Shruti Merchant talks ahead of Taj Express at Birmingham Hippodrome

It will run from September 11-15 and has been created by Vaibhavi and Shruti Merchant, acclaimed choreographers of The Merchants of Bollywood.

Their spectacular new musical featuring the songs of Oscar winner A.R Rahman, composer of Slumdog Millionaire. It will transport the kaleidoscopic colours of India onto the Hippodrome’s stage direct from a sell-out London season.

Rhythmically blending explosive dance with the hits of India’s most iconic composers, Taj Express will be brought to life by the stars of Bollywood cinema and its greatest musicians.

With fresh choreography and dazzling costumes, it is the story of young composer Shankar and his struggles with his music. It’s only when he begins to follow in the footsteps of his idol AR Rahman that he discovers his path to success in the world’s most prolific film industry. Set to an unforgettable soundtrack, Taj Express will show Bollywood in a way that’s never been seen before.

Shruti Merchant is delighted that the show will be returning to the UK. “Last year we performed it in the UK and I was extremely nervous to perform for the audiences in London.

“It was the first time my production was entering the market in London and the response was so, so, so overwhelming. It’s a great moment in my company’s life to return to the UK. We are returning to the Peacock Theatre, in London, but also bringing it to the Birmingham hippodrome for the week, then there’s a two-week tour.”

Shruti immerses herself in British culture when she travels to the UK. She enjoys the contrast between Britain and India and is delighted that British audiences take her production to heart.

“We are going to be in the UK for a good, long six weeks. We did something right to get the audiences excited. Our experience from our pervious tour, The Merchants of Bollywood, taught me that the next time I come here I need to do something more.

“Bollywood churns out thousands of songs and dance routines in a year. The music cannot be just boy meets girl and then they go off running around the trees. It has to be contemporary. It cannot be boring. It is not just talk and talk on stage. The audiences enjoy the dance sequences and the colourful costumes then the energy has to be up-tempo and upbeat.”

Shruti enjoys the work that takes place before a production, when she’s going through new routines with dancers. “I don’t want our shows to be typecasted or to be what an audience from outside India expects. We want to give them something new, something with lots of energy.

“We don’t just want hip and head moves that are typical. We also want the very contemporary side of Bollywood. I think audiences are extremely smart. You can’t fool them – nor should you try. I’m very excited.”

Constant evolution is the name of the game for Shruti, who is one of Bollywood’s most in-demand choreographers. She was born into an entertainment dynasty and is the granddaughter of the late Shri B.Hiralal, a renowned film choreographer who was one of the founding fathers of classic Bollywood cinema songs. He brought the strong, vehement Jaipur style of dance to Indian cinema and rightfully commanded respect for several decades in the Indian film industry. Shruti is trained in Indian classical dance, Kathak and Bharatnatyam.

“I love learning and I also love to unlearn what I have done on previous musicals. It gets a little boring to be doing the same thing so when I started Taj Express, I had to unlearn what I had learned with eight years of touring with the Merchant of Bollywood.

“As people, sometimes we tend to go into a comfort zone. But that is completely wrong. We need to keep motivating and creating something new. There is so much that India can put out there. Taj Express is about breaking away from Mr Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Bombay dreams and Mark Brady’s Merchants of Bollywood. We’ve always had foreign production companies producing Indian shows but Taj Express is coming straight from the core. The formula of Bollywood excites the audience. We cannot break away from that but we can change the way we present it.”

Dance is all that Shruti has ever known. It has been her lifelong passion and she hopes to emulate the work of her grandfather over a period of time. The 33-year-old-choreographer has a long way to go but believes she is already making strides.

“Dance has been a very, very strong passion ever since I came out of my mother’s womb. Music, dance, costumes and entertainment has always surrounded me. During a lot of time my grandfather would shout and throw his temper around because he was a perfectionist who wouldn’t settle for less than extraordinary. So that’s where my sister and I have our training come from. My mother’s side was very creative, my father’s side was business-oriented.

“In India, particularly Mumbai, there’s a certain sect that watches theatre. But when I toured for the first time, in Australia, USA, London and Europe I saw something new, it was magic. So I wanted to take my work not just to the people of India but worldwide.”

Andy Richardson