Bollywood comes to Durban and Joburg

Seen by over half a million people during countless worldwide performances and tours, Mystic India is a Bollywood music and dance spectacular based on the concept of ancient India’s transition into modern India.

Featuring some 22 musicians, dancers, aerialists and acrobats, as well as 750 costume changes, the show is bound to keep you at the edge of your seat. 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.

A mesmerising combo

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. This production showcases Bollywood at its finest and audiences can brace themselves for an explosion of colour and energy.

Audience members will be invited along for a festive journey 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.

Talking about Mystic India, Shah said: “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!”

Female lead

The female lead of Mystic India, 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, Kruti Shah also developed an interest in more ancient Indian forms of dance, particularly Bharatnyatam and Kathak.

She joined the AATMA as a principal dancer in 2010 and has since been promoted to choreographer and dance trainer.

Mystic India’s narrator, Sanjay Sahini, is originally from Delhi and received his professional actor’s training at 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. He also received numerous awards for his one-man show, in which he performs incredible imitations of Bollywood’s big stars.

Specialty acts

Bringing the element of adventure to Mystic India, are the specialty acts, like the ancient sport of Mallakhamb and the aerial arts. The choreographer, trainer and performer in charge of constructing these stunning pieces into the show, is Rajesh Mudki, who hails from Mumbai, where he has devoted his life to these spectacular sports.

Mudki has 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.

Mudki has appeared and worked on shows such as Dance India Dance, Just Dance, DID Little Masters and India’s Got Talent.

Tickets range between R185 and R485 and will be available through Computicket (www.computicket.com) and its various retail outlets.

For more information, go to www.mysticindiatheshow.com.