Pravesh Kumar MBE, Artistic Director of Rifco and writer of Frankie Goes to Bollywood, explains the unexpected similarities between Mumbai and London.
I was born in Slough and moved to London when I was 19, where I lived for much of my life.
My family is Punjabi, from North India, and my dad's family came to England after being expelled from Uganda in the 1970s. Having been brought up in a culturally difficult climate in the 1980s and 1990s where racism was overt, I found it hard to belong. I often questioned where I belonged and that still influences much of my work today.
I also lived in Mumbai in the late 1990s and early 2000s, where I worked in TV and film. I found London and Mumbai remarkably different but also — though this might sound strange — very similar.
The architecture is remarkably similar in the centres of the cities; both have modern skyscrapers, yes, but scattered among them are ornate Victorian buildings. The Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (formerly Victoria Terminus), for instance, is a beautiful neo-gothic building designed by the British architect F.W Stevens, that's not a million miles away from Waterloo or St Pancras stations in London. It makes sense, of course, given that Mumbai was under British rule for 200 years.
"The film industry is run by men, for men. Women are relegated to roles as arm candy for middle-aged men"
But the similarities between the cities are more than aesthetic. Both Mumbai and London are sprawling cities with transient communities, where young people arrive with big dreams — and must fight hard to achieve them. When I arrived in Mumbai, everyone looked like me, and I felt that this could be my cultural home. But the moment I opened my mouth with my British accent, I became the butt of jokes. I was an NRI (non-resident Indian) and a foreigner. Even in this place, which could have been 'home' and 'belonging', I felt like an outsider. I felt like one of those British Asians in Bollywood Cinema, portrayed as characters with no cultural understanding and a terrible Hindi accent. Where did I belong?
The play that would become Frankie Goes to Bollywood — about a British Asian woman who finds herself transported to this ruthless world where she must confront what she is willing to do for fame and fortune — started taking shape in my mind while I was in Mumbai. I had seen the truth of Bollywood first hand. Behind this beautiful kaleidoscope of colour— one that attracts an audience of over 1.38 billion — Bollywood was often quite ugly. There was a family system at play that operated like a royal dynasty, and talent had little place to survive. There was also a huge issue regarding sexism. Like India itself, the film industry is run by men, for men. Women are relegated to roles as arm candy for middle-aged men. Often, they are less than half the age of the man, scantily clad, and given overly objectified and sexualised songs to sing, that fawn over their male counterparts. These songs are called an 'item number' — a song inserted into a film that may or may not have any relevance to the plot, signifying the woman as an object.
"In London, just as in Mumbai, the issue of sexism persists"
I came back to London and started my own theatre company to tell authentic British South Asian stories that felt like home, and this has been hugely successful over the years. London is a place where I can be my authentic self, both British and Indian, and celebrate that unique fusion — which transpires through all my work. It's the place where Frankie Goes To Bollywood blossomed into life.
But in London, just as in Mumbai, the issue of sexism persists. In London's case, it's often in South Asian families, where boys are revered and patriarchy rules. We may think modern society has changed this, but in many cases it hasn't. It seeps into so many parts of Londoners' lives. As the father of a young daughter, I feel it's my duty to continue the fight for gender equality. Just as my white peers and friends should be allies in the struggle against racism, men have to be allies in the fight for gender equality.
Frankie Goes To Bollywood is an ode to our mothers, daughters, sisters, and their warrior souls. It sizzles with colour and dance, and I hope it will fill London with its big heart and epic songs!
Frankie Goes To Bollywood, Southbank Centre, 31 July-18 August 2024