[ ACTOR P.O.V IV ] Believing in your craft

This came up on the second night of our performance (Sultana Daku) we were praying and expressing our thoughts right before run, when an interesting point was made, people will have have different reactions based on their perceptions to what we offer on stage. We must not make hasty decisions, we must have faith in what we have worked on and believe in our craft. I think this is an important message for a show like ours where there is a certain way of doing things and it should be adhered to if we want to perform the art form the way it is meant to be. There are audiences that we have had and will have (March 29th show) , who are not familiar with true form of nautanki, who will be challenged and will react, but we must stay honest to what we have learned and portray it with artistic audacity. We cannot compromise the art for those who do not know about it. Who knows what they didn't necessarily agree with might cause them to learn more.

Pictures from the first two shows : Click Here
My previous post on Sultana Daku : Click Here

[ ACTOR P.O.V III ] Taking risks and exploring

It's on yahoo today, in case you didn't notice (click here). Needless to say that this is a production full of lavish sets, costumes and amazing talent.

But why is this really exciting? Because it screams exploration, it shows artistic risks and melding and mixes brought together by an artist from bollywood which we wouldn't expect. This brings me back to my previous post about our upcoming production of Sultana Daku (only 1 day left... woo hoo) I had mentioned that us Indians do not focus on preservation, we are busy bragging about our culture. I would say that Padmavati proves that there are individuals who can change that, who have the resources, artistic ability and power to change that.
(tried finding a better image, but oh well.. and yes I know! the elephant image is all over the web)

Padmavati is heavily influenced by the music of India, more so than any of Roussel’s works. Where he doesn’t use actual Hindu melodies, he uses Hindu scales extensively; these scales use different melodic intervals than in the West. Notice the “oriental” effect of these scales in the enchantingly ethereal song of the brahmin, describing Padmavati’s beauty

Padmavati marked an abrupt change of Roussel’s style, away from typically French manners and civility and toward classical forms, rhythmic power, powerful emotions, and even occasionally, a very un-Gallic ferocity.
(click to listen). (source: click here)

We have substance in our art forms that must not be lost, Roussel saw it, he captured it and I'm glad to say that an Indian, Sanjay Leela Bhansali brought it to stage. This will show and hopefully cause our talent to take risks and explore, in this manner. Here we see an indian artist showing indian art on a western stage, challenging western audiences to another dimension of art.

We have conformed to adapt our art to the west, we continously struggle to fit in that group, which is also a risk but I think there needs to be a well-formed approach to that. Here with Padmavati we are bringing forth our story, I'm hoping we will see many other stories, that otherwise seem to fade away, from India come to the center stage in the west.

I hope I get to see it, it's gonna take some hoping because looks like it will only be traveling to Italy, Brazil and India after the run in Paris. How can they miss San Francisco... come on people!!!!!