Director's Note:
"Jaya", the theatre production, is a two hour opera in English that presents the major events of the "Mahabharata" in mime, dance, song and music. It presents these key events in a dramatic montage style through the eyes of Yudhishtira, the main protagonist and the eldest Pandava brother. It examines and contrasts his "experiments with truth" with two other divergent beliefs and view points, those of Duryodhana and his faith in victory and power at any cost, and that of Karna's fatalism and belief in an unchangeable destiny.
The opera is completly sung to an original score where the lyrics are set to a grand symphonic score that derives its influences from sources as rich and diverse as Western and Indian classical music, jazz and rock as well as other forms of Indian popular music like Rabindra Sangeet, Carnatic music and reqional folk songs. In its synergization of different forms, the music reflects the style and treatment of the entire production, whose aim is to use the traditional as a solid base on which to build, explore and innovate in a contemporary manner.
"Jaya" is a production imbued with the spirit and beliefs of the Mahabharata, yet it is dynamic, stimulating, moving and exciting in its style of presentation. It is the "Mahabharata" for the 21st Century.
The design of the entire production is stark, grand and epic in style, in the genre of Greek tragadies. A sense of a tale larger than life, with a plethora of characters and a chorus that both participates and acts as a commentator. The choreography is an imaginative and novel amalgamation of traditional Indian dance styles with contemporary dance form of the West. The sets, costumes and lights design also reflect this synergy of East and West, where the idiom, though distinctly Indian, is nevertheless modern and accessible.
"Jaya" aims to project the Indian ethos to the world in a manner that is dramatic, entertaining and educational, but technically polished and aesthetically conceived.
Lillette Dubey
The opera premiered in March 1998 at the Bandra Reclamation grounds.
The Cast
|
Yudhishtira |
Nandu Bhende, |
|
Arjuna, |
Amit Behl |
|
Draupadi |
Jeanne Michael |
|
Bhima |
Wilfred Lewis |
|
Sahadeva |
Bryan Furtado |
|
Nakula |
Peter Cassian |
|
Dronacharya |
Bakul Thakar |
|
Bhishma |
Abhay Nihalani |
|
Kunti |
Devika Bhojwani Nisha Pathania |
|
Gandhari |
Lorella Jacinto |
|
Dhritarashtra |
Francois Casstellino |
|
Sanjaya |
E. Krishnan |
|
Dushasana |
Rajkumar Acharya |
|
Duryodhana |
Vikrant Chaturvedi |
|
Karna |
Suraj Jagan |
|
Adhiratha |
Sandeep Kanjilal |
|
Shakuni |
Asif Ali Beg |
|
|
Vishal |
|
Abhimanyu |
Mahesh Mahboobani Joey Noronha |
|
Dancers |
Devraj Dubey Moreshwar K. Jangle Kedarnath L. Pande Joey Noronha Minino Fernandes Nitin D. Bhate Gautam V. Kathin Rajkumar Acharya Cedric Braz Renuka Rawat Anamika Chakravarty. |
Production Team
|
Director and Producer |
Lillette Dubey |
|
Choreographer |
Mahesh Mahboobani |
|
Set and Costume designer |
Sumant Jayakrishnan |
|
Lighting Designer |
Lynne Frenandes |
|
Musical director |
Sandeep Kanjilal |
|
Sound |
Roger Drego |
|
Assistant Director |
Anamika Chakravarty |
|
Co- Costume designer |
Anshu Arora Sen |
|
Assistant lights designer |
Zulekha Allana |
|
Lights |
Ulhas Sahasrabuddhe |
|
Sets |
The Indian National Theatre |
|
Voice Training |
Celio Lobo |
|
Backstage manager |
Kirk Dias |
|
Wardrobe |
Rajkumari Chandiramani |
|
Properties |
Kavita Bhatia Sharmila Jagan |
The Musical Score
|
Original Score and Lyrics |
Sandeep Kanjilal |
|
Music tracks produced by |
Dinshah Sanjana |
|
Keyboards, Drums, Programming |
Dinshah Sanjana |
|
Additional Keyboards, Drums Programming |
Pankaj Singh, Sandeep Kanjilal |
|
Guitar |
Naresh Kamath |
|
Mridangam |
Vivek Rajagopalan |
|
Percussion |
Taufique Qureshi |
|
|
Anupam Dey Ghatak |
|
Violin, Viola |
Ashish Rego |
|
Flute |
Milind Sheorey, Ajay Prasanna |
|
Saxophone |
Carl Clements |
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