Bring On The Bollywood - Belgrade Theatre, Coventry

Bring on the Bollywood is a new production from the Belgrade Theatre, Coventry in association with Phizzical; it brings colour, humour and a taste of the exotic to the stage.

In a story with its roots very much in Indian cinema and culture, we are introduced to the Pawar family mainly living in India, with a daughter enjoying life in London.  Dr Katrina Pawar is summoned home to her brother Lucky’s wedding.  She dreads the trip as her mother; a professional matchmaker, is determined to find her a nice husband, Katrina is not interested. On the plane she spots Ronny who, despite him talking to himself, she finds quite attractive. He is on a journey to scatter the ashes of his wife and collect Holy Water for his father. Obviously their paths cross again and a fledging romance is born. Meanwhile Lucky is determined not to marry his fiancée Rekha and enlists Katrina’s help in breaking the engagement without causing the family to lose face and upset their mother.

Sohm Kapila is the Bollywood loving Katrina; she captured the torn loyalties between tradition and progression with conviction. Her dancing and singing were entrancing. The multifaceted Ronny Kappor was portrayed by Adam Samuel-Bal who captured the essence of the unlikely hero.  A beautiful character performance was delivered by Nikkita Chadha as Rekha; there was a touching vulnerable side to her, but a determination to be happy. Many people can recognise the overpowering Mother (Sakuntala Ramanee) and slightly hen-pecked Father (Rohit Gokani). This couple were responsible for many of the laughs of the show.With plenty of humour, it is a well observed comedy, accessible to all.

The show looks spectacular; the costumes are stunning and move beautifully during the dance numbers, with music and dancing playing a large part in this show, as you would expect. You are transported to a world of colour, rhythm and energetic, yet graceful dancing.
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With laughs, love, colour and music this is a show that has the feel good factor – a sheer delight from beginning to end.