Mega shows, Indian style

The success of big dance productions shows that there is hope and support for such works

October 26, 2017 03:16 pm | Updated 03:16 pm IST

Tushar Bhatt as Karna2 the Invincible ( for Ashish Khokar column) Pix credit Simha'sPhotography

Tushar Bhatt as Karna2 the Invincible ( for Ashish Khokar column) Pix credit Simha'sPhotography

Seventy-five shows in four months and may be 75 more to go seeing the popular demand. A cast of 30 on stage plus 30 behind the scenes, incharge of costumes, rehearsals, make-up, cues, music, technical support et al. Dancers drawn from four metros and three smart cities. Then two months spent in rehearsals followed by three months minimum of performance tour. Doesn’t this sound like a Broadway or a Bolshoi production? But this is Made in India, ‘Mughal-E-Azam’, directed by Feroz Abbas Khan of ‘Tumhari Amrita’ fame.

Choreographing such a feat are two of Bengaluru’s best dance sisters Mayuri and Madhuri Upadhyay.

What was the toughest part of mounting ‘Mughal-E-Azam’? Madhuri exclaims, “Team work! In India, the idea of working together is rare perhaps due to solo traditions in dance, so to get 30 Kathak dancers to work together for months is challenging. Also, in this season of rains, dengue and viral fever , when a dancer falls sick, it is difficult to fill that role, especially in a musical.”

Performing daily in Delhi’s Nehru stadium and at NCPA, Mumbai, they have achieved the impossible: winning new audiences for dance. “Besides, the money was good.” Dancers always face hardships, so to hear anyone say they have earned well, is heartening. Singer-actors Neha Sargam and Priyanka Barve undertook the central role of Anarkali.

Kathak dancers Tushar and Pooja Bhatt, who shaped ‘Karna - The Invincible’, worked with a group of 50 freelancers in Bengaluru for months, supported by Lalitha and Meena Das — who conceived and directed it besides being its patrons. Praveen Rao has done the superb music. Tushar also plays the key role of Karna.

Tushar says, “our biggest challenge was how to re-train ( and retain) dancers from different forms, and of different age groups to work in one production. Then the daily rehearsals, as most of the main characters are also established soloists such as Mithun Shyam and Sujoy Shanbhag, who sacrificed other shows, even tours.”

With this big production, Tushar and Pooja Bhatt have arrived on the big show circuit as choreographers.

Chennai’s Kalakshetra has a history of huge productions and in February of 2017, premiered ‘Sarasvati Antarvahini’ — a new work on the mythical river, when Priyadarsini Govind was its director. A work with rich inputs by many authorities in departments of script, music, costume and narration. Of course, anything that Kalakshetra undertakes has inbuilt institutional advantages of support of staff and students.

Two years ago, Pune’s senior Kathak guru Shama Bhate mounted a huge production ‘Atit Ki Parchayi’, in which a stellar cast of dancers such as Gopika Varma, Ramli Ibrahim, Vaibhav Arekar, Vyjayanti Kashi and the Sai Brothers donned main roles.

Last year, Rujuta Soman did ‘Rajhans’ in Kathak with over 30 dancers on stage ( it had lavish sets, costumes and music) on a theme of environmental concerns interlaced with two dancers’ journey and jealousy, and this mega production won the Mrinalini Sarabhai Choreography Award at the Trivandrum Festival.

Who will sponsor?

To independently maintain a big dance company is not easy as it requires funds. Who is willing to sponsor such productions? One film award night function costs crores, but who would put even a quarter of it in a musical or dance production? India has no culture of such support.

Uday Shankar was a pioneer that way, back in the 1930s, he kept a dance and live music company. Almost a hundred people travelled by ship to far away lands. In one diary entry in Mohan Khokar Collection, it states they had 889 shows in Europe and the U.S. (1938-1945), organised by the famed impresario Sol Hurok.

Today, dancers have to be their own managers and fund-raisers and costume designers and supporters.

But mega productions such as ‘Sarasvati Antarvahini’, ‘Mughal-E-Azam’ ; ‘Rajhans’ and ‘Karna’ show there is hope and support for such works. It requires financial support, team work, excellent choreography, music, costume, script and corps of dancers, who come together as a team.

The writer, a critic and historian, is the author of several books and edits attenDance, a yearbook

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.