Shakalaka Baby? (Bombay Dreams)

Member Name: Feathers

Product:	Bombay Dreams
Date:	02/11/02 (4553 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Chaiyya Chaiyya, Singing and Dancing, Enthusiastic cast

Disadvantages: Meera's Syals book, Stereotyped portrayal of the Indian film industry?, Expensive tickets

When Andrew Lloyd Webber announced that he was going to be producing a musical inspired by Bollywood no one knew quite what to make of it. It has now been running a few months and people still don't know what to make of it! While Bombay Dreams has been very successful at the box office the jury is still out on whether it is a 'good' thing. One potential problem with this musical is who is it trying to appeal to? Will Asians find it patronising? Will non-Asians be put off by the Hindi? Well, I shall attempt to answer these questions...

BACKGROUND - Bombay Dreams is basically inspired by, and about, the Indian film industry, better known as Bollywood. Andrew Lloyd Webber has produced it, Meera Syal wrote the book and the legendary A.R.Rahman provided the music.

(VERY BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE) STORY - The story involves around Akaash, a boy bought up in the slums of Bombay. He dreams about one day becoming a Bollywood star (don’t we all!). He does eventually get his big break and becomes a huge star and also falls in love with Priya, the beautiful daughter of a movie director. Unfortunately she is engaged to a slimy lawyer called Vikram. The musical revolves around this story as well as Priya’s attempts to make a movie that is about real life and not the artificial world of the Masala movie. The end of the musical involves Akaash having to choose between fame and the people he left behind in the slums. Throw in some eunuchs, the underworld, corruption, a ‘Smita Smitten’ style reporter and lots of gorgeous gals in wet saris and there you have it.

THE MUSIC - The music is by A.R. Rahman who is revered by Bollywood fans (Don Black supplies some of the lyrics). Most of the songs used in Bombay Dreams are from films so there is a danger that Bollywood buffs will feel they’ve heard it all before. I don’t think this is necessarily a problem as it is great hearing these songs 'live' (some involve t
he actors miming in true Bollywood style). Chaiyya Chaiyya is as stunning on stage as it was in ‘Dil Se’ (they even try and recreate the train scene!). Shakalaka Baby is great fun and very sexy and the Wedding Qawwali is stunning. I wasn’t as keen on the more Western numbers, although they are needed as this is, of course, first and foremost a West End musical. Some of the songs are in Hindi, but it doesn’t matter as it’s not necessary to know what is being sung. Plus they wouldn’t sound half as good in English. The dancing is fantastic and I would go and see Bombay Dreams just for the dancing. The moment in Shakalaka Baby when the fountains come on and soak the sari-clad dancers is wonderful (wet Sari scenes are very popular amongst male Bollywood fans!).

THE CAST - I have seen this musical twice and had my doubts about the casting the first time round. I saw it early in it’s run and some of the main characters were not managing to hit their notes during the songs. Andrew Lloyd Webber has very admirably used an all-Asian cast, but the problem is that they do not have the training that your experienced West End star has. I’m glad to say that by the second time I saw it they had improved considerably. Raza Jaffrey and Preeya Kalidas are a believable hero and heroine, although I didn’t think Raza had the charisma of your average Bollywood heartthrob. Ayesha Dharker is stunning as the Bollywood diva and got tons of wolf whistles from the men in the audience (if you have a daughter who is obsessed with her weight take her to see the curvacious Ayesha looking scrumptious in her soggy Sari). Raj Ghatak is wonderful as the kind-hearted eunuch and Shelley King is excellent as the show biz reporter, although Meera Syal has rather lazily just recreated her Smita Smitten character from ‘Goodness Gracious Me’. The supporting cast are all very good, although I wish Ramon Tikaram (who you may remember from
‘This Life’) had a larger role.

THE CRITICISMS - There have been many criticisms of Bombay Dreams and I would agree with some of them. Meera Syal’s book has come in for a lot of flak which I think is justified. The dialogue did seem terribly stilted and the whole thing didn’t gel too well. I love Meera’s writing so I was expecting greater things. Some people feel that the story is outdated and cliched which I would also agree with. Bollywood films have changed a great deal and this musical only really focuses on your stereotypical Masala movie. The portrayal of Bombay has also annoyed some Indians, I’ve never visited Bombay so I cannot comment. I also understand that some Asians feel that this musical stereotypes the Asian community. I have to admit that I feel torn over this argument. Yes, it probably does to some extent, but musicals are not documentaries. I don’t think anyone goes to see ‘Les Miserables’ to learn about French history! I think that the fact this is the first musical of this kind in the West End has made people oversensitive (and I don’t mean that in a bad way).

ALL IN ALL - Yes, it’s flawed, but I really enjoyed it. The cast really throw themselves into it and it’s definitely a high-energy musical. The music and dancing is wonderful and I really felt that the audience got into it. I had an America guy sitting next to me who asked me what Bollywood is and was surprised to hear that there is a film industry in India (!?). During one scene he just leapt up and started dancing! The price is a bit off-putting as I paid about £35 for my ticket, but you expect that in the West End. Plus you really need a good view of the stage. I would recommend this to anyone, just don’t expect a perfectly polished West End musical. You won’t know whether you like it until you try it!

P.S. If anyone can tell me what 'Shakalaka' means I'd be most g
rateful!

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