Photo: Trivial handling – colourful show: Audience is enslaved by Hindi-Musicals

Men get enraptured only later Bollywood show in the theatre of Peine mesmerizes the public

From Iris N Masson

Peine: Women quota in the theatre: Cheering ladies, partially in shining sari, with clinking belly dance chains, glittering bindis on the forehead, head gears and hands painted with Henna, this is the Bollywood fever, Peine is intoxicated by Hindi Musical.

Bollywood films have unleashed Euphoria world-wide. Like an explosion have they conquered German screens. Werner Bogner has already been defeated once before them, as he admits, his daughter Katharina is a complete addict of these films, own 150 DVDs, and besides her mother Heidi has adapted herself optically to the event. Similarly Christin Petzhold and Juliane Engelmann from Buelten. The success formula of this crooner, which is now casting a magical spell as dance show even in theatre on millions of audiences? Conceivably simply, conceivably exciting: Heart, pain, magnamous emotions, people who fall in love with each other. Evil characters, which obstruct this, kindnapping, tears, disappointments, escape, struggle, promises of faith and trust, Happy end – a must in each Indian mega movie. Beautiful colours, invariably loud, beautiful kitsch. Kitsch as only kitsch can be.

Magnificent even when notably short co-co production from Konzertdirektion Landgraf and their Indian production company Team Work Film was performed on Monday evening. Elaborate light effects, stage picture of myriad colours, and glittering costumes, build the framework for the clichéd treatment. So trivial, that the narration is not worth. But it is compensated by the foreign, mystical music full of temperament, between tradition and modern. Pulsating rhythms from recordings connect western pop with Indian sounds of live percussion played on native instruments and songs in intense child-woman voice. The obligatory dance scenes with a 30 head strong ensemble have a peculiarly exaggerated and angular effect. Wonderfully graceful and mythical are the Indian temple dances. Magical screen picture of elephants, rice fields, forest or the Ganges float over all this and lead one on to a sensual journey in a fascinating, exotic world. Vendors fly through the hall, carry souvenirs, bangles, wind wheels on their shops on the stomach. And Julia entwines her arms passionately around Romeo – from a balcony enveloped in mist. Shakespeare greets.

Just shortly before the quick end, which the audience experiences while standing and applauding humming, do the men allow themselves to be carried away with the effervescent rhythm, and join the final wedding dance.

Heart, Pain, Music and a magnificent Happy End
“Bollywood-Dreams” in Wilhelm-Bendow-Theatre / Indian cult film reworked for theatre/ Love overcomes all hurdles

Love, pain, intrigue and a happy end: Audiences at the Einbeck Theatre experienced great cinema on the week-end through Bollywood-Dreams. Director Sanjoy Roy reworked popular Indian block buster film with a strong ensemble of singers, dancers and musicians for a stage performance. After a somewhat restrained and behaved beginning the residents of Einbeck went all the way along with it.

Einbeck: “In Bollywood films always have a happy end. Narrator-Sutradhar (Kalle Brell) promised the audiences in Bendow Theatre. But till the main protagonists Rahul and Priya (Rahil Tandon and Rea Kishnatryae) reached there, the spectators had to sit through a lot.

The love story begins harmoniously: On the railway station of Mumbai they meet / it is love at first sight. But Rahul wishes to first try his luck in this big city, while Priya is the daughter of a rich and influential father, the Don, who is not very diplomatic in his business. Even Rahul experiences this. The body guards of the Don chase him away from Priya’s house, kidnap him when he is partying with his friends in an effort to draw his attention away from his love. The Don offers him money, women, and tries to coerce him into leaving Priya for good. But after all this does not have any effect on Rahul, the Don also tortures him. In their dreams both lovers renew their promises to each other. While searching for Rahul his friends call on Lord Ganesha, who is known for His knowledge and wisdom. Priya succeeds in freeing Rahul, and in the subsequent fight against her father she is supported and helped by Rahul’s friends. An extremely elated Rahul proposes to Priya and she accepts happily. Now what remain are the blessings of the Don. After seeing how happy his daughter is the Don no longer opposes the nuptial. In the end a magnificent and colourful wedding is celebrated in a way that the new couple will always remember.

“We are bringing India to you” promises the narrator to the audiences, with fine souvenirs, like air balloons, sweets or bindis, but also with a lot of hectic, noise, excitement and chaos. That all, he adds, is just “blank nonsense, but amongst it you will still find the story of youth, luck and love. The treatment was a blend of tradition and modern, in terms of content, as well as in terms of décor and costumes. Even in this there was a balance of modernity and tradition, Sari and shiny stoles or Kurtas, knee-long shirts of the men, stood side by side with suits that can be found even in western musicals.

The word “Bollywood” comprises the name of the million-strong metropolis Bombay, recently renamed as Mumbai, and Hollywood – it indicates the Indian film industry, which produces approximately 1000 fiction film annually and is considered the most productive film industry in the world. The films run partially for years, and necessarily follow a particular formula and story-line: Man and women meet, they fall in love with each other, but have to overcome a number of hurdles and at the end, till finally they find themselves in each other’s arms. These evening-filling films are often accompanied by music and dance. The fans are proud that they can sing and dance along.

After the initial cautious reaction to the unusual sounds, and rare applause to individual scenes, the audiences of Einbeck were finally taken in by the spark. Latest by the wedding procession and the subsequent festivity they began clapping along. In fact many members of the audiences let themselves be pulled voluntarily in front of the stage and danced with the actors.

More than 30 members in the team – actors, singers, dancers, and musicians – brought foreign and fairy-tale like magic in the Bendow Theatre. And the spectators did not restrain the applause. With continuous ovation this ensemble that presented the premiere very recently was indeed highly appreciated.

PHOTO
Title: One saw impressive dance choreographies during the performance of the Musical “Bollywood-Dreams”.

Passion, struggle and romance – everything was danced
Musical “Bollywood-Dreams” mesmerizes 700 guests

From Andreas Stolz

City Centre: The dance dream has a name: Bollywood! The musical that is nothing more than a scenically choreographed sequence of dance and music, shook 700 visitors in the theatre yesterday off their seats. The festive mood at Klieversberg was warmed up through a skilled blend of modern choreographies and folkloristic dance.

The love story between Rahul and Priya – not without all friction and tension – is dramatically not very meaningful, but delivers a framework for a cinematic show. It begins with an Indian ritual: an invocation to the elephant head god, Lord Ganesha, who embodies knowledge and wisdom. Subsequently begins the love story that does not suit the father of the young lady. The scenic sequences are set together with swinging choreography and in some places dramatic twists. The Ensemble makes complete justice to both saddles. Strong in expression, the show features modern dance with full of life and passion, depicts hot exchange of words in impressively and lends the entire show a romantic note.

The movement sequences are technically very mature and breathe of vitality, the songs are great. An instrumental trio takes care that the dream like blend of Bollywood kindles emotions in the audiences. The trio plays guitar, nagaras (percussion instrument), and other traditional Indian instruments like Khamaicha, Khurtal and Morchang. All this with great perfection and joy that is evident while they play.

In the public the urge to dance was created in two ways. On the one hand the effervescent choreographies and on the other hand the artists left the stage for and led extra “restrengthening” from the public. To a euphoric end applauded 700 ecstatic spectators and many of them danced along.

Fine colour, fine kitsch, fine cheer
“Bollywood-Dreams” in Amberg city theatre: A light digestable spectacle, which is simply fun

(Photo title: Bollywood conquers Amberg: In the city theatre, audience experienced on Monday and Tuesday a colourful show without depth, but full of engaging group dances and magnificent optic.)

From Heike Unger

Amberg: Why should there always be something that stands in the way of love? This question remains unanswered. However, that does not make any difference, because in Bollywood love always meets a happy end. So it is not only in films but also in the show “Bollywood-Dreams” that was witnessed in the Amberg Theatre.

The content is secondary. One does not need to think too much about the more or less known storyline of the heart-pain stories, which form the framework for the Mega-Movies of the Indian film industry. Even in the Bollywood shows, which tour through Germany since a few years, those elements count, which only Bollywood can present. Every amount of colourful and glitzy costumes, pulsating music, traditional Indian sounds which connects with western pop, in addition to this songs with typical bright “child-woman voices” and of course the obligatory group dances.

Magnificent stage spectacle
The result is a magnificent stage spectacle that is trivial, is simple and sheer entertainment. But why should a theatre evening not be “only” that? The public in Amberg however were allowed to enjoy one/ one and a half hours of fun, the multi-coloured magical pictures that the dancers produce, enjoy and dream a bit like 1001 nights on the stage. The show, a production of Teamwork Films New Delhi in co-operation with Euro studio Landgraf, actually has something very fairy-tale like in it – and not only because a fairy tale narrator takes you through the evening.

Flying vendors, which offer Indian sweets and colourful air balloons win the auditorium over right in the beginning of the show, and already the audience finds itself in the midst of a fairy tale of Rahul, the guy from the village, who falls in love in Priya, daughter of an underworld King. Till the both can find themselves in each other’ arms at the end, a few hours pass by, in fine colour, kitsch and cheer. But also with a lot of drama – thus exactly as it should be in Bollywood.

Infectious festivity
Good mooded up to 30 dancers spin on the stage. The love for life that they spread reaches effortlessly to the spectators, in any case to most of them. A few, especially men, look on a bit skeptically. A majority, most from the fair sex, allow themselves to be infected by the festivity and cheer generously by applauding with hands and feet. Not only does is the show opulent, but also even the peppy Indian pop music – Pretty woman goes bhangra – has something so mesmerizing, that one sinks into it for 90 minutes.

Although the invitation to participate in the final wedding dance sequence was not accepted with great enthusiasm by a majority of spectators, it was still very beautiful. The show was greeted by a powerful applauded at the end in the city theatre.