[Reader-list] Mahim Junction performance today! at Epicentre, Gurgaon

[rohitrellan at aol.in]

CELEBRATING A CENTURY OF INDIAN CINEMA, KATYAYANI'S EVERGREEN `MAHIM JUNCTION', AN AFFECTIONATE SPOOF ON THE `GOLDEN ERA' OF BOLLYWOOD CINEMA(60S AND 70S), PERFORMING TODAY AFTER GRAND TOURS TO THREE CONTINENTS AND 10 CITIES. 7:30 P.M. EPICENTRE, GURGAON. TICKETS: 350, 250, 150 AT THE VENUE. WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY SOHAILA KAPUR. 5TH YEAR RUNNING!




MAHIMJUNCTION—AN INTRODUCTION. 
 
 
Mahim Junction  is a play set in times whensurvival did not mean just the race to make ends meet. It was an era whenpeople actually enjoyed being part of that race, because the competition  was not yet cut- throat. It was a toleranttime that allowed the space for failure. 
 
 Itwas the age of Bollywood heart- throbs Rajesh Khanna and Amitabh Bachchan,trade union leaders like Datta Samant, national icons like Indira Gandhi andthe godfather-like dons , Haji Mastaan and Karim Lala… Yes, it was the coolsixties and the suave seventies. A period when film heroes wore their hearts ontheir sleeves and the villains paved the mean streets of Mumbai with gold. Atime to dream, and the time at hand, to chase those dreams.
 
The comedy wears the guise of a Bollywood movie of yore,tackling contemporary issues  through itstraditional epic style. Full of slumdog heroes, kitschy morality, saccharineemotions, filmi gags and colourful dancers lighting up the stage at the drop ofa hat….it draws a portrait of the city that was and still is, India’scommercial hub. Politics and corruption, socialism and communalism and, in themidst of it all, love, song, dance and seduction!  
In fact, as a film unraveling on stage, itis perhaps the first attempt in India to marry Bollywood to the stage. 
 
The production first opened at theEdinburgh Fringe as `Yeh Hai Mumbai MeriJaan’, and won the Herald Devil Award. It was subsequently invited for a 5city tour of the UK by the UK Arts Council. It then went on to perform inSingapore, Dubai, Oman and Malaysia and the Indian cities of Delhi, Hyderabadand Mumbai. 
 
WHY A BOLLYWOOD PLAY ?
The reason why we chose aBollywood based style is because of the widespread influence of Bollwood films.Derived from the `B’ of Bombay (the original home of this cinema) andHollywood, this genre of films has popular appeal not only amongst the roughly30 million Indian diaspora spread all over the world but also with non Indians.So whether it is America, Europe, Africa, Asia, the Gulf, or Australia, peoplehum Bollywood numbers and watch the movies either on the big screen or on theirlocal television channels. The Bollywood musicals influenced box office Hollywood hits likeMoulin Rouge and  the Oscarwinning Slumdog Millionnaire, which had inherently Bollywood themes andalso played an  instrumental role in therevival of the American musical film genre, resulting in hits such asChicago, The Producers, Rent, Dreamirls, Hairspray, Sweeney Todd, Across theUniverse, The Phantom of the Opera, Enchanted and Mamma Mia! Besides,one of Hollywood’s happening composers is a popular Bollywood music director,A.R. Rahman,  who won two Oscars for SlumdogMillionnaire and has three other popular projects to his credit; AndrewLloyd Webber’s Bombay Dreams,  Boyle’s new film, 127 Hours, for whichhe is a Golden Globe nominee and the stage version of Lord of The Rings.
 
WHY RETRO BOLLYWOOD?
Because that was considered to bethe golden age of Bollwood cinema. From the late 40s to the mid 70s, Bollywoodcinema displayed the reality of a developing country emerging from years ofcolonialism and was seen to “have a culture” (with socialist values) thatHollywood films lacked. People from Africa, the Middle East, East Europe, Asiaand the erstwhile Soviet Union, related to those films and a whole generationof fans grew up on the cross cultural appeal of Indian movies. Indian heroineswere modestly dressed (thereby displaying `respect’ for women), men and womenrarely kissed, and there was no nudity. 
Mahim Junction is a an affectionate spoof, which weconsider a tribute, to those idyllic films, which a generation of Indians and non Indians—treading the linebetween convention and modernism--grew up watching. 
 
 
  
  
PRESS  FOR MAHIM JUNCTION
  
 
  
U.K. (In its previous incarnation  as `Yeh Hai Mumbai Meri Jaan in 2002-3) 
   
  
If you are about to purchase a ticket for Andrew Lloyd Webber’s  latest assault on culture, `Bombay Dreams’, then please don’t: the real  action is in Edinburgh this August. Fringe shows do not come bigger than  Sohaila Kapur’s Yeh Hai… 
  
---Glasgow  & Edinburgh Events Guide 
   
   
  
What Kapur and Roy have achieved is an engagingly vivid evocation  of how life in India connects with Bollywood Films in more ways than  just watching on screen escapist romance & adventure… the sheer energy of  the musical numbers and its unexpected edge of political home truths might  well surprise and delight you. 
  
----- The Herald 
   
  
The Traverse is the venue for the show that won this year’s  Herald Devil awarded for embracing the spirit of the Fringe  ……it  went to….a celebration of Bollywood, `Yeh Hai Mumbai Meri Jaan…’ 
  
----- The Herald 
   
  
All the passion and cheesy plot devices of classic Bollywood  musical cinema has come to the Traverse in a production that sings, dances  and even has a political edge….at every turn of the plot, the cast breaks out  into song. Big allegorical numbers that turn the city’s dusty streets into  paths by rivers of gold. 
  
----- Edinburgh Evening News 
   
  
The bald headed energy with which `Yeh Hai Mumbai…’ tackles this  key subject of corruption in Indian politics, its links with the huge cash  machine that is Bollywood and its connection with the deliberate incitement  of tensions between the Hindu and Muslim Communities, that make the show well  worth seeing.
  
                            
  
-----The Scotsman  
  
 
  
INDIA (As `Mahim Junction’, starting December, 2008):  
  
Projecting the lives of slum-dwellers living next to railway  tracks as a window to the state of the nation, Sohaila Kapur's musical Mahim  Junction draws a portrait of Mumbai with a whirlwind resonance of the  golden era of Indian cinema.
  
--Indo Asian News Service (Delhi)
  
 
  
The lead actors do a fine job in endearing themselves to the  audience. This is to the credit of their histrionics and the director’s  instructions. Tariq Vasudeva, who plays Johnny the alcoholic, benefits  through some smart lines, but more so, because of his own convincing  performance. Pallav Chander, not only makes Ayesha the cross-dresser his own,  but makes her ours as well. Having donned the sari with grace and the  provocative blouse with ease he sails through the show on a wave of talent.  Karam and Jyotsana make a convincing couple in difficult love. With a large  cast of nearly 20 actors, the stage is always a flurry of movement helping to  create a Bombay platform.
  
 
  
--The Hindu (Delhi)
  
 
  
Mahim Junction is an amalgam of film  and theatre. …..it  showcases a time when heroes wore their hearts on  their sleeves and rich villains puffed cigars on the mean streets of Mumbai…!
  
--Asian Age (Delhi)
  
 
  
Bollywood and theatre are regarded as old foes…..Director Sohaila  Kapur, in a surprising turn of events, has…is….peacemaker in what reviews  have called `an entertaining mix of nostalgia and cinema’. Her much lauded  play Mahim Junction has finally made its way to the city that  inspired it.
  
 
  
--DNA, Mumbai
  
 
  
True to its time, the characterization is loud with amplified  expression. Re-enacting the 70s meant going beyond the floral shirts, orange  bell bottoms and pointy white shoes. So, the friendly neighbourhood  chaiwallah is handicapped, and greets people with a Bhojpuri song, and also  has an opinion on everthing…Sohaila Kapur’s Mahim Junction captures  Hindi cinema of the 70s in all its over-the-top glory.
  
--Mumbai Mirror, Mumbai
  
 
  
If you are a 70s Bollywood buff, we suggest you head to the Mahim  Junction. Well that is the name of sohaila Kapur’s new play….Having wowed  audiences in the UK, Singapore, Dubai, Muscat  and in parts of India,  the play is all set to bring the glitz, glamour and issues of the 70s back to  the stage.
  
 
  
--Mid Day, Mumbai
  
 
  
The play in English lovingly spoofs the stereotypes of the 70s and  recalls the nostalgia. Complete with song and dance, coy women, lecherous  villains, comic cops and kitschy morality, the story is set in a slum in  suburban Mumbai.
  
 
  
--Hindustan Times, Mumbai
  
 
  
UAE (2010):
  
 
  
Drama, love, passion, sleaze and foot tapping music. sohaila  Kapur’s Play, Mahim Junction has every element that a successful  Bollywood masala flick of the 70s had. …Writer, director sohaila Kapur  …brings out the essence and nuisance of Mumbai with every act, and ably puts  her message of peace and communal harmony across…the characters of the play –  not only seemed real but aptly portrayed Mumbai life.
  
 
  
--Khaleej Times (Dubai)
  
 
  
An entertaining mix of nostalgia and cinema, Mahim Junction  is a tribute to the city of dreams Mumbai and its favourite child, Bollywood.
  
--Times of Oman (Oman)
  
 
  
 
  
MALAYSIA (2010):
  
 
  
BOLLYWOOD fans had reveled in the spicy treat dished out by  Sohalia Kapur and friends at Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre (KLPac)  recently.
  
…From the land of laddus and Shah Rukh Khan, the energetic  actors gave the audience a whole lot of masala and laughs from start  to finish in the musical Mahim Junction.
  
Although it was not the traditional musical where performers burst  into song and dance throughout the show, Mahim Junction captured the  hearts of classic Bollywood fans with its old songs, entertaining dialogue  and energy from the entire cast.
  
 
  
--The Malay Mail, Kuala Lumpur    
  
 
  
  
  
Celebrity Comments:
  
 
  
             “I applaud Sohaila and her team for Mahim Junction. It is a  fascinating premise for a musical and extremely entertaining without losing  its inherent social comment on our urban lives.  
  
 Shekhar Kapur, Bafta winner & Oscar nominated director  of `Elizabeth’:  
  
              
  
             “Mahim Junction is a platform where all the communities of India  coexist peacefully...a once true picture of India and a hopeful one at that.  The musical is delightful, funny, meaningful & even contemporary, despite  being rooted in the 1970s; with an ensemble of fine actors. Superb  directorial achievement by Sohaila Kapur."  
  
 
  
Satish Kaushik, Bollywood director of hits like Tere Naam  & Mujhe Kucch Kehna Hai
  
 
  
             "I found the play enormously good fun, full of humour and energy. A must  -see for anyone who loves Hindi films!" 
  
Poonam Saxena, Associate Editor, Hindustan Times & Editor,  `Brunch’  
  
 
  
             "The play encompasses so many facets of Bollywood of the 1970s, it is  both, a crash course for beginners and a happy blast from the past for  seniors. I loved it". 
  
Indu Mirani, Entertainment Editor, `Mumbai Mirror':