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Looking back on my trip to the UK this summer, I can say without a doubt that seeing Bombay Dreams in the West End was my most memorable experience . I was skeptical about the play worrying that it would be too much like a formula driven Bollywood film but I was pleasantly surprised. Meera Syal who wrote the script used stereotypical Bollywood style but she used it in order to mock Bollywood and it worked very well with the musical.

Lord Lloyd-Webber , prior to producing this musical had taken a keen interest in music from Bollywood and had taken special interest in Bollywood's most renowned composer A.R Rahman. The combination of these two greats in the production of Bombay Dreams resulted in the colours and flavours of the East mingled with the immaculate production  values of the West . Songs such as Shakalaka Baby with its impressive set piece complete with dancing fountains and Chaya Chaya were some of the most memorable moments in the musical .

The story is about the slum dweller Akaash who has big dreams of becoming a star and Priya, the beautiful, principled daughter of major movie director Madan . Akaash gets a break in the film industry when by chance he performs at a Miss World competition hosted by his idol , major film star Rani. Madan spots his talent and offers him a chance to act . During the Miss World competition he bumps into Madan's daughter Priya and falls in love with her . The only problem is Akaash forgets the people of the slums that loved and supported his dreams, whose homes are now going to be destroyed by Bulldozers, and Priya is already engaged to someone. Definetely the cheesy melodrama of Bollywood but the play wouldn't feel right any other way  .

The sets in Bombay Dreams were excellent . The design was immaculate and one felt immersed completely in the musical. The various scenes and dancing sequences(courtesy Farah Khan) were also choreographed well and generally the delivery of the musical felt right . It never left you feeling out of place .

As I saw the play only this summer I was treated to the new cast of Bombay Dreams . Stephen-Rahman Hughes plays hero Akaash and Zehra Naqvi plays the heroine Priya. The acting was good and left me completely absorbed in the musical .

My only complaint with Bombay Dreams was that it was a little too long.  The scenes were overly drawn out and could've been cut shorter . Sometimes the dialogue was stretched far beyond need but overall the Bombay Dreams experience was one I highly recommend anybody who has time while they are in London to catch.

- Azim Wazeer

Power of the Himalayas - Unleashed

By Kumudu Amarasingham To each his own path. Seven Years In Tibet is the story of one man's journey down the road to. Enlightenment? Maturity? Being? Maybe all three. It is the kind of movie that will not make you cry or laugh or even think much immediately - but it will stay with you for the rest of your life. Somewhere in that infinite vastness that is the soul, it will stay hidden, subtly influencing every tiny action. That could be the power of the ancient mountains or the movie - or both. The storyline is relatively uncomplicated. A famed Austrian climber ditches his pregnant wife to go attempt some of the most treacherous slopes in the Himalayas.

The war starts somewhere in the middle of the adventure. He is arrested. He escapes. He, selfish as he is, actually finds a friend. They roam around Tibet worse than beggars. Finally enter the holy city of Lhasa, meet the Dalai Lama who becomes his mentor, and they become a part of Tibet's turbulent past.

Brad Pitt plays the role of Heinrich Harrer, the mountain-climber who, at the beginning of the movie leaves you feeling like you want to give him a good thrashing. At the end of it however not only do you like the intriguing character, you are left with a curious desire to learn more about the man and his mentor.

The acting is creditable. The scenery can only be described as breathtaking. The emphasis on the wrongs done, Tibet manages not to be gory but still provoke anger.

Perhaps fewer events could have been packed into the first half of the movie. Then again, considering its length, only the pace saves the viewer a few yawns.

A stunning combination of the spiritual and the adventurous - it was well worth 139 minutes of being a couch potato!  

Handel's Messiah - on boards again

When the Cantata Singers were preparing for a performance of excerpts from Messiah on May 3, a certain newspaper kindly gave advance notice and publicity with the headline "Messiah resurrected." Resurrected it was after a considerable period. It was a delightful accomplishment. The Trustees of the Lionel Wendt Arts Centre have invited the Cantata Singers to repeat Messiah to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Lionel Wendt as a Centre for the Arts on August 28. Messiah is acclaimed as the quintessence of choral composition. The original idea of the genre was that it should be a sacred opera, the emphasis  of which was on the excellence and virtuosity of the solo voice, and the choir was used very little. The new form of oratorio which Handel introduced became popular.

Handel brought to life great heroes and heroines and dramatic biblical characters. He not only gave scope for the lapse of operatic props by dynamic choral composition with decorative grandeur and clear visual display of movements but also artistic musical interpretation. Messiah is one of these.

Messiah is a colossal monument to Handel and to privileged listeners a meditative retreat to ponder the proclamation, sacrifice and promise which the Cantata Singers sing about in excerpts made up of short relevant solos linked with inspiring choruses.

Satyendra Chellappah conducts with instrumental support from Jayadeva Ratnanayagam (organ) and Navin Fernando and Hemange Samaraweera (Trumpet). Soloists are Menaka de Fonseka Sahabandu, Avanti Perera, Asitha Tennekoon and Dhilan Guanadurai.

The Revelations will also be singing at this commemoration concert.  The Revelations is a popular group of male voices who gave their first performance in 1994 followed by An Evening With Revelations in 2000 and An Evening With Sacred Music in 2001.

The Revelations arrange music to suit the group's voice range and tonal quality to bring out the beauty of the male voice on which the groups concentrates to make music a listening pleasure. The group sings Maria, Up On The roof and Old Man River, Conducted by Sanjeev Jayaratnam.

Of times gone by..

The Merry An Singers in its 22 years has nurtured and devel-oped hundreds of singers, including two out of three Concerto Competition winners, four out of six Karaoke winners, two scholarship students at the Royal Academy of Music, London, a Masters graduate from Guildhall, London and students who have won leading roles in universities in the U.S.

Bathiya & Santush who top the local charts cut their teeth under the tutelage of Marry Anne David. However the singers moved on to higher studies and professional careers. How then does this group cope? Director, Mary Anne David says she has no less than 10 individual voices to prove that this country has an abundance of vocal talent. The music and arrangements selected for this concert from a wide variety of composers will have as much appeal today as it did 50 years ago. There will be moments of nostalgia, perhaps tears of tenderness, some laughter, the melodies of old time, harmonies cunningly crafted and rhythms designed to literally move audiences.

What better way to commemorate time than touch the music of a variety of composers who have pleased and moved us over these 50 years? They still do and the Merry An Singers have come up with a selection for their concert aptly titled Yoretime. Variety being the spice of life, has sparked Mary Anne David to mix and match the harmonies of Romberg against Rossini, the rhythms of Gershwin with gospel.  The choir will tap opera, touch musicals and teenagers will effectively tackle counterpoint.

Musical accompaniment is by the proven trio - electronic/sound engineer Neranjan De Silva, a wizard on the keyboards; Christopher Prins a smiling magician on drums and Mary Anne David on piano. The producer Andrew and Director Mary Anne of this group have consistently maintained that their productions, though amateur, strive for a professional finish and this entails 5% inspiration and 95% perspiration.

The concert is timed to finish by 8.15pm to allow bus travellers easy passage and senior citizens an early night. The Lionel Wendt has always been the preferred choice of the Merry An Singers for its concerts and they have prepared this special programme to celebrate the 50 year anniversary of the theatre.

Heart-string pullers like Serenade and Because will highlight the twilight favourites Smoke Gets In Your Eyes and Ma Curly Headed Baby. There will be a touch of the classics Caro Mio Bein and Bacarolle to set-off full choral harmonies of The Greatest Love Of All and The Music's Always There, My Grandfather's Clock, The Cat Duet and instruction on Punctuation will be in lighter vein. Some rousing gospel music is also on the cards. The choir has for many years been complemented by the same group of brilliant musicians - Neranjan de Silva, Christopher Prins and Many Anne David. So full-bodied sound in perfect harmony/melody will be the order of the day.

Yoretime will go on boards at the Lionel Wendt on August 31.