Far pavilions are closer

Last October Michael Ward, the producer of The Far Pavilions, was in Bombay auditioning for Anjuli, the female lead for his £4-million musical due to premiere in the Shaftesbury Theatre in London’s West End, on April 14. Of the hundreds of calls made one was to Gayatri Iyer, a 24-year-old upcoming singer. “I was in two minds,” says Iyer, recently married to singer Kunal Gunjawalla. “My singing career was going well and I was not sure if I wanted to uproot myself for a year,” she says. But she “just went” with a friend who was going to the audition. “Mr Ward insisted I sing for the role,” and the producer liked what he heard. He persuaded Iyer to fly to London to meet the director. The rest, as they say, is theatrical history. On a freezing January day, Iyer returned to London to begin rehearsals.

Singing was not her first career choice. Doubtful of earning a living from it Iyer fell back on an mba from iim, Lucknow. Then realising that an executive’s life might not give her time for a singing hobby, Iyer gave herself a year to break into Bollywood.” In three months, she was established as a jingle singer. Then Bollywood came calling, with the number Maar Gayo from the film Sandhya followed by Mohabbat Hai Mirchi from Chura Liya Hai Tumne, the very recent hit Saiyanji from the film Masti, as well as a stint in Bride and Prejudice.

Iyer has no previous acting experience, except for an Alyque Padamsee play she did at 16. “It is a bit daunting, but I am confident. The director, Gayle Edwards, spent a full day at the workshop with me before I was selected. She knew exactly what I was capable of and she was happy with it. Even in a few weeks I can see how far I have come,” says the budding performer. The premiere is in April, and Monday through Saturday, from 9am to 9pm Iyer is at the studio rehearsing.

Iyer’s selection has left quite a few British Asian hopefuls disappointed. Kaye, the author, did not want a Western actress “blacked up”, as was done in the TV series of The Far Pavilions in 1984, which cast an American as Anjuli. Iyer recalls Kaye’s logic that, “In India you cannot throw a brick in any direction without hitting a beautiful girl and the chances are she can sing.”

At the world premiere. Ward is roping off two seats by order of the author. Kaye died before her dream of seeing her romantic saga being performed in London’s theatre could be fulfilled. “If I should fall off my worldly twig before the curtain goes up, I shall make an awful nuisance of myself in the next life unless I’m allowed back to see it run,” said the writer, who died in January last year at the age of 95.

The thought of performing in front of a live audience gives her butterflies in the stomach, but Iyer has the confidence that a world-class team is backing her every step of the way. “The scale of the production is awesome. Each person is the best in his or her field, and everyone is very supportive, very encouraging,” says the petite Iyer with a confident smile. “All I have to do is decide what to wear at the after party.”

March 12, 2005