Energetic celebration by the Merchants of Bollywood
By Rama Gaind
From stage to the big screen, a concert film of the colourful and energetic celebration of song and dance titled The Merchants of Bollywood is screening at Canberra’s Greater Union Cinema for a limited season.
The lavish stage production has toured the world and tells the story of the Merchant family dynasty that holds the responsibility to uphold the ancient tradition of the Kathak dance, the dance of the Gods.
The story intertwined through dance is the fictional version of Vaibhavi Merchant’s life, who is now known as ‘choreographer to the stars’ in Bollywood, but was born into a family of kathak dancers from Jaipur. She is the granddaughter of pioneering choreographer Shri B. Hiralal, who was dancer and choreographer during the ‘golden era’ of Hindi cinema.
She choreographed the musical The Merchants of Bollywood which was written by Toby Gough. Her sister Shruti has been directing the musical both in the UK and Australia.
In the stage version captured on film, the main role is played by Carol Furtado as the rebellious Ayesha and Dipender Singh as Uday, her childhood sweetheart.
This particular dance tradition is about to die out with the last of the gurus, Shantilal Merchant. His granddaughter Ayesha goes against his wishes, goes to Bollywood and applies a more modern version to dance routines in films and is now ‘choreographer to the stars’ in Bollywood.
From hip-hop and classics to disco, the vivacious moves by the dancers carry the audience with them. With an irresistible beat, the music has been written and arranged by composers Salim and Sulaiman Merchant
The concert in this movie was filmed at Barcelona’s Tivoli Theatre and features 40 dancers on stage, who change into more than 1000 costumes and wear 2500 pieces of Indian jewellery.
There are 800 films made in Mumbai every year, and the grandiose backdrop of the show replicates some of the most popular movies including a handful of classics from 1955 to 1974. Indian cinema fans will recognise the parodies of stars of today and yesteryear and references of such gems as Mughal-e-Azam and the legendary dance by actress Madhubala.
Vaibhavi continued to choreograph selected numbers in prominent films such as Devdas, Baghban, Fida, Dhoom, Veer Zaara, Aaja Nachle, Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi and Jhoom Barabar Jhoom.
She also choreographed one of the most popular songs of 2005, ‘Kajra Re’ from Bunty aur Babli, winning several awards.
Where does she get her inspiration? She draws it from music itself, admitting to being aware of her traditional musical roots coupled with following the works of Kylie and Beyonce, to name a couple of young singing sensations.
Vaibhavi has been a judge on popular dance shows on television in India – Nach Baliye 3 and Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa – which has further pushed her profile into the limelight. If you missed the stage show, then now is your chance to see, and re-live, an unforgettable Indian musical experience!
