What was the idea/thought behind choosing this particular presentation format of fusing Bollywood songs and dance with Classical dance and English dialogues?
Presenting musicals where we encompass some of the Indian cultural traditions was already a done and time-tested way of communication. Maya Ravan was the first in that genre. It is but natural that I wanted the same response for Krishna - the beloved. These are just the practises that I know, that have been performed in Krishna. The key players in Krishna are my students who have been taught the same for almost 15 years.
I just made something that I myself would love to watch and understand and I knew that I wouldn't be happy with the same stories or understandings that we hear from time to time. Krishna belongs to everyone and the interpretations lent are from books from different authors and sensibilities. The common thread is that we all love him.
Who are your target audience for the musical? How many shows of 'Krishna' have you staged abroad? And, how different are the international audience from the domestic audience?
There is no target audience - I do not make or perform with a particular audience in mind. Most artistes create in the hope that they can reach out and make people happy and carry them along in their dream world.
Our 100th and the last show is in Chennai on 25th August – Janmashtami.
The Indian audience locally and abroad are the same! Either they like or don’t like it. Madurai was a fantastic audience. If we cater to an audience which doesn’t have an ethnic Indian population, then they don’t understand it as it is very complex to understand the philosophy or the relationship of the characters when we show episodes from the Mahabharata.
They sit through and enjoy the riot of colours, costumes and music, I guess!
Nearing 100 shows, do you plan to make any changes/modifications to the musical?
I would like the production to hibernate for a while - when we metamorphose. I hope it is into a rainbow hued unicorn and not a sloth.
When you do the role of Krishna on stage, is there any transformation that you undergo? How do you feel playing such a powerful and important character?
When I play Krishna I do not under go any transformation. What I do is try to think as to why I began writing the musical in the first place and try to lend the character as much of shringar and an appearance of compassion as I can.
Tell us about the dance academy, Kalarpana you run?
Many things are close to my heart. People are, music is, I would like to believe in people as much as I can and ride on music as much as life permits!
The academy of bharatanatyam, is what it is - an honest attempt to impart what I know. It is being run by a presently dedicated team of teachers, who only teach dance for their living. I am honoured that I have motivated them in such a manner - teaching is not a lost art but respecting it, is a lost tradition.
