Dear Readers, today I bring to you the most
moving and impressive entertainment experience I’ve had in recent times- one
that betters movies or even live music by a factor of 10 easily. I am talking
about the new Broadway style musical on stage at the Kingdom of Dreams- Abhimanyu,
The Fastest Feet- the premier of which I had the good fortune to attend. This
genre pioneered by KoD in India, seems to bring together the liveliness of
traditional Indian drama (Nautanki or
Tamasha), combined with out of the world Bollywood style dance performances,
all this aided with technology in the form of quickly changing sets, digital
screens, moving multi-level telescopic stages, etc, to deliver a superlatively
immersive entertainment experience that transcends any other.
Why is Abhimanyu so special? Well for one its
underlying theme is a traditional Indian dance form-Kathak. The stage manages to
bring the splendour of Rajasthan via
screens and sets- even the experience of a train passing by- and the drama of
the plot unfolds with a lot of fantastic celebrations and song and dance
sequences amid some authentic acting by well-cast characters. I am never the
one to play spoiler but I’ll just say that for me the experience was much above
and beyond the story or the plot itself. What the show manages to showcase is
the dance, the colours, the liveliness, the emotions and the innate beauty of
Indian culture and traditions. Sandeep
mahavir , the protagonist is a Kathak prodigy and is actually the one
responsible for making this show come to life. Without giving away too much of
the plot, I’ll just say that a character of the musical happens to be a sort of
“item girl” but eventually gets
motivated to return to her classical roots. There’s an interesting international
flavour incorporated in the plot as well. The plot however is wafer thin , but it’s the
overall experience that eclipses these minor flaws. I was mesmerised by the
dreamy romantic dance sequence , while the Ganesha sequence brought alive festive
splendour , and the show off between Hiphop and kathak was a befitting finale .The
show ends with the protagonist redeeming himself and making his late father’s
dream come true.
One of the feats was the successful use of
the ancillary infrastructure available at Nautanki
Mahal to deliver a powerful experience with a myriad of emotions in
semi-filmy style and at the same time manages to keep the audience rooted
through the messages of love for Indian culture and our values of community and
relationships. The Broadway like musical experience was a rare experience for
me and I really don’t think I’m going back to watching the usual Bollywood
flick in the usual multiplex anytime soon. So folks, book your tickets for the
next show of Abhimanyu
ASAP!
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