PUBLISHED November 26th, 2013 12:20 am | UPDATED July 25th, 2024 03:20 pm
This December, amongst all the festive flurry that will be hitting stages and concert venues across Singapore, a welcome respite from all the Ho Ho Ho will be bursting onto stage – introducing Bollywood Kee-Maa!
From evam, the production house that brought evam Stand-up Tamasha, comes this comic tribute to ‘the Masala Movie’. Celebrating 100 years of Indian cinema, this play pays a comical tribute to Bollywood and “every other Wood”. If art is the mirror of society and Cinema is the most popular art in India, then here’s a play that tries to capture India in 70 minutes – the method, the madness and the magic of popular Indian Cinema but captured on stage! The world of the rich father, his poor friend, the business magnate, his corrupt manager, the blind widowed mother, the U.S. returned heroine, the vampish stepmother, the forbidden love, the quest for revenge, the super villain and his abandoned lair, Mother India – yes they are all there.
We chat to producer and actor Karthik Kumar about the joys of poking fun at Bollywood…
Bollywood Kee-Maa pokes fun at the wonderful world that is Bollywood. For those not familiar with what that is, could you give us a quick idiots guide?
In fact our show is the quickest idiots guide to the magical madness that is Bollywood and pretty much all of Indian commercial cinema. Just remember, anyone who dies will come back; and anyone who says what they are, are never what they say they are. All single people won’t be allowed to remain single. And all emotions will be sung, and worse danced. And everybody comes together in the climax, except the police, who arrive late! Presenting ‘Bollywood Kee-Maa’!
To many, Bollywood is known for exaggerated song, dance and overall madness but also much, much more. So what can we expect to see in Bollywood Kee-Maa?
Every single Bollywood cliché woven seamlessly into one tale – and yet you’ll find it believable and that is the greatest tribute to Bollywood – they make the unbelievable, believable and visceral!
The play seeks to capture India in 70 minutes – is that quite a challenge?
What you can’t say in 70 minutes don’t bother trying to say in 140 – an old Chinese proverb! Jokes apart, the play is a pocket dictionary of everything that is ‘Bollywood’ – so 70 minutes should fit into your pocket! For the bigger Bollywood comedy you can go suffer the 180 minute KRISSHHH3!
As well as a good laugh, what can audiences expect to get from watching Bollywood Kee-Maa?
An understanding of why a Bollywood fan and the Indian movie audience member should be celebrated! There is a Desi in all of us – even if we aren’t from India. Secondly, it’s the simplicity of theatre – how 5 actors and 5 Frames can create an illusion of grandeur and drama, when an audience come in and complete that magic!
We hear the Chennai debut of Bollywood Kee-Maa had the audiences in splits. Can you give us a sneak peek of some of the aspects that will have us in stitches?
Chennai is the toughest audience – since it’s the farthest from Bollywood and anything Desi will be looked upon as – is there a Tamizh equivalent to that? But having said that, the mere fact that the show worked in Chennai is proof of the fact that Bollywood is universal!
Bollywood Kee-Maa is showing on 13 -14 December 2013 at the Alliance Francaise, tickets from SISTIC.
Photos courtesy of evam