| There is more to Indian performing arts than Bollywood, says artistic director of new stage spectacular, MEERA
One Gold Coast woman is on a mission to prove there is more to Indian performing arts than Bollywood.
Aarti Bajaj is the owner and artistic director of Wild Dreamer Productions, a ground-breaking Gold Coast based production house committed to pushing boundaries beyond the social norm.
Meera, the brainchild of Ms Bajaj, is the ambitious first offering from Wild Dreamer Productions.
Boasting a 300-strong cast and crew, the new stage spectacular will premiere at HOTA on the 4th of November this year.
“Meera is a bold love story from 16th century Northern India about a royal Princess who believes in her love for Krishna (a Hindu God) to such a degree that she is willing to go against the norms of society for her love,” said Ms Bajaj.
“This is a story of love, passion, betrayal and every emotion of human experience to make or break a person – Meera has it all.”
During the writing process Ms Bajaj altered the interpretation of Meera to fit the wider audience.
“I wanted to take all of the religious aspects out, and only focus on the pureness of love in the story.
“Love is common for every living being, we all can have different religions and beliefs, but we all have one common expression, and that is love.
“Everyone can recognise this theme when they walk into the auditorium, no matter where they come from, or what they believe.
Apart from creating Meera, the vision for Wild Dreamer Productions is to present multiple unsung or not very well known stories from around the world.
“My goal is to break different boundaries using globalisation and modernisation, to shine a light on different cultures and art forms,” said Ms Bajaj.
“There is so much more to Indian dance, it is not properly propagated or spread in the wider world. The Indian arts is more than just Bollywood. Being professionally trained with a degree in dance, I am really passionate to bring real colours out to the world.
“In Meera, there are eight dance forms; Indian classical, Indian contemporary, tap, jazz, ballet, African contemporary, pole, and we are aiming to get aerial. You will see pole in a different light in this production.”
In regards to other performing arts featured in Meera, there is drama, narration incorporating opera singing and plans to feature 2D and 3D projection mapping.
“The music has been created from scratch from music composers from four different countries, using multiple genres,” said Ms Bajaj.
“Costumes and jewellery have all been custom-made for the cast. It is about the true story of Meera, written by myself and scripted by a professional script writer on the Gold Coast.”
Another major motivation for Ms Bajaj is to create a platform where she can give different artists the opportunity where they don’t need a profile to share their talent – if they have talent she intends to bring the platform to them.
“All of the performers in Meera are local amateurs from the Gold Coast and Brisbane communities, and this gives me great pride,” said Ms Bajaj.
“I train them for a year, lead them to the beautiful stage and I am beyond thrilled to see everyone applaud them.
“My ultimate goal is for Meera to see all the beautiful stages and audiences across the globe, to sing out beautifully and loudly so everyone can get involved.”
Meera plays one-night only at the HOTA – Home of the Arts Paradise Showroom on the 4th of November, 2018. Tickets are available now at: https://hota.com.au/theatre/meera
Learn more about this exclusive production here:
Meera: Sponsorship Video
Meera: Website
Meera: Facebook
Meera: Meera The Production: Interview with Aarti Bajaj (Creative Director)
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Surfers Paradise 
