indian stage has been bitten by the broadway bug purvaja sawant finds out why musicals and dance dramas are suddenly holding centrestage the stage has been set for a new beginning often thought to be the medium of entertainment for 40plus intellectuals or a niche crowd theatre these days is adopting a more entertaining route to reach out to a larger audience many indian productions are showcasing their own bigbudget musicals a la broadway style with indulgent production and theatrics the new musical plays stories in a song which tell a fascinating story of music forms like kajri thumridadra khayal sx mrality and censrship an exciting mix on acting illusion music dance and films blame it on yashraj selfexplanatory or the extravagant bollywood broadway zangoora the gypsy prince would change the audiences perception of what theatre is all about the term megabudget entertainment is not reserved for bollywood anymore says viraf sarkari producer of zangoora when we first came up with the concept theatre personalities in india laughed at us budgets for theatre are not that high over here but by investing in these spectacular shows we are trying to give theatre a new direction naturally at 30 crores cost of production it was a huge risk but it paid off we are completing 1000 shows this june treat for the visual generation if thats not enough a number of international hit musicals are now being showcased in india like sound of music broadway beyond and razzmatazz retro more theatre personality bharat dabholkar believes that more than 100 years of cinema has taught us that combining style grandeur glamour with a good plot is a sure shot route to success in blame it on yashraj we have incorporated the latest technology ie the use of led screens on stage since our story has 30 set changes most of them requiring rich wedding backdrops instead of manually changing sets we change the pictures on our led screens so our backgrounds look lavish and this has led to an appreciative audience people tell me they find their time and money wellspent watching shows like these they are willing to pay for the experience says hussain kuwajerwala the lead actor of zangoora which uses aerial sequences magic tricks and other impressive distractions in its narrativeits a thrill and high for both the performers as well as the audiences this is a very visual generation largescale productions beautiful choreography better quality sound and humongous stages attract the younger lot which has stayed away from theatre for a long time thinking it to be a medium of entertainment for elders because of its mostly serious quasieducational and often complex narratives as dabholkar puts it says theatre producer ashvin gidwani indians are musically inclined and bollywood is an integral part of our entertainment even on stage we love stories which have dance and music they are an audiovisual treat production houses are not leaving any stones unturned to make their shows