Cast announced for new Bollywood musical Bombay Superstar from Sâmir Bhamra

UK Tour – October to November 2022

A spectacular cast has been announced for the world premiere of Bombay Superstar, the dazzling new Bollywood musical set in the sizzling disco era of the 1970s, from the award winning Phizzical Productions.

Nisha Aaliya (Ghosts, BBC; Girl on the Train, Netflix; Bring on the Bollywood, Phizzical) is an award-winning actress who will be leading the cast as fiery rising star Laila.

She will be playing opposite Rav Moore (Precious Bazaar, Phizzical; Bollywood Jane, Curve Theatre; Band Baaja Dance, De Montfort), as her dashing hero co-star Sikandar – Rav was cast when Phizzical Productions partnered with SONY TV UK and Indian Idol to reach out into communities UK wide to discover the next biggest Bollywood superstar.

They are joined by Pia Sutaria (Royal Academy of Music – received the Disney Theatrical Productions scholarship; Navdhara India Dance Theatre, International Tour) in the role of Mala, Robby Khela (Indian Idol 4; Sony Entertainment Television; Bring On The Bollywood, Phizzical) as Vicky, with Sheetal Pandya (Udaan, Tu Sooraj Main Saanih Piyaj) as Dolly, Yanick Ghanty

(Hullraisers; Channel 4; The Dumping Ground, BBC) as Tiger, Chirag Rao (Bend It like Beckham: The Musical, West End; The Bollywood Bratpack, UK Tour) as Din Dayal and Amar (BBC Proms Electric; BBC, Winner of Best Female Singer at Asian Music Awards) as Pammi. Aaron Mistry (Eternals; Marvel/Disney; The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, ITV), Daisy Hardy (Bollywood films Mission Cinderella and Tara vs Bilal), Pavan Maru, a graduate from Bird College and Alexandra Adams, a graduate from the Northern Ballet school will make their professional debut as part of the ensemble.

Blurring the lines between reel and real-life events in the films of Bollywood icons like Amitabh Bachchan and Rekha, this retro musical is a passionate tale of a star-crossed romance between a fiery rising star and her married co-star which thrills and scandalises their star-struck fans.

Bombay Superstar is written and directed by the master of authentic Bollywood-inspired work Sâmir Bhamra (Bring on the Bollywood; Precious Bazaar), who is also the Artistic Director of Phizzical Productions.

He comments, I’m a child of the 70s and 80s and no matter what challenges life brought, when my heroes came onto the big screen, I could escape and be carefree. Often, we all sat round a VCR watching films as a family – it brought people together in the same way that theatre does, and this has been missing for many people in the last few years.

With Bombay Superstar I’ve re-created this happy era of bell bottoms and sparkly sarees with live music, soaring singing to the heights and a story that pulls on your every emotion, in a show that guarantees joy, a great occasion to get together with family and friends and full-on Paisa Vasool! (worth every penny).

This glamourous and scandalous story is set in the heart of the biggest film industry in the world – Bollywood, bringing it brilliantly to life on stage, with live music and exhilarating dancing and reinventing and platforming spectacular stories from Asian culture.

Bombay Superstar is delivered in English and sung in Hindi with subtitles throughout the show to allow accessibility for audiences throughout the country.

Bombay Superstar marks the 50th show from the powerhouse team at Phizzical Productions and is co-produced by Belgrade Theatre Coventry and the New Wolsey Theatre.

The creative team includes Lewis den Hertog (The Afflicted/The Hope River Girls; Imaginate Children’s Festival; The Enemy, The National Theatre) who has designed the video and captions, Mark Jonathan (Head of Lighting at the National Theatre 1993-2003; Honk!, National Theatre) who has designed the lightning with associate Callum MacDonald. Jonathan Terry has joined the team as relighter and the production LX operator.

The production is choreographed by Rohan Shah and Shruti Shah, (The Girl On The Train, Netflix; Sher Bagga) with fight choreography from Chirag Lukha (Trinity and Don’t Look at the Finger with Hetain Patel, Fangs of Fortune), and assistant direction from Sophie Kandola (Coco in Fame; international tour, Doctors and with Phizzical, Stardust and Bring on the Bollywood). The musical director is Hinal Pattani (Much Ado About Nothing, The RSC; Indian Idol, Sony Television Entertainment), and the 515 Crew Nikaash Sankadeca, Dhaivat Acharya, Bindi Bhumbra, Ragen Brahmbhatt and Trushar Tailor. Vocal coach is the musical legend Tauseef Akhtar, who was behind the biggest Bollywood blockbuster musicals, Dhadkan, Raaz and Hum Tumhare Hain Sanam.

Bombay Superstar will open in October amidst the global celebrations of the Diwali Festival of Light at the Belgrade Theatre Coventry and then visit Hall for Cornwall, The New Wolsey Theatre, The Lowry and MAST Mayflower Studios.

The music in Bombay Superstar is used with permission of Saregama India Ltd, formerly known as The Gramophone Company of India Ltd., India’s oldest music label, founded in 1901. Composers of the original Hindi film songs in Bombay Superstar include Bappi Lahiri, Laxmikant Pyarelal, RD Burman, Shiv Hari, Khayyam, Kalyanji Anandji, and OP Nayyar. Translations of Hindi songs by author Yasser Usman. New original songs by Robby Khela.

Phizzical Productions was founded in 2003 and has delighted, inspired, and nurtured people of all ages and backgrounds. As the company approaches its 20th anniversary year, the investment in their rebrand and a new website marks an incredible moment as Phizzical Productions continues its mission to tell tomorrow’s stories today and distinguishes itself even more as a leading voice within the arts industry. Phizzical Productions are masters in producing world class entertainment, bringing bold and adventurous South Asian arts and cultural experiences to audiences across the country. They are committed to challenging the status quo and promoting equality to bring new perspectives to stories that entertain and engage.