BOMBAY DREAMS
ANDREW LLOYD WEBBER'S PRODUCTION
OF A R RAHMAN'S MUSICAL
THE APOLLO VICTORIA THEATRE
17 WILTON ROAD
LONDON SW 1V 1LL
Tickets, priced from £14 to £40.
Theatre Box Office on 0870 4000 650.
www.bombaydreamsthemusical.com

Music by A R Rahman, Lyrics by Don Black, Script by Meera Syal. Directed by Steven Pimlott, Production Design by Mark Thompson. Choreography by Anthony Van Laast, Bollywood dance sequences choreographed by Farah Khan. Musical supervision by Christopher Nightingale. Starring Raza Jaffrey, Preeya Kalidas, Ayesha Dharker, Raj Ghatak, Shelley King, Raad Rawi, Dalip Tahil, Ramon Tikaram and other cast members.

The hopes of an entire South Asian Community rest on the success of Andrew Lloyd Webber's new musical 'Bombay Dreams'. After all, if this celebrated theatrical maestro with the world-famous music of A R Rahman and several million pounds cannot make a success out of this venture, then there is little hope of the South Asian Art form becoming mainstream. The kathaks, qawwali's and natak fringe productions will remain just that - fringe.

Based on a script by 'Goodness Gracious Me' actress and writer Meera Syal, the tale is simple enough. Young Mumbai (Bombay) slum-dweller Akaash (Raza Jaffrey) dreams of becoming a movie star. His fateful encounter with the beautiful, strong-willed Priya (Preeya Kalidas) and her movie-mogul father, Madan (Dalip Tahil), seals Akaash's destiny. If the plot resembles the convoluted tale of an average Bollywood film, then in many respects that it exactly what it intends. How can else can one throw in a cast of thousands, hip-gyrating dance numbers, a song every 3 minutes and enough colour to make it look like Holi?

Syal's plot uses some of the better-known aspects of the Mumbai (Bombay) Film Industry, affectionately known as "Bollywood". JK, played by Raad Rawi is the underworld boss controlling the movie-making business. His cohort Vikram (Ramon Tikaram) is the fiancée of Priya and the crusading lawyer for the slum dwellers. Raj Ghatak plays sari-wearing Hijra 'Sweetie', although he must be a little concerned about being typecast in this type of role after playing Raj in the play 'Hijra' at the Bush Theatre last year.

Sweetie is Akaash's slum-dwelling friend and mentor. Through his contacts he sneaks Akaash into a televised Miss India beauty contest. Shelley King who plays her role beautifully as the bitchy 'Kitty' - film critic for India's premier home-shopping channel - is a wonderful link between scenes. She helps with the narrative and prevents the play completely going off the rails. Fans of Meera Syal will note that the character 'Kitty' is exactly the same as 'Smita Smitten' from 'Goodness Gracious Me' and fans of filimi magazine 'Stardust' will probably be able to pin down the tone to the columnist for "Neeta's Natter".

At the Miss India beauty pageant the simply brilliant Ayesha Dharker enters the show as Rani, former winner of the contest and now top Bollywood Actress. A demonstration by beauty-pageant hating feminists, results in Akaash grabbing the spot light with a truly atrocious song and dance number in front of the cameras.

Akaash is thrown into jail alongside the campaigning feminists and Sweetie, where he meets Madan (I forget why Madan is in jail) who casts him as the lead in his next movie to be directed by his daughter Priya. Akaash initially struggles with his non-existent acting skills until Priya helps him with the dialogue. The two fall in love off-screen as Akaash is catapulted to fame and cast alongside the effervescent top Bollywood actress Rani.

I was a little disappointed that there wasn't more new musical material from A R Rahman. Possibly his most successful tune 'Chhaiyya Chaiyya' from the film 'Dil Se' is re-created in its entirety on stage, train and all. Placed in the context of Akaash's film this song will quicken the foot tapping by Bollywood fans. I spotted theme tunes from 'Taal' and 'Rangeela' too. Thankfully Rahman stopped short of using 'Maa Tujhe Salaam' (Vandemataram), as that really would have meant going over-board.

'Shakalaka Baby' is my song for this summer. Performed energetically by the hugely talented Ayesha Dharker this catchy number is bound to be a sure-fire hit with the tweenagers. The song 'Salaam Bombay' is more A R Rahman using the drums, dhol and all manner of instruments melodiously. The 'Journey Home' has a haunting tune but is then lathered in syrupy-sweet English Lyrics. This is the primary weakness of this musical. I don't think the English lyrics work that well with Rahman's music. They didn't work in 'O Rey Chori' in Aamir Khan's hit-film 'Lagaan' and they don't work in Bombay Dreams.

Similarly, the voices of both lead stars Raza Jaffrey and Preeya Kalidas are not strong enough for the big Bollywood performances required. Whist Raza Jaffrey metamorphoses well into the guilt-ridden Bollywood superstar, Preeya Kalidas performs less well. Constantly featuring a pained expression as if perpetually constipated, her acting is weak and her singing voice is thin. Her Bombayite mannerisms delivered with a English accent are unconvincing and she really needs to work on the head shaking!

I would discuss the music a little more except that my CD of 'Bombay Dreams' is still on order. These have instantly become like gold dust in London. The most visually stunning performance is the jailbird song 'Don't Release Me'. Excellent staging, lighting and choreography make this song thrilling to watch. Indeed the whole production is slick and the visual effects like the monsoon rains and fountains in the wet-sari routine are simply stunning.

Bollywood aficionados will understand the "wet-sari" routine performed by the well-endowed Ayesha Dharker. Nasreen Munni Kabir's book 'Bollywood - The Indian Cinema Story' has this explanation of the wet-sari dance by psychotherapist Udayan Patel "The gyrations are repeated and the use of the eyes and lips are suggest overt sexuality. In family entertainment there is no kiss, there is no sex. So sexuality is expressed through dance and the movement of the body drenched by water. The dance movements remind you of sexual intercourse without touching or kissing, The more vulgar movements create erotic fantasies. All heroines have a way of arousing in the audience active sexual fantasises and the more the fantasies, the greater the heroine's success".

Surprisingly Bombay Dreams has departed from the "No Kiss" rule with an almost 30-second centre stage snog between the two leads. Perhaps a little gratuitous given that there is seemingly little charisma between Raza Jaffrey and Preeya Kalidas and a small facet that may mar an otherwise conventional Bollywood tale.

The supporting cast, and there appear to be a lot of them, play their roles supremely well. Ramon Tikaram is uncharacteristically animated as the duplicitous lawyer 'Vikram' and three other equally good Hijra characters support Raj Ghatak's mesmerising performance. There is the white sari-clad mother figure, the double-crossing landlord and the airhead 'Miss New Mona'. Woven together with no Bombay gag left untold, the plot culminates in a hilarious 'Wedding Qawwali' shoot-out cum karate-kicking finale that is superbly choreographed and hilarious to watch.

If you can suspend your disbelief for a few hours 'Bombay Dreams' will entertain as no Bollywood movie can and Rahman's music will fill your ears as only he can.