Frankie Goes To Bollywood – Rifco Theatre Company / Watford Palace Theatre

The Salterton Arts Review heads to Watford Palace Theatre to see Frankie Goes to Bollywood, a brand new, ‘billion colour’ musical.

Frankie Goes to Bollywood

We all have an image of what Bollywood is.  Not surprising for an industry which grossed around 200 billion rupees in 2023.  But Bollywood film-goers aren’t thinking about the box office returns first and foremost.  They are sighing over romantic (but chaste) love stories, admiring heroes, and hoping everything works out in the end.  Or they’re back home and trying out the latest choreography or reading what their favourite stars have been up to in real life.  Either way, it’s a way of life, and it’s big business.  For those who enter with rose tinted glasses, it can be a dangerous one.

Frankie (Laila Zaidi) is one such wearer of rose tinted glasses.  She grew up on Bollywood films.  A world away from her home in Milton Keynes, and a way to connect with her mother through her dreams and heritage.  A chance encounter leads to a golden opportunity.  But don’t all those films teach us to be wary of what seems too good to be true? Perhaps not.

Pravesh Kumar has written Frankie Goes to Bollywood as a complex ode to an industry that fuels the dreams of so many but which can be toxic.  Not just for a young, naive woman.  Kumar pulls no punches in painting a picture of an industry which treats women of all ages, shapes, sizes and skillsets callously, more preoccupied with dynastic power struggles any ancient empire would be proud of.  Big business means power and wealth, after all, and you don’t necessarily hold onto those by being kind.

This brand new musical, with songs by Niraj Chag and Tasha Taylor Johnson, is a sensory treat.  The excellent set by Rebecca Brower transports the audience to steamy Mumbai.  The costumes, by Andy Kumar who is also Movement Director, are sublime and surely worthy of awards.  The ensemble work overtime to bring the energy of a Bollywood film to every scene, with so many costume changes things must be a blur backstage.

Bollywood’s Darker Side

But what of the story? Does Frankie make it in Bollywood?  Or make it out of Bollywood? Let me not reveal too much.  With runs all over the place through to July including at the Southbank Centre from 31 July to 18 August, you should see for yourself.  But suffice it to say, while the story is more cautionary than revolutionary, Kumar balances commentary on an industry with a more personal story of identity, family and self-discovery.  The closing scenes had some around me in tears, as the female leads reach powerful emotional crescendos.

It’s actually a great musical for female leads.  The male characters barely get a look in by comparison.  There’s an optimistic director (Navin Kundra) and a vain, nepobaby star (a fun comic role for Shakil Hussain), both of whom have ideas about Frankie’s future. But this story is all about Frankie herself, as well as her cousin sister Goldy (Katie Stasi), mother (Helen K. Wint) and rival (also Wint).  Zaidi’s powerful upper range demonstrates her star potential, but each gets a chance to shine.  Even when we don’t agree with their point of view (example: a song about being mean), these are leading ladies.

The one thing I wondered about Frankie Goes to Bollywood is whether it will meet audience expectations.  Not everyone will come expecting their nostalgic views of Bollywood films to be challenged.  But that’s no reason not to call out toxic environments where we see them: I trust audiences will take the sour with the sweet.  All in all Frankie Goes to Bollywood is a story with a lot of heart, a little schmaltz, plenty of singing and dancing, and a riot of colours.  All the best bits of Bollywood while calling for the problematic bits to change.  What’s not to like?

Could I just talk a little more about the costumes before finishing up?  The character of Shona (Gigi Zahir) is a Costume Designer’s dream.  A choreographer/TV celebrity/restaurateur and more besides, his every costume is like an haute couture concept sketch.  And don’t get me started on the saris which double as Bollywood backdrops.  You’re going to have to go and see them for yourselves.

Salterton Arts Review’s rating: 4/5

Frankie Goes to Bollywood at Watford Palace Theatre until 11 May 2024 and on tour until 18 August including Southbank Centre from 31 July to 18 August.  More info here.