Naseeruddin Shah in a still from Monsoon Wedding; (inset) Jaaved Jaaferi to play Lalit Verma
In a bid to reinvent himself, actor Jaaved Jaaferi has taken up a new challenge. He is part of Mira Nair’s upcoming musical, Monsoon Wedding, based on her 2001 film. “It’s going to be hectic with rehearsals and daily performances,” he says, adding, “I will be singing and dancing; it’s a 90-minute live act.”
Jaaved will have to be in the US for about four months for the shows. “My wife (Habiba) has been telling me, ‘Let’s see how you survive alone’,” laughs Jaaved, who will leave for the US mid-month for rehearsals, ahead of the musical’s opening in May.
Take on the challenge
Jaaved reprises Naseeruddin Shah’s character of Lalit Verma, who organises a big wedding for his daughter. “The audience still remembers the character, and Naseer saab is a respected actor. So there will be a lot of expectations,” says Jaaved.
He is going by Mira’s vision for the stage version. “I watched the film many years ago, but when cast, I didn’t want to revisit it to get the nuances right. Mira has been working on the musical for almost eight years. I’ll add my colour and texture to the character. The storyline remains the same, but now there are 20 songs, composed by Vishal Bhardwaj, including Kawa Kawa.” Before opening at Broadway, Monsoon Wedding will be staged in Berkley in California for eight weeks.
“It’s a niche, highly-respected repertory. A production doesn’t open directly at Broadway. It has to be staged at a high-end venue first, where it’s fine-tuned before running at Broadway,” he explains.
Being honest
He has no qualms admitting that he auditioned for the role. “That’s how things work there. Those working in the production and technical side are award-winning names from Broadway, but they don’t know you. I had no hang ups.”
In fact, Jaaved barely knew Mira. “We would exchange greetings at festivals,” he says, as he goes on explain how he bagged the part. “Casting for all characters, except Lalit’s, were done. I came on board later.”
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