A song & dance about India

It''s travelling from Broadway to Bombay, the city of itsinspiration. , AndrewLlyod Webber''s musical, will be staged in India. "It''s a big challenge sellingBollywood to Bollywood, but I''m sure the popularity of AR Rahman''s music will dotrick. Remember, we were a huge success in London," says Kerry Comerford, GM ofLloyd Webber''s Really Useful Company in the Asia Pacific, who is in India towork out the logistics."I''ve been in Mumbai for a week, trying towork out the business of bringing to Mumbai. We''re trying to decide on space, the cast. The biggestproblem is that Mumbai doesn''t have a theatre big enough to build the sets wehave in mind. We want to take the production to Beijing, Shanghai, Singapore,Dubai, South Korea and other Asian cities," says Comerford. There isalso talk of taking the production to Las Vegas and other UScities.This, when Lloyd Weber, Shekhar Kapur and Rahman''s $14million ''Great wentbust. What went wrong? "I don''t think the West understands Bollywood. There, itis labelled as kitsch. Bombay Dreams isn''t overheated curry for God''s sake, it''sa different genre that the West doesn''t understand," explains Meera Syal, thelady behind the musical.After Richard Gere, Glenn Close, BillClinton, Cherie Blair and Ismail Merchant danced to and, Llyod Webber promisesthat the remaking of the show for Mumbai will be different. SaysComerford: "We''ll have explosive shows in Asia. We might have some Bollywoodguys in the cast, but it''s too early to say who as the musical will only come toAsia in 2006 or 2007. I''m working with Farah Khan on some interesting additions.Finally, the financial side of the musical travelling to various countries willbe crucial." Will Ayesha Dharkar be Rani when the musical is in India? "No, I''mmoving on other things. I''m working with Meera Syal on new projects," saysAyesha.The reworked for Bombay could well be about smaller dreams, a smaller budget, anew cast, a new script, new sets. "But I don''t think we should be cynical. I''msure it''ll be a great show," saysComerford.