s orchestration and Avantika’s choreography, are one highlight.
Avantika: I enjoyed one of the silent moments of the show called The Crying, where everyone is walking very slowly and the main character is running as if racing against time. That image is evocative. Most quietest and most silent images are the hardest to achieve as a choreographer. To arrive at that has been really satisfying.
Devika: In the final Act both the central characters Dev and his guru Tilak are dancing together, they leap together across the stage. Flying together symbolises passing of the baton.
Deepa Karmalkar (A senior journalist, features writer and reviewer who is now a keen yoga trainer.)
