INTERVIEW: HUSSAIN KUWAJERWALA

‘Zangoora’ is Bollywood’s Answer to ‘Moulin Rouge’

By: Simran Mody

June 7, 2010

Just like many mainstream Indian television stars, acclaimed small-screen actor Hussain Kuwajerwala is plotting the day his career path takes him through Bollywood. Well, Hussain’s number has just been called, and the ink on his ticket to Mumbai is just now drying, but the Kumkum star and Indian Idol host will not grace the screens of any Hindi-themed multiplexes in the near future. After all, the 32-year-old actor is foraying into Bollywood via the path never traveled -- stage musical. At the peak of the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) awards in Sri Lanka, it was announced that Hussain (whose stardom shot through the roof after he won first place in the dance reality show Nach Baliye) would play the lead role opposite Isha Sharvani and Gauhar Khan in the first-ever Bollywood stage musical, Zangoora. It is expected the two-hour musical production will be featured at the Kingdom of Dreams, the revolutionary Universal Studios-like theme park in Gurgaon dedicated to Indian entertainment and culture.

An award-winning actor who made quite the name for himself in the popular television serial Kumkum, Hussain told the press he is up to the challenge of starring in Bollywood’s first-ever musical, which is slated to start in July and feature two hours of non-stop singing and dancing.

“This musical involves a lot of hard work, and there is no scope for mistake,” the actor candidly said, addressing questions of how he would handle starring in a production where there are no re-takes or cuts during the live performance. “You can say that it is India’s answer to the Opera and Moulin Rouge. It is the first of its kind, where you will have a small Bollywood musical in which everyone will give live a performance.”

Hussain’s role as lead actor was by no small feat, however, as he was offered the part only after leading Hindi film star Vivek Oberoi backed out of the project after initially accepting the offer to star in Zangoora. After Vivek backed out, Hussain was quickly invited to come aboard, and the television star accepted.

“When I got a call from the organizers, I didn’t know about the project, nor did I know about Vivek,” he announced to the press. “I don’t know why they signed me for the role, but all I can assure you is that it is a once in a lifetime opportunity.”

It is a lifetime opportunity many may look back upon, especially if Zangoora establishes itself as a breakthrough stage production that opened the door to other similar projects, ergo providing yet another avenue for aspiring Bollywood stars to make a name for themselves.

Accordingly, Hussain not only grasps the significance of the venture he is about to embark upon but is also just thankful that he has a chance to be involved with Bollywood in a substantive capacity.

“Every actor wants to be in Bollywood, and like all of them, it is my dream to be a part of Bollywood,” he told the press. “But it would be a cliché to say that I want to do something different and am waiting for that dream role. I feel what is important is to be consistent with your work and you will definitely be noticed.”

Debuting in the first-ever Bollywood musical featured at one of the grandest industry-based theme park projects in the Great Indian Nautanki Company’s Kingdom of Dreams, Hussain should have no problem being noticed. The only question remains whether he will be noticed enough to be considered a pioneer and a revolutionary actor.

If all goes as planned, Hussain will have his answer come July.