An Indian wedding is always a extravaganza and Mrs. Kapoor's Daughter's Wedding is an insight into the cultural nuances of the wedding celebrations in Indian households. Directed and produced by Archana Kumar, this is a laugh out loud, comedy-dance production that has to be celebrated by a family audience. It follows Mrs. Kapoor, as portrayed by YouTube sensation Parle Patel in her journey of getting one of her five daughters married off. Inspired from the melodrama of Bollywood movies Archana injects emotion, poise and wit wrapping it up in a staged drama.
“This year we wanted to do something different and wanted to punctuate what Asian culture and weddings are all about. I also wanted to give a platform for the young aspiring British Asian artists who are trying to break into mainstream theatre and this play seemed a good start,” said Archana, Founder of AK Bollywood Dance.
Archana’s creativity stems from role models such as Bollywood actress and dancer Madhuri Dixit, composer Andrew Lloyd Webber and popular film director Gurinder Chadha. Hoping to emulate Chadha in her work, Kumar speaks about the uniqueness of her theatre production aiming to inculcate Indian family values in the younger generation especially as communities are at the threshold of integration and UK is a multi-cultural society. But beyond sending the message of family values, it also takes the audience on an emotional roller-coaster journey highlighting the strains, and tensions binding the families. Archana established the AK Bollywood Dance in 2011 from humble beginnings, with a view to promoting Indian culture and training the next generation of dancers.
“I have known from experience that it is extremely difficult for professionals, training and aspiring Black Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) artists to break into the mainstream arts industry. This is a great platform for them to be noticed for their talent and we hope to promote the talent in our Asian community,” she said.
Starring Parle Patel, West End singer Shahid Abbas Khan, and singer Drupti Vaja through this play Archana also attempts to integrate the various sections of the Asian diaspora in the UK. The production is a collaboration between AK Productions and AK Bollywood Dance that will tour a team of 35 dancers, actors, singers, dhol (drum) players and production staff. Following its unprecedented popularity the production returns for three, further UK tour dates in London, Bradford and Leicester. Speaking about future plans around the production, Archana hints at the marriage of the remaining four of Mrs. Kapoor daughter's.
