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| Mitul Sengupta with Sabyasachi Mukherjee post-show |
Thursday. Post-noon. Taj Bengal’s Crystal banquet. Chandeliers cast their soft shadows. The Bismillah comes alive on a fiery red screen. Vande Mataram on the sarangi. Dancer Mitul Sengupta’s kathak bols reverberate. Sabyasachi Mukherjee’s Peeli Kothi is coming to life. Goosebumps. Goosebumps. Goosebumps.
Presented by Taj Bengal and t2, this was the second edition of a Sabya solo in Calcutta. And no less spectacular. If it was An Ode to Tradition with Shubha Mudgal, Rani Mukerji and Vidya Balan last year, Peeli Kothi was national integration, riveting kathak, Peter Brook’s Mahabharata, Frida... and of course the showman we know as Sabya.
“We were delighted to partner with Sabyasachi, Bengal’s illustrious son, again this year for Peeli Kothi. His clothes exude Indianness. His shows are so theatrical and this time I was particularly taken in by the use of velvet for the saris,” smiled K. Mohanchandran, general manager, Taj Bengal.
The challenges of executing Sabya’s vision was difficult, admitted Modhurima Sinha, director, PR, Taj Bengal. “It was a huge production. Sabyasachi and his entire team are very passionate about what they do. People at Taj are very dedicated too. So, dedication was never a problem,” said Modhurima.
“Sabyasachi is extremely creative and he keeps on adding details. They are all great ideas... the challenge is to select one of those and then move ahead with it. One has to bring it down to realistic details. The cost was whopping but then it was not too difficult to get sponsors... so many people are eager to be a part of his show and that in itself was a pleasure,” she said.
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| K. Mohanchandran with Modhurima Sinha |
The idea was to offer something different from last year. So, though live music made it to the ramp again because it was a “success”, this time power kathak fused with classical jazz, performed by Mitul and choreographed by Ronnie Shambik Ghose, as a “further experimentation” complemented it.
“Things kept getting added last year. It was a learning experience also for us. Compared to that, this year was smoother simply because everything had fallen into place more easily,” smiled Modhurima.
The no-Bolly show was deliberate though. “Last year we gave you a whole bouquet of Bollywood. No point in offering the same thing over and over again. At the end of the day, the clothes were the stars.”
Point taken.
