MELBOURNE: It is not a bad idea to see something different and path-breaking. A musical on stage that reflects changing cultural ethos is no exception. If it is on migrants who assimilate here and then there is a cultural mix, it becomes more interesting. This is what the Bollywood Dance Company led by Sohini Banerjee, Darshan Pawar and Vihang Nikalje did. It set another bar with their new musical – ‘Happily, Ever After’ recently in Sydney and Melbourne.
Happily, Ever After – a heartwarming story conceptualised and written by Vihang, one of the Directors, and directed & choreographed along with him by Sohini and Darshan took the audience on a nostalgic journey. This story is of first-time migrants Amar and Sharmila who have migrated to Australia to build a new life for their family—successful businesses, a beautiful home, and two children, Alisha and Veer.
Far away from their homeland they endeavour to conserve their culture and traditions and pass it onto their next generation through their children. A wave of new culture and progressive values enter their household through Alisha-Zain and Veer-Alex and their unconventional love. As the story unfolds it shows how the parents embrace unconventional love through the tryst of cultures and traditional values.
The audience was moved as they saw that each act reflected their story and journey to Australia. There were moments of tears, joy, laughter and drama as they musical travelled through time along with beautiful visuals, dances, colourful costumes, props and lavish sets. One highlight of the musical was the meta drama of ‘Laila Manju’ which captivated the audience and their emotions as the characters represented their unconventional love and refused to succumb to societal pressure and conservative norms.
The icing on the cake was cross culture & same gender wedding ceremony of the characters Alisha Zain and Veer & Alex which was special as it filled the audiences’ heart with joy and eyes with tears.
With all the glamour, glitz and nostalgia audience took home a strong message – Love cannot be measured on the basis of culture, traditional norms, colour, caste, gender. Love is pure, Love is Love.
-Supplied.
