June 5, 2011
Bollywood loves Oxford. The stunning architecture and views of our city have drawn several directors to film on the Oxford streets over the past few years. Last night Bollywood promised to come to the Playhouse, in the form of a ‘fusion of Asian and British culture’ put on by Oxford University students, a first for the Asian student community. Chutney and Chips was a highly ambitious project which hoped to set a legacy in Oxford for years to come.
Did it deliver? In a nutshell, yes... albeit with a few hiccups here and there.
The play focused on two central characters - Maya, an orphaned, and lonely girl from London; and Ameer, a talented, but restless Oxford University student; and their struggles related to both youth and culture. The story was a little disjointed, diverting away from the love theme and almost making the romance between Ameer and Maya into a mere sub-plot. It failed to make the audience hope for them to get together and made it less believable when they did eventually meet and have that spark. At points the storyline was unclear and a little confusing - it really wasn’t a love story although it was advertised as one.
There were too many characters that we didn’t need to know about- focusing on the central characters would have drawn us into the story more. Some done-to-death clichés could have been avoided, for example, the Asian family dinner party where the mother boasts about her children all evening. There were scenes of long drawn-out conversations between characters - small talk rather than punchy lines that would have had more impact on the audience. However, the jokes were very funny, an important component of a true Bollywood show.
The acting ranged from mediocre to exceptional. Whilst a minority of the cast seemed a little stilted, the majority did brilliantly. Rahul Kumar (Mr Shah) excelled with true comic talent. He could be one to watch on the Oxford drama scene. Rabby Fozlay portrayed Ameer’s inward struggle convincingly. Sonam Patel played the funny but harrowed Auntyjee well; we felt a mixture of sympathy and exasperation towards her. Nayana Gaur conveyed Maya’s feelings of hopelessness and guilt believably.
The three main dance scenes were colourful, energetic and well-choreographed, fusing typical Bollywood dance with bhangra and R'n’B. Shivam Bhajaj (Kamal) and Sneha Nainwal (Mahi) deserve special mention- they could give professional dancers a run for their money! It would have been nice to have even more dancing, and perhaps a more grand Bollywood-style set. I felt that there were too many scenes, calling for several scene changes which disjointed the production. A few technical hitches occurred; however, the cast took this in their stride and flicked them away with humour. There were some sound problems, but nothing that ruined our enjoyment.
The show had several in-jokes referencing to Oxford University which had the students roaring with laughter. However this didn’t exclude non-students and certainly added to the joviality of the evening.
It was obvious how hard the entire cast and crew had worked to achieve the end product and they all seemed to really enjoy it. It has to be remembered that these students are not professional and for many of them this was their first foray into theatre.
To conclude, yes, there were some glitches. However, these were teething issues which will be easily resolved. Last night's show indicates that the Chutney and Chips team will be successful in delivering that long-lasting Brit-Asian connection legacy to Oxford. Well done!
Did it deliver? In a nutshell, yes... albeit with a few hiccups here and there.
The play focused on two central characters - Maya, an orphaned, and lonely girl from London; and Ameer, a talented, but restless Oxford University student; and their struggles related to both youth and culture. The story was a little disjointed, diverting away from the love theme and almost making the romance between Ameer and Maya into a mere sub-plot. It failed to make the audience hope for them to get together and made it less believable when they did eventually meet and have that spark. At points the storyline was unclear and a little confusing - it really wasn’t a love story although it was advertised as one.
There were too many characters that we didn’t need to know about- focusing on the central characters would have drawn us into the story more. Some done-to-death clichés could have been avoided, for example, the Asian family dinner party where the mother boasts about her children all evening. There were scenes of long drawn-out conversations between characters - small talk rather than punchy lines that would have had more impact on the audience. However, the jokes were very funny, an important component of a true Bollywood show.
The acting ranged from mediocre to exceptional. Whilst a minority of the cast seemed a little stilted, the majority did brilliantly. Rahul Kumar (Mr Shah) excelled with true comic talent. He could be one to watch on the Oxford drama scene. Rabby Fozlay portrayed Ameer’s inward struggle convincingly. Sonam Patel played the funny but harrowed Auntyjee well; we felt a mixture of sympathy and exasperation towards her. Nayana Gaur conveyed Maya’s feelings of hopelessness and guilt believably.
The three main dance scenes were colourful, energetic and well-choreographed, fusing typical Bollywood dance with bhangra and R'n’B. Shivam Bhajaj (Kamal) and Sneha Nainwal (Mahi) deserve special mention- they could give professional dancers a run for their money! It would have been nice to have even more dancing, and perhaps a more grand Bollywood-style set. I felt that there were too many scenes, calling for several scene changes which disjointed the production. A few technical hitches occurred; however, the cast took this in their stride and flicked them away with humour. There were some sound problems, but nothing that ruined our enjoyment.
The show had several in-jokes referencing to Oxford University which had the students roaring with laughter. However this didn’t exclude non-students and certainly added to the joviality of the evening.
It was obvious how hard the entire cast and crew had worked to achieve the end product and they all seemed to really enjoy it. It has to be remembered that these students are not professional and for many of them this was their first foray into theatre.
To conclude, yes, there were some glitches. However, these were teething issues which will be easily resolved. Last night's show indicates that the Chutney and Chips team will be successful in delivering that long-lasting Brit-Asian connection legacy to Oxford. Well done!