Naatak Presents its 50th Production

A Grand Musical – The Knight Foundation Grant Winner

Vrindavan

Dates: September 12-27, 2015

Venue: Cubberley Theater, Palo Alto, CA

Written and Directed by Sujit Saraf

Produced by Soumya Agastya

About the Play

In 2014, Bollywood’s dream girl Hema Malini became Member of Parliament from Mathura. When visiting a widow-home in Vrindavan, she suggested that Vrindavan widows should remain in Bengal instead of coming to over-crowded Vrindavan. The uproar that followed involved many actors – NGOs, the BJP, Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, and Hema Malini.

This incident provides the inspiration for Vrindavan, City of Widows, in which 12 feisty widows live in raucous celebration until a Bollywood actress arrives to disrupt their lives. Vrindavan is a grand musical, juxtaposing the colorful love of Radha and Krishna with the stark existence of Vrindavan widows, and told through humor and wit, the songs of Meera Bai and the gyrations of Bollywood songs. The play features spectacular sets, costumes and lights, along with live music by Nachiketa Yakkundi and his team, choreography by Guru Bandana Sen, and dance by Dipanwita Sengupta and her students at California Nupur Dance Academy.

This is Naatak’s 50th play. As befits a milestone production, it will be staged on a grand scale, with much media coverage, and as many as 9 shows for a large audience.

A news item on the incident that became the genesis of this play: http://www.ndtv.com/india-news/widows-from-bengal-bihar-stay-there-why-crowd-vrindavan-hema-malini-667204

Language: Hindi (with English supertitles)
Run-time: 100 minutes, no intermission
Children under 7 will not be admitted

Videos

Credits

Director and playwright: Sujit Saraf

Music Director: Nachiketa Yakkundi

Dance Director: Nritya Shiromoni Guru Bandana Sen

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