Mumbai city became Vikram Kapadia’s muse while he wrote this insightful Zee Theatre teleplay.
Seven Mumbaikars tell their unique stories in Zee Theatre’s engrossing teleplay ‘Bombay Talkies’ and according to writer and director Vikram Kapadia, each tale was inspired by varied experiences of life in a metro. He says, “Mumbai is where people come to realize their dreams and their relationship with this vibrant city is the common thread that runs through the seven stories of ‘Bombay Talkies.’ Mumbai has retained the inclusive warmth and assimilative culture of Bombay and that quality is mirrored in the teleplay as well.”
‘Bombay Talkies’ insightfully depicts the lives of seven people who share their experiences with the audience via deeply engaging monologues and will be aired on 25th April on Tata Play theatre at 2 pm and 8 pm.
Talking about what went into the ideation of the teleplay Vikram says, “I was invited to write a monologue for an event at The National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA) in the memory of those who had lost their lives in the 2008 Mumbai terror attack. It was performed by Mandira Bedi and then I went on to write more monologues, most of them based on true events, and strung them together to create ‘Bombay Talkies’. Through these monologues, seven protagonists not only share their own experiences but also subtly allude to greater truths.”
When it came to casting, Vikram made very intuitive choices and recalls, “I knew Rasika Dugal from the time I had written a TV series for Yash Raj and was amazed at the depth of her talent and her screen presence. Namit Das is another fantastic actor who a lot of theatre people had recommended. It was truly a pleasure to have him on board. Darshan, Anahita, and I have worked together for decades and we have great regard for one another. And I was thrilled to work with Neil for the first time. And he more than lived up to his reputation. I had auditioned Mansi for another play and discovered that she was a rare find; a singer, dancer, and actress, all in one. And Ratnabali is a firebrand on stage and I was glad to work with her as well.”
‘Bombay Talkies’ stars Darshan Jariwala, Namit Das, Neil Bhoopalam, Mansi Multani, Anahita Uberoi, Ratnabali Bhattacharjee, Rasika Dugal, and Tushar Mathews.
