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Indian actor wins plaudits in South Africa
By Fakir Hassen, Indo-Asian News Service

Durban, Feb 2 (IANS) An innovative Bollywood-themed play starring Indian TV actor Gaurav Chopra has proved so popular during a two-month long run here that it has been extended for a few more weeks.

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Chopra, a runner-up in the Grasim Mr India contest in 1999, said the response to "Bombay Crush", a play with a simple plot of an Indian making his way from regal Randher in India to rural Zululand in South Africa, had been "just amazing".

Strung together by more than a score of popular Bollywood songs to which local dancers of all race groups perform, the play features innovative backlit screens and video projection for the split stage. 

Chopra plays Salman Ahmed, a Muslim lad who arrives in Durban pretending to be Rajesh Singh, his Hindu friend back home who has run away with a local girl there to avoid coming to meet his betrothed, Minal Singh, in Durban; as arranged by his parents.

In typical Bollywood style, boy rejects girl; parents try to get things going as quickly as possible for a wedding; a jealous local suitor provides problems, and just when Minal finally falls for Salman (or Rajesh, as she is led to believe), the truth is revealed.

But for all its predictability and cliched plot, South African Indians and people from other communities have been flocking to the Sibaya Casino theatre, north of here, to see "Bombay Crush", some returning to see it again.

Perhaps the main attraction is seeing Chopra in the lead, as he is a well-known star here because of the popularity of Indian satellite television channels such as Zee-TV.

He took up the assignment just as he finished work as the leading man in four Indian soaps last year.

"I was doing the last episode of my last show when (South African director) Junaid Ahmed met me in Mumbai. From the moment we met it seemed we were on the same page and within six days I was in South Africa," Chopra told IANS. 

With support from leading South African Indian filmmaker Anant Singh and his company Videovision, Ahmed brought in dancers from Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durban, including local actress Kajal Bhagwandeen to play the leading lady.

He also roped in top designers to support the two-tier stage, with actors sometimes on the top and dancers performing below - a little distractive to the audience at times, and maybe even unfair to the talented dancers.

Spectacular costumes brought in from India and supplemented with local Western outfits completed the vision of bringing Bollywood escapism in a live format to South Africans.

With the show now having proved successful here, especially with minor adaptations along the way to incorporate little uniquely South African idiosyncrasies, the producers are considering taking it abroad.

"Obviously with adaptation for the audience wherever we go," Chopra adds.

"The village idiot of India goes to Canada or the UK instead of South Africa - the concept is a universal thing. Anywhere that Bollywood is popular or that Bollywood can be introduced to people, I think it's a viable show."

Chopra gave the example of two Polish tourists staying in his hotel who came to see the show.

"They had no idea about Bollywood or Hindi cinema. They had not seen a single film and were totally uninformed about it. But they were blown away by the show, and they were so honest and sincere about it."

Conceding that he had been sceptical initially, Chopra said the success of "Bombay Crush" had been beyond all his expectations, especially since the promotion after the start of the show had been largely by word of mouth.

"In four and a half months I've missed Diwali, Christmas and New Year back home, but I've never felt like I've been away from home because of the acceptance, warmth and camaraderie here."