A promising theatre weekend

British theatre veteran Denzil Smith along with Rhys Sebastian D’Souza will be embodying the Goan and Anglo-Indian musicians, who infused jazz into Hindi film music between the 50s and 70s.

About the play he says, “This play will take you back where Hindi film music was largely influenced by Western music. ‘Bombay Jazz’ tells the story of unsung composers and their dreams.”The play ‘Bombay Jazz’ is directed by Etienne Coutinho and written by Etienne Ramanathan.

“It’s a tribute to the fine, mainly Anglo-Indian jazz musicians of the time whose sad decline is trenchantly reflected in their affairs with the capricious Hindi film industry. Popular Hindi film songs of the time such “Ae Dil Hai Mushkil” (C.I.D.; 1956), “My name is Anthony Gonsalves (Amar Akbar Anthony; 1977) and several others have the signature tunes of these masters. They filled up the big, background orchestras of the Hindi films of the time, nameless, but the sound of their music was unmistakable.

While composers like Shankar Jaikishan, Laxmikant–Pyarelal are fondly remembered, the original creators of this music influenced by the African-American Blues and Jazz are almost all nearly forgotten, existing only in the memories of their surviving friends and families and in the archives of the period,” adds Denzil.

He like to act on stage compare to movies and says, “Acting on stage is direct give and take energy both stage and character. And I love to be in character for two hours and your audience will appreciate your performance immediately. About Hyderabad and theatre, he says, “Mohammad Ali Baig is doing well in your city by promoting theatre.”

Sharon Prabhakar is all set to present one-woman-show ‘That’s Life’ in which the actress and singer will be recounting her struggles, triumphs and milestones — which include her titular role in the musical ‘Evita’ and her representing India in numerous music festivals around the world.

About the play she says, “When everything goes wrong we say that’s life! Says Sharon Prabhakar. "This is the inside story of me, my struggles, triumphs, comic situations. I want to show people life is not picture perfect but there is hope and believe in yourself.”

She says,” I am grateful that Mohammad Ali Baig inspired me to write my own story; he used to call me every six-months and used to tell me “aap kuch likho”, and one fine day he said “aap ki hi kahani likho”. It took 3-4 months for me to write. This is the first time I am presenting a full production play in Hyderabad.”