The Merchants of Bollywood Lyric Theatre, HK Academy for Performing Arts Reviewed: Feb 5
Written and directed by Toby Gough, The Merchants of Bollywood is inspired by the real-life story of Vaibhavi Merchant, a dancer seeking to follow in the footsteps of her grandfather Hiralalji, a legendary choreographer for Indian films of the 1950s and 60s. Over Hiralalji's objections, Vaibhavi went on to become a top choreographer.
The Merchants of Bollywood is essentially a dance show, with a thin plot that keeps things moving. That is not a problem as the amazing dancing and beautiful costumes keep the audience engaged.
Choreographer Vaibhavi shows that Bollywood dancing can be everything from hip hop, ballroom, disco, rock'n'roll, and kathak, a classical Indian dance. Throw in some good tunes and great dancers, and you have a hit. Composers Salim and Sulaiman Merchant - Vaibhavi's brothers - have created a score that captures the essence of traditional Indian music and Bollywood tunes, and the result is 100 minutes of almost non-stop catchy numbers as well as a couple of moving ballads. Carol Furtado, in the lead role of Ayesha (below), fares better as a dancer than an actress while Satwinder Singh Jaspal is fun in his comic role as the Happy Singh and Deepak Rawat, as Ayesha's muted love interest, wows the audience with his ripped physique and athleticism.
Until Feb 14. Tickets: HK$395-HK$795. HK Ticketing. Inquiries: 8203 0299