FUNNY THING CALLED LOVE
UK Tour 23 April - 30 May 2004

One of the infamous villains from the Bollywood movie classic Sholay is making a rare visit to the UK to appear in the delightful Indian romantic comedy 'Funny Thing Called Love'. Vijay Khote who appeared alongside the famous bandit Gabbar Singh in Sholay will appear on Sunday 2nd May at the Theatre, mac in Birmingham.

A Funny Thing Called Love is presented by Destin Asian Arts Limited and Clowns 'R' Us, in association with sampad and is an adaptation of the play by the late Professor Vasant Kanetkar, famed for the invention of 'Hinglish Theatre'. The comedy which features 'hinglish' is a combination of the English language with a few Hindi colloquialisms and promises to provide many laughs, drama and a humorous insight into the highs and lows of marriage and the effects of falling hopelessly in love.

A Funny Thing Called Love is a heart-warming, colourful and hilarious story of a family as the children endeavour to seek out 'true love'. The Desai household includes the hen-pecked Mr Desai, the matriarchal Mrs Desai, Anuskha and Bunty. But the tranquillity of the household is interrupted with the arrival of Melwyn and Dougy D'costa.

Away from the watchful eye of Mrs Desai, Anushka and Melwyn profess undying love for each other. Defying the barriers of religion and caste, Funny Thing Called Love explores the hilarious angles of love, making this play a lively and entertaining night out.

Funny Thing Called Love is renowned playwright, adman, actor and director Bharat Dabholkar's latest offering. Dabholkar is celebrated in India for a string of successful comedies that audiences can fully relate to because the shows mirror everyday life. Dabholkar is also well known for bridging the regional and English theatre through his invention of 'Hinglish' theatre - a typical mixture of English with colloquial Hindi words. Funny Thing Called Love is undoubtedly his best show yet.

Vijay Khote, who plays Professor Desai says, "My character in this show is totally different to the villain I played in Sholay. This will be one of the those rare occasions where audiences in the UK will get to see me play a light hearted role, although I'm still expecting Sholay fans to come up to me and say 'Abh terra kya hoga Kaaliyaa!' ".