Mumbai Star-The Dance Musical: Ode To The City Of Dreams 

In 1943, a young graduate boarded a train in Lahore to travel to Bombay. With no prospect and little money in hand, he dreamt of becoming a film star, like his idol, Ashok Kumar. In Bombay, he roughed it out in a chawl, walked the streets of the city, said to be paved in gold, and worked in the Military Censor’s office till he could realise his dream.  And realise his dream he did! In a few years, he tasted dizzying success as Dev Anand the actor, the star. A confident, hard-working youngster, he had made it on his own in a city where countless hopefuls throng, chasing their dreams.

In the following decades there would be others like him--complete outsiders making it big in tinsel town. Amitabh Bachchan, Mithun Chakraborty, Shah Rukh Khan, Raj Kumar Rao...the list is long and never-ending. One such starry-eyed migrant, also named Dev, is a fictional character in a musical that traces his journey from a small coastal village to the city of dreams, now called Mumbai.  

Mumbai Star-The Dance Musical, presented by Aadyam, an Aditya Birla Group Initiative, celebrates Dev’s meteoric rise to stardom, while also singing an ode to a city that takes everyone in its embrace, discriminating against none, and converting all into Mumbaikars. Produced by Devika Shahani, directed by Nadir Khan, the musical has been scripted by Arghya Lahiri and dyed-in-the-wool Mumbaikar, Akarsh Khurana. Supporting the latter duo, in the most entertaining manner, is lyricist Ishitta Arun whose songs are written, for a large part, in Bambayia bhasha, that wonderful mishmash of languages which makes everyone feel at home in what can be an intimidating city. Matching Ishitta’s lyrics set to lively, evocative tunes by Dhruv Ghanekar, is Avantika Bahl’s dynamic choreography, combining different dance styles to present the potpourri that is Mumbai.  

The result of all these talents, and several more, coming together is spectacular! From the very first scene, brilliantly lit by Arghya Lahiri and Niranjan Gokhale, when dancer Srishti Shrivastava, as Laya, expresses the aspirations of countless youngsters through a riveting dance, flying across the stage nimbly, to the last scene, celebrating the birth of a Mumbai star, the musical keeps you mesmerised.

The story of the musical is not new, and is summed up well in the last song of the show: Hero hai chhaaba, heroine hai raani/ Banna dono ko Mumbai Star/ Isi chakkar mein ho jaata hai pyaar/ Hit film ka formula hai yaar.

The show, in fact, has many commonly-used tropes, narrated by a guru, played by Rajit Kapur, to his student Laya. Laya, in typical Gen Z style, irreverently dismisses them as clichés. However, the guru, being a guru, proves that clichés are eternal truths.  

Director Nadir Khan explains why his musical is woven around them: “As far as clichés go, they exist because they have a very strong foundation of truth to them. Overuse and ‘commonness’ turn truths into what could be seen as clichés. But how you navigate around them is what brings meaning, freshness and purpose to your story.”

Certainly, Akarsh Khurana and Arghya Lahiri’s humour-sprinkled script presents time-worn subjects in a refreshing manner. Akarsh describes how the script evolved, “Yes, the story of Mumbai Star follows a clutch of oft-seen tropes—rags to riches, city of dreams, rich girl and poor boy, evil dad, fame is bad, the works. But all this works because they are conveying a larger philosophy, while also being entertaining. I think we chose to offer two perspectives—one that believes in fairy tales and one that is cynical of them. Director Nadir Khan gave us the freedom to cock a snook at some of the familiar elements and be subversive, while still serving the show.”

Arghya elaborates, “Everyone who has been around the entertainment business knows that the fairy tale can actually come true. Someone plucked from obscurity, lifted up high. It doesn’t always happen. But when it does, it can be magic. And this play is a fairy tale. These stories exist for a reason—as do clichés which become clichés only over time.”

Making the story of stardom even more magical are the fabulous dances through which it is told. After Laya’s prologue and an animated discussion with her mentor the scene shifts to a village where young fisher-folk dance vigorously to Jhoom le naach le/ Masti me gaa re. This is the ambience in which Dev grew up, and under whose star-spangled fish nets he dreamt: Kheloon sitaron se, choo loon mai aasman/ Ho kadmon pe mere, yeh duniya aur ye aasman.

Egged on by his brother and other villagers, Dev travels to Mumbai to pursue his dream, by participating in a dance competition. From his carefree, masti-filled gaon to a bustling metropolis is a big leap. Into the deep end. Ishitta’s lyric Kasa Kai Mumbai? (What’s up, Mumbai?) captures the mood of the city in typical street slang: Ghai re Ghai re Ghai re…/ Hava aane de, Time khoti karna na Bhai! Translated, the lines mean: Hurry, hurry, hurry/ Move out of the way, bro don’t waste time.

Relating how her song got the rhyme and rhythm of Mumbai so accurately, Ishitta says, “I’ve grown up in Mumbai; so capturing its essential chaos was non-negotiable for me. The city runs on a constant state of urgency—no one has time, even when they have nowhere specific to go. There’s this perpetual sense of motion; it’s loud, it’s messy, but oddly comforting. This is what I wanted to convey through this song: a rhythmic chaos that feels like a heartbeat.”

The heartbeat, the chaos is brought alive on stage with rap and hip-hop composed by Ghanekar and movements curated by Avantika. The energetic ensemble of chorus dancers create a typical rush-hour scene: pushing one’s way into a packed local train, clinging on for dear life on its footboard as it takes you from one end of the city to the other, pouring out of its entrails on to crowded roads, and rushing, with assembly-line precision, to places of work. Avantika describes how she choreographed the sequence: “We wanted to build a vivid, kinetic portrait of what it feels like when you first arrive in Mumbai, a city that can be both, exhilarating and unforgiving. The choreography draws from the chaos, disorientation and urgency one feels when first stepping into its relentless pace. From the sense of isolation to the unspoken pressure to quickly adapt and fall in step with its rhythm, we aimed to capture that raw, immersive experience through movement.” In keeping with this mood, Avenav Mukherjee, who plays Dev, trapped, willy-nilly, in the midst of this crowd, conveys helpless bewilderment through a wonderful combination of movement and emotion.

Later, when he trains under a Kathak guru, Tilak, his steps, conceived by guest choreographer Vidushi Uma Dogra, are infused with burning passion. Tilak, played by Abhishek Choksi, Dev and a team of skilled supporting dancers create riveting drama, keeping beat to Ghanekar’s heart-thumping combination of sitar and percussion.

There is more drama and passion in the dance where Dev and his competitor Koel, played by Arushi Nigam, do a jugalbandi. He does Kathak, she Ballet. Choreographed by Associate Choreographer Surabhi Andrade, this sequence has Arushi Nigam at one point, doing a spell-binding fusion of Ballet and Kathak. And when Dev and Koel embrace and twirl together they almost burn the stage with their intensity.

Kathak, ballet, hip-hop, contemporary, Bollywood… Avantika has used multiple dance forms to take the narrative forward. “The process was deeply informed by the music, narrative and the unique world we had to build for each song,” she explains. Struggle, stardom, hubris, retribution and finally, a happy end…all this and more are depicted through imaginative choreography.     

Alpana Chowdhury is an independent journalist