Actress Juhi Babbar features in full black and white glory in home production, BOLLYWOOD KA SALAAM...which recently opened at the NCPA CentreStage Festival. She is the limelight playing tribal princess Phulwa- resplendent in Oscar winner Bhanu Athaiya's costumes. In conversation with Deepa Ranade.  Deepa Ranade Who's brainchild is BOLLYWOOD KA SALAAM...1950S KE NAAM? It is written and directed by Nadira ji, and it was entirely her idea as she is completely in love with that era. It had been on her mind for over two years now, and in last few months she had resolved to stage it. Initially we were unsure about how it was going to turn out, but we are really happy with the outcome. What are the highlights of the 50s that are being played up? The kind of Indian cinema that was made in the 50s holds a landmark position even today. Films like Mother India, Pyaasa, Madhumati and Shri 420 are amongst the cult classics of Indian cinema and all these films were made in the 50s. Even though cinema had been around for only a couple of decades in India then, it soon reached creative heights. Excellent commercial films were made alongside more experimental ones. Like Guru Dutt made Mr & Mrs 55 but he also made Pyaasa. That era won India cinema respect and a unique position in the world. How has the Black & White format been worked out on stage? BOLLYWOOD KA SALAAM...1950s KE NAAM has a story line with songs from that era. The entire look is black and white. All the costumes are in the hues of black and white. Bhanu Athaiya ji has designed them and it has been wonderful having her on board as we have hgot authentic representations of the kind of work she has done in films like in Madhumati and Shri 420. Apart from that we have a screen put up on the stage thatdisplays titles with music and then it will also work as a backdrop for every scene. Like for a jungle scene, we will have a forest backdrop on screen.The make up has been executed by the Blossom Kochar School of make-up following extensive research. Who all have been consulted for the play? Nadira ji pitched the idea to M F Hussain saab who had started off as a hoarding painter. He was super excited. He went down memory lane and came up with so many amazing memories. We have been in touch with veteran stars like Nimmi ji, Kumkum ji, Helen ji , Kamini Kausahl ji, Dilip saab, Dev saab and Shammi ji. They all they have their take on the 50s, and some amazing anecdotes to narrate. What about your father Raj Babbar? How has he contributed to the play? Initially he felt that since we are from this industry, no where should the play appear disrespectful. Because these days people are just doing crazy spoofs on old films. Since that era was also melodramatic, yet so realistic and sincere - it had to be portrayed correctly. Rajji saw our rehearsal recently and he was very happy. What has been the most challenging aspect of the play for you? Nadira ji's instruction to all the actors was to play our parts with utmost sincerity. We found lines like "Maa main aa gaya!", "Thakurj imaine aapka sapna poora kar diya" or "Kehdo ki yeh jhooth hai..." rather funny. We think of these stock dialogues as comical. But to perform those sincerely took a lot of training from us as actors of this generation. We watched movies from the era, held discussions and had various scene improvisations. It has taken four months of pre production work for the play. So what is the budget and the team size of this musical extravaganza? Don't ask the budget. It is really forbidding! Our cast comprises 40 actors, and the entire team works out to be 55 strong. It is truly an extravaganza. Who are your parents' favourites from the 50s? Both are great fans of Mother India. My father's favourite is Meena Kumari and mother's is Nargis and both think that their daughterlooks like Madhubala. So that's fantastic. You are back to cinema in a strange way by actually playing the lead in this play. I have thought over it and said no to cinema and stuck to theatre but ironically this play has taken me back to the regular heroine stuff - the song and dance routines. I am Phulwa in it, and it is a new role for me after nearly five years. I am paired opposite Ankur Parikh who has been doing theatre with us for nearly six years now. He's really been working hard, so much so that he's been taking private tuitions from my father! I am also assisting Bhanuji with the costumes and there is the administrative work that I take care of at Ekjute. There is a little too much on my hands. Do you still get butterflies in the stomach before a live performance? Of course, there are butterflies in the stomach that give you the energy to perform live. How many shows are you planning to stage? Do you intend travelling with such a huge cast? We are playing it across Mumbai to begin with. We intend to hit New Mumbai also. We hope to stage five shows over the next two to three months. Although we are a big cast but this is just the kind of play that should represent India abroad. What are the television and stage projects in the pipeline for you? I have no time for anything else, Ekjute is completing 30 years in March 2011, and we are putting up a festival on the occasion. So...it is a busy year ahead. *Deepa Ranade is a film and theatre reviewer. She has been an entertainment journalist for over fifteen years. read / post your comments More Interviews Neeraj Shirvaikar Ram Ganesh Kamatham Tannaz Irani Lillete Dubey Sharodiya Chowdhury and Sarthak Sharma Interview With Vishaal Asrani and Jiji Subhi BAKUL THAKKAR AND SURYA GOVLE Devendra Rao Interview Sharvari Lohokare Interview Vijay Kenkre Interview Trupti Thakkar and Ankit Gor Interview Aditya Rawal and Zahan Kapoor Umesh Shukla Interview Interview With Juhi Babbar Soni Mallika Shah Interview J BRANDON HILL INTERVIEW Anahita Uberoi Interview Interview with Jeff Goldberg Dr. Shweta Pendse Interview Interview with jamini Pathak Ashok Pandey Gagan Dev Riar Interview Taranjit Kaur Pankaj Pathakji Interview Vipul Vithlani Interview Saurabh Nayyar Interview Mukta Barve Interview Vihaan Samat Interview Vijay Kumar Interview Umesh Kamat Interview Jatin Sarna Interview Debanshu Shekhar Interview Vandana Bhushan Interview Vikas Bahari Interview Trinetra Tiwari Interview Anand Ingale Interview Deshik Vansadia Interview Kapil Dev Interview Arvind Gaur Interview Niketan Sharma Interview Ipshita Chakraborty Singh Interview Ramesh Talwar Interview Nivedita Bhattacharya Interview Jeff Goldberg Interview Ajeet Singh Palawat Interview Amitosh Nagpal Interview Ajitesh Gupta Anshulika Dubey and Aakash Prabhakar Ulka Mayur Shiv Tandan Interview Hemant Jha Interview Sangita Joshi Interview Akarsh khurana Interview with Parul Rana Satchit Puranik Interview Raell Padamsee Interview Simar Singh Interview Siddharth Randeria Interview Chandrakant Kulkarni Interview Trishla Patel Interview Danish Husain Interview Anju Makhija Interview Swati Das Interview Paromita Chatterjee Interview Akriti Singh Interview Vivek Raj Tandon Interview Avneesh Mishra Interview Imran Rasheed Interview Choiti Ghosh Interview Ila Arun & KK Raina Juuhi Babbar Sonii Interview Jay Upadhyay Interview Bhakti Rathod Interview Chandrashekhar Gokhale Interview Preeta Mathur Interview Denzil Smith Interview Rajendra Butala Interview Amitesh Grover Interview Vighnesh Joshi Interview Rajesh Deshpande Interview Mohammad Ali Baig Interview Dolly Thakore Interview M. Sayeed Alam Interview Gaurav Singh and Akshay Raheja Interview Ramanjit Kaur Interview Vinay Varma Interview Daisy Irani Subaiah Interview Bhamini Oza Gandhi Interview Sapan Saran Interview Rasika Agashe Interview Shreyas Talpade Interview With Parul Rana Puneet Issar Interview Dipti Bramhandkar Interview Atul Kumar Interview With Parul Rana Ravi Mishra Interview Alpana Buch Interview Lalit Parimoo Interview Nimesh Interview Sejal Shah - Interview Mehul Buch Interview Sanat Vyas Interview with Jahnavi Pal Dayashankar Pandey Interview Deepak Gheewala Interview Darshan Jariwala Interview Feroz Bhagat Interview Roopa Divatia Interview Apara Mehta Interview with Jahnavi Pal Rajul Diwan Interview with Jahnavi Pal Sachin Khedekar Interview with Jahnavi Pal Sanjay Goradia Interview with Jahnavi Pal Utkarsh Mazumdar Interview With Jahnavi Pal Vandana Gupte Interview Bharati Achrekar Interview Manasi Prabhakar Joshi Interview Rohini Hattangadi Interview Meenal Patel Interview Pravin Solanki Avantika Shankar Interview with Deepa Punjani Rakesh Bedi Interview with Deepa Punjani Dhwani Vij Interview with Deepa Punjani Joy Fernandes Interview with Deepa Punjani Vikram Phukan Interview with Deepa Punjani Deepika Arwind Interview with Ayushi Shah Rohit Das Interview with Omkar Bhatkar Sukant Goel Interview with Omkar Bhatkar Sneh Sapru Interview with Ayushi Shah Puja Sarup Interview By Ayushi Shah Gurleen Judge interview by Ayushi Shah Faezeh Jalali Interview with Ayushi Shah Sophia Stepf Interview With Deepa Punjani Geetanjali Kulkarni Interview with Manvi Ranghar Gabriel Emanuel Ramu Ramanathan Interview With Deepa Punjani Manjari Fadnis Chandrakant Kulkarni Sunil Barve Interview Ira Dubey Interview with Manvi Ranghar Arundhati Nag Interview Malavika Rajkotia Purva Naresh Interview Shaili Sathyu Interview Bharat Dabholkar Rajat Kapoor Interview Yuki Ellias Sébastien Heins Akarsh Khurana Interview Juhi Babbar Soni Harish Patel Mirjam van Djik Asad Lalljee Sheeba Chadha Ila Arun - Interview Mallika Taneja Anurupa Roy Vipul Vilas Mahagaonkar Sneha Desai Suruchi Aulakh Geetanjali Kulkarni Sushama Deshpande Interview Choiti Ghosh Naveen Kaushik Nadir Khan Roberto Frabetti Anuja Ghosalkar Saurabh Shukla Interview Sunil Shanbag Interview Jean-Michel Adam Sachin Jadhav Rajat Kapoor THE META 2016 Festival Interview with the Directors of the Plays Pritesh Sodha Nimmy Raphel Shena Gamat Aniruddha Khutwad Gagan Dev Riar Paromita Chatterjee David Goodale Happy Ranajit Simon Reade Daniele Bartolini Glenn Hayden Ramu Ramanathan Interview Vikram Phukan Kalki Koechlin Interview Uttam Gada Adhir Bhat Vikranth Pawar Sudipto Chatterjee Ellen Rees Chris Edmund Iqbal Niyazi Sanjay Goradia Vinay Sharma Shafaat Khan Sanjukta Wagh Interview Sanjoy Roy Interview Tushar Pandey Anupama Chandrashekar Interview Deepa Gahlot Interviews Tony Adigun Ila Arun Interview Kare Conradi KK Raina Manoj Shah Interview Luckyjee Gupta Ajit Kelkar Syv Bruzeau Rupesh Tillu Vikash Khurana Jim Sarbh Mahesh Dattani Interview for SDDS Education Krutika Desai Dalip Sondhi Daniel Goldman and Benjamin Samuels Vir Das Interview Asghar Wajahat Deshik Vansadia Sushama Deshpande Rajiv Krishnan Interview Neeraj Kabi Tom Alter Ashvin Gidwani Interview Pip Utton Achyut Vaze Interview Deepak Kurki Shivaswamy Satish Alekar Interview Jaimini Pathak Interview Neel Chaudhuri Meherzad Patel Mahesh Dattani interview for THE BIG FAT CITY Nandini Trivedi Akash Mohimen Deepika Arwind Manjima Chatterjee Kath Mainland Anupam Kher Bijon Mondal Manoj Mitra Georges Banu Sudhanva Deshpande Interview Eric Vigner Deepa Gahlot1 Premanand Gajvi Rahul Varma Om Puri Nissar Allana Om Katare Interview Rajiv Krishnan Rashi Bunny Nandita Das Farooq Chaudhry D'Lo Shankar Tucker Ranvir Shah Ira Dubey Interview Ashok Patole Mathivanan Rajendran Saurabh Shukla Ashok Hande Nandu Madhav Sujata Goel Ratha Pathak Shah Shaili Sathyu(1) Shubhrajyoti Barat Preethi Athreya Corinne Jaber Rajesh Kumar and Rana Pratap Senger Arjun Sajnani Arundhati Ghosh Sudhanva Deshpande Raamu Ramanathan Sayeed Alam Zane Dalal Jumana Kapadia Shernaz Patel Satyadev Dubey1 Makarand Sathe1 Sankar Venkateswaran Sabera Shaik Achyut Vaze Hassan Abdulrazzak Amrita Lahiri Avaan Patel Neeta Reshamiya Ira Dubey Ila Arun Meenal Kapoor Shubha Mudgal & Aneesh Pradhan Kedar Shinde Khalid Mohamed Deepa Gahlot Sameer Vidwans Low Kee Hong Waman Kendre Andrea Gronemeyer Pradeep Vaiddya Padmini Chettur Kumud Mishra(1) Faruk Kabir Nandesh Umap Zuleikha Chaudhari Nausheen Ali Sardar Naseeruddin Shah Ahlam Khan Sunil Barve Saif Hyder Hasan Shweta Tiwari Neena Kulkarni Judy Hegarty Lovett Sunil Vishnu K Chetan Bhagat Ketki Dave Atul Parchure Vikram Gokhale Azaad Bharti Dr. Mohan Agashe Mahesh Manjrekar Chandradasan Lillette Dubey-I Kuljeet Singh Juhi Babbar Rajesh Khattar Gaurav Chopra Payal Rohatgi Feroz Abbas Khan Swanand Kirkire Vandana Sajnani-II Kevin Tayebaly Vahan Badalyan Chetanya Adib Payal Kapoor Rakesh Bedi Sameer Iqbal Patel Om Katare-II Shifalli Shah Simon McBurney Mujeeb Khan-II Akarsh Khurana Preeta Mathur Thakur Makrand Deshpande Manoj Shah (II) Manoj Shah Saumya Joshi Quasar Thakore Padamsee Mohit Takalkar Hari Mina Bala Jehan Manekshaw - Interview 2 Timira Gupta Jyoti Dogra Lillette Dubey Mahesh Dattani Chandan Roy Sanyal Sunil Shanbag (ii) Jairaj Patil Jehan Manekshaw K Raja Ravi Verma Sankar Venkateswaran Heisnam Tomba Hariharan Jamini Pathak Hilda David Satish Alekar Vir Das Ranjit Hoskote Om Katare Nipun Dharmadhikari Satyadev Dubey Dipan Ray Stefan Kaegi Zafar Karachiwala Dakxin Bajrange Makarand Sathe Ramu Ramanathann Cyrus Dastur Shekhar Sen Benjamin Juhel Chaitanya Tamhane And Sudeep Modak Sujata Mehta Asif Basra Barry John Nagesh Bhosale Astad Deboo Manhar Gadhia Sandesh Bhandare Usha Ganguli Sushama Deshpande & Suhas Joshi Jyoti Vyas Arundhati Nag Habib Tanvir Ramu Ramanathan Pushan Kripalani Harold Pinter Rajeev Ravindranathan Rajendra Gupta Viji Iyengar Sunil Shanbag Darshan Jariwalla Smriti Irani Atul Kumar1 Ashwin Gidwani Toral Shah Mahabanoo Mody Kotwal1 Shaili Sathyu Sanjay Narvekar Rohini Hattangady Dr. Ashok Ranade Vandana Sajnani Mahesh Elkunchwar Madhu Rye Mahesh Thakur Srimathi Madiman Kinnari Vohra Joy Fernandes C.K. Thakkar Jameel Khan Anupama Jayaram Lilelette Dubey Avatar Gill Dharmendra Gohil Rajesh Puri Kumud Mishra Kumar Shahu Meenal Patel Mujeeb Khan Anant Mudra Utkarsh Mazumdar Shekhar Sen1 Manav Kaul Rati Agnihotri Smita Jaykar Uday Chandra Rahul Da Cunha Atul Kumar Manoj Joshi Jaimini Pathak Boman Irani Mahabanoo Mody Kotwal Naseerudin Shah Joy Fernandez Kamlesh Mota Dinesh Thakur    Discussion Board

Schedule Theatre Workshops Register a workshop | View all workshops

List Your Play

Get theatre updates in your inbox
subscribe to Mumbai Theatre Guide weekly updates