With Kishoreda you can never go wrong. Indeed! And the chances of going wrong with a musical comedy with lots of song and drama, foot-tapping numbers and kitsch packed in, are even slimmer. That?s what makes Wizcraft Entertainment?s latest production Jhumroo very Bollywood, in short, total paisa-vasool entertainment.
It?s not exactly spectacular, but given its comic elements, 4-D effects and Kishore Kumar?s timeless music, Jhumroo is worth every penny spent. Remember the funny guy from Jassi Jaisi Koi Nahi, Nandu? Yes, it’s television actor Gaurav Gera who plays the smitten boy-next-door Bhola and is as believable as a character could get. Shweta Gulati plays Meena, and she, too, has come a long way from her ?remix? days. Of course, we miss Hussain?s flamboyance and six-pack abs and Gauhar Khan?s oomph, but then as the producer Viraf Sarkari insists that it?s not something better than Zangoora that they were out to create, but something different. Sarkari has definitely achieved that with the Great Indian Nautanki Company?s latest musical comedy Jhumroo.
What makes Jhumroo a perfect visual treat is that not only the lead actors but the supporting cast, too, fits well and surprises you with their antics and perfect timing. Devendra Bisht as the snooty singer Anoop Das steals the show in many ways. Ashley Lobo?s choreography is as usual the high point of the musical drama, but what sets the pulse racing of the audience are the aerial moves choreographed by David Greeves. Imagine the lovable Bhola and Meena dancing above your head with their miniature machines occasionally coming so close that you can almost kiss them. Now that is what we call mind blowing. And then you know they are no superstars or khatron ke khiladi but your very own Bhola and Meena. Manish Arora?s blingy costumes give it a retro-glam look and we know Ambika Pillai and Kavita Menon, with their experience, can?t go wrong in creating Angelina Jolie-like pout for our desi babes.
On stage, it goes like this, a not-so suave boy meets the blue-eyed girl, but to woo her he has to prove his mettle. So in this retro drama it is by singing that Bhola wants to win over Meena. Fittingly, a reality show is thrown in, so Bhola wants to be the next super singer to get his love. Who can help him do that…Kishoreda of course (remember the classic flick Padosan?). Will Bhola be the next super singer? Will it be a happily-ever after? Of course, it will!
And there?s more. The musical comedy has about 19 Bollywood retro songs, embedded, celebrating the spirit of Kumar (literally in many ways). So there is Om Shanti Om, Ek ladki bheegi bhaagi si, Mere saamne wali khidki mein and the peppy Aa Dekhen Zara to name a few. Performed at Gurgaon?s Kingdom of Dreams? palatial performance theatre, Nautanki Mahal, through the week, with ticket prices starting from R500 and going up to R5,000, watching a musical is definitely not cheap. But then we are talking about a larger-than-life show laced with glitz and glamour, presented in the comfortable confines of NCR?s much talked about destination. All this does come for a price.
Jhumroo has its magical moments when you are transported to another world, another era, fulfilling what a live show promises?interactive entertainment. For a three-hour show, it does get slow in parts though, but it?s more or less made up by the fact that the actors break into song and dance every now and then. Though our pretty lady Meena doesn?t have much to do in the second half, the reality TV bit makes the show quite entertaining and gripping. Oh! how we love the reality TV drama, and with judges sitting right on the aisle next to you, you feel part of the show. And as Vidya Balan makes her point in The Dirty Picture that all that an audience cares about is Entertainment, Entertainment, Entertainment! Jhumroo is just that!
So is this tribute to Kishoreda our answer to the Andrew Lloyd Webber shows? Not really, but Ravindra Vilasrao Shinde, the voice of Kishore Kumar in the musical, is unbeatable. A standing ovation for him.
