Bollywood composer duo Sachin-Jigar make their Singapore debut on 28 November as the headline act of Kalaa Utsavam’s 25th edition, which runs from 20 to 29 November. Esplanade’s Indian festival of arts has run every year since 2002, and this year’s ticketed line-up mixes Bollywood, stand-up, kathak, bharatanatyam and Singapore theatre.
The headliner
Sachin-Jigar Live is at the Esplanade Theatre on Saturday 28 November at 8pm, with tickets from S$58.10. Singers Divya Kumar and Shraddha Mishra join the duo. The two-hour set has no intermission and draws on their Hindi film catalogue, from Apna Bana Le and Saibo to Aaj Ki Raat, Nadiyon Paar and Tere Vaste.
Concession tickets for students, NSFs and seniors, and seats for persons with disabilities, are limited.
Comedy and music on opening night
Opening night is Friday 20 November. Indian comedian Biswa Kalyan Rath brings his stand-up show Inventions to the Esplanade Concert Hall at 7.30pm, from S$41.50. The 90-minute set contains mature themes and coarse language.
At 8pm the same night, UK-based Aakash Odedra Company stages Songs of the Bulbul at the Singtel Waterfront Theatre, from S$39.60. The dance-theatre work sets kathak to a Sufi myth about a caged bird, with choreography by Rani Khanam and music by Rushil Ranjan. The show uses strobe lighting and loud sound effects. Odedra and Khanam also run a kathak masterclass on 21 November.
Malayalam singer-songwriter Job Kurian plays the Singtel Waterfront Theatre on Friday 27 November at 7.30pm with his band and a string quartet, from S$52.80.
Singapore stories at the festival
HuM Theatre’s Rafta Rafta, an Esplanade co-production directed by Daisy Irani Subaiah, opens early, playing the Esplanade Theatre Studio nightly from 18 to 22 November at 8pm. Tickets start at S$57.20 and the play is for ages nine and above. Atul and Weilin are newlyweds whose cramped BTO flat fills up with parents and in-laws from the Dutt and Lim families. The cast includes Gerald Chew, Eleanor Tan and Subin Subaiah.
Bedok to Bollywood, an Esplanade commission created by comedian Rishi Budhrani, plays the Esplanade Recital Studio on 27 and 28 November, from S$41.50. Budhrani and host K.P. Sandhu perform the interactive dramedy, based on their own attempts at Bollywood careers. A new 4pm show on Saturday 28 November has been added, and the piece contains coarse language. Both Rafta Rafta and Bedok to Bollywood take SG Culture Pass credits.
Other Singapore works on the programme are TerryandtheCuz’s Tamil cinema cabaret The Failed Romances, Bharathaa Arts’ bharatanatyam production Today We Are Born Anew, Mahogany Journal’s staged reading A Very Mahogany Wedding and Grace Kalaiselvi’s children’s show Paati’s Spice Kitchen.
Free programmes
Kalaa Utsavam also fills Esplanade’s public spaces with free music, dance and community programmes across the 10 days. SIFAS runs bharatanatyam workshops for the public and for parents with children. Malabar Gold & Diamonds is the festival’s principal sponsor.
