Screenwriter-lyricist Irfan Siddiqui reminisces the wonderful experience of making two Musicals in the past, namely, Beyond Bollywood and Umrao Jaan Ada, under their banner Gravity Zero Entertainment LLP; comprising of popular Musician duo Salim-Sulaiman Merchant, Director-Choreographer Rajeev Goswami and Irfan Siddiqui himself. While such things for now have become a thing of the past given the pandemic scenario, Siddiqui hopes things would revive soon once these dark times pass.
“It was a fantastic experience making those Musicals. Being able to work with Salim-Sulaiman and my childhood buddy Rajeev Goswami has been my best experience ever. The entire process of producing Musicals which has so many dimensions is absolutely amazing, which is why when you watch it, you feel all the more mesmerized.” He continues saying being a writer the experience was new to him, “Nothing is easy when you do something outside your comfort zone, and nothing is difficult when your focus is 100%. It’s an exciting process and I’m glad we’ve managed to pull it off."
We have bigger problems to resolve at the moment, we plan to resume once normalcy is achieved.
Irfan Siddiqui
Final work on their latest Disco Dancer Musical couldn’t be completed because of the lockdown last year and then the government restrictions followed. But they have every intention to resume once things get better. “We have bigger problems to resolve at the moment, we plan to resume once normalcy is achieved. We also have plans to finish our other standstill projects along with Disco Dancer. I really hope things get better soon,” he adds.
Talking about the significance of Musicals, he says, “I think Musicals bring about a completely different experience in itself. The impact of experiencing live singing and dancing, larger-than-life sets, beautiful graphics, live showcases of theatrical performances etc. everything is so amazing that one has to see it to believe it!”
Irfan feels Musicals have a dedicated audience and they are quite niche in a way. “The audiences who enjoy such shows are definitely different from those who enjoy plays or cinema. But lately, Musicals in India have been gaining popularity with our Indian Musicals trending. People who have travelled to Broadway and WestEnd or have watched them online have started enjoying home-grown content too. The market was growing but the pandemic has sort of brought it all to a complete standstill. But I am sure things will get better soon,” he ends on a note of hope.
