If the reviews from international critics are anything
to go by, South African audiences are in for a treat from the festive Bollywood
music and dance spectacular, Mystic India, which has one performance at the Durban ICC on April 23 before
moving on to The Teatro Montecasino in Johannesburg.
Seen by over half a million people during countless
worldwide performances and tours, Mystic India is an internationally
acclaimed Bollywood music and dance spectacular based on the concept of ancient
India’s transition into modern India.
Featuring some 22 talented musicians, brilliant dancers,
mind-boggling aerialists and acrobats, as well as 750 lavish costume changes,
the show is bound to keep audiences at the edge of their seats. The flamboyant
costumes and extravagant sets have been custom-designed in India’s film capital
by a team of 40 creative designers and collaborators over the course of the
last four years.
This production intertwines a mesmerising combo:
Traditional India meets the urban streets of Mumbai and New York. It is hip and
trendy with all the glitter and bling to make it an all-out sensory sensation. The
festive journey travels through Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu,
Maharashtra, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat, and even through the evolution
of Bollywood films via a visual display that fuses dance, theatre and special
effects.
The celebratory production is directed and
choreographed by the prominent choreographer and production master, Amit Shah,
and produced by US-based AATMA Performing Arts, of which Shah is the founder
and creative director.
Shah is known for his critical eye and creative
disposition, and has many years of experience in the world of dance, theatre
and media. He has worked on Bollywood film sets with top actors and his
choreography has been featured on stage with Miss World Priyanka Chopra, as
well as in several films and music videos.
“If you have
ever wanted to visit India, this production is your direct flight there. Mystic India will blow you all the way to the small
villages of India to the fast-paced streets of Mumbai and New York. Audiences
will get it all!” says
Shah.
Mystic India’s female lead,
Kruti Shah, is an internationally distinguished dancer and choreographer who
shot to fame as a Top 10 finalist on the dance reality show, Just Dance.
While intensively training in modern forms of movement, such as ballet, pointe,
tap, hip-hop, jazz and modern, she also developed an interest in more ancient
Indian forms of dance, particularly Bharatnyatam and Kathak.
Mystic India’s narrator,
Sanjay Sahini, is originally from Delhi, India, and received his professional
actor’s training at the acclaimed HB Studios in New York City. His breakout
role was in the movie Khel Shuru in 2006, and since then he has gone on
to perform in numerous films, theatre and off-Broadway productions. One of his
most notable performances was in Qurbaani, a short film for which he
received a Best Actor Award.
The choreographer, trainer and performer in charge of
constructing the speciality acts is Rajesh Mudki. He hails from Mumbai, India, and
trained in Mallakhamb since the age of six, and has since mastered the aerial
mediums of silk, hoop, harness and rope. In 2007 he was honoured with the Shiv
Chattrapati Award from the Chief Minister of Maharashtra for Best Athlete of
the Year. He is the youngest player in history to receive this prestigious
award. Mudki has appeared and worked on shows, such as Dance India Dance,
Just Dance, DID Little Masters and India’s Got Talent.
This larger-than-life Bollywood extravaganza takes
place at the Durban ICC on April 23. Tickets range between R185 and R485 and are
available through Computicket (www.computicket.com)
and its various retail outlets.
Mystic India is presented
in association with Zee TV.
For more information, visit http://www.mysticindiatheshow.com/ or
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NvKrvV6ExWg