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NEWS FEATURE
MASALA IN THE MEL
D RITAIN IS ALIVE WITH THE SOUNDS AND SIGHTS OF SOUTH
Asia, which bodes well for a revival in Jain arts. One
has only to cast a cursory glance at recent television, cinema and theatre productions to appreciate that the country is indeed experiencing a South Asian arts boom. Film director Gurinder Chadha's last offering, 'Bend it Like Beckham', won the hearts of diverse audiences across the nation. The new
Bollywood-inspired musical, 'Bombay Dreams', is the talk of London's West End. Re-runs of 'Goodness Gracious Me', the British Asian comedy sketch show, continue to attract television viewers, and its charismatic stars pour their talents into new projects that depict British Asian experiences.
While influences from the Indian sub-continent and other parts of the world have featured in the British cultural scene for many years, it is only now that one can justifiably talk of the arts reflecting the country's evolving multicultural society, in particular the experiences of the South Asian diaspora communities. Whereas South Asian arts have previously remained on the fringes of British culture, they have now permeated the mainstream - a major driving force behind this shift is the increasing appetite of British audiences for good quality productions that have cross-cultural appeal.
A case in hand is the recent box office success, Bend it Like Beckham'. The film centres on the character of a British Asian girl who dreams of becoming a professional footballer. In the same way as 'East is East' before it, the film was given a wide commercial release, rather than being marketed at a niche audience, and played to appreciative mainstream cinema audiences for over two months. The director's focus is certainly on a British Asian family living in a London suburb, but the film does not preach about race relations, nor is it 'Asian-specific'. Rather, it has much more of an universal appeal in that it has a warm, humorous story about growing up, friendship and family -- one that audiences from different backgrounds have savoured as a reflection of the melting pot that is Britain. In other words, the Asian-ness' of 'Bend it Like Beckham' is perceived as an integral part of the social fabric of everyday life, its Asian characters regarded as belonging to Britain as much as its non-Asian characters.
As Britain grows into its multicultural skin, it is becoming a hot bed of cross-cultural collaboration in the arts, as highlighted by the new musical, 'Bombay Dreams'. It is a slick production that combines the talents of Andrew LloydWebber, one of the gurus of the stage musical genre, with those of artists who are not so readily associated with West End and Broadway shows - Bollywood's A.R. Rahman and Farah Khan, and British Asian comedian/actress/writer Meera Syal. The result is a vibrant show that signals a potential revival of the flagging British musical industry. West End audiences have embraced the kitsch glamour and sheer energy of the Bollywood-style song-and-dance routines, indicating that they are indeed receptive to ideas and
A scene from 'Bali the Sacrifice'a new play by Girish Karnad, produced and staged by the Leicester Haymarket Theatre
through its own initiative.
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Jain Spirit . September - November 2002
zation intentional 2010_03
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