A BBC radio show proves proves Mumbai's arts' scene is nothing short of buoyant

On the stage at the majestic Royal Opera House artistes take their seat in a semicircle for what is an unusual gathering At the centre is British radio and television presenter Nikki Bedi who along with familiarising her guests with the flow of the show is also breaking the ice between participants They are here to record The Arts Hour a BBC radio production that goes on a tour once a month to capture the best in arts across the world The Mumbai edition airs todayActor Bhumi Pednekar with Nikki Bedi to her right calls out the boors behind Padmavati protests PicsPicBipin KokateIn the city on the evening of November 22 the researchers have picked six artistes who they feel best represent the dynamic cultural scene of the city Flanking Bedi are film critic and director of the Mumbai Film Festival Anupama Chopra and actor Bhumi Pednekar Seated next to them are standup comedian screenwriter and novelist Anuvab Pal and Shamir Reuben head of content and social media at the spoken word collective Kommune On either side of the stage finetuning their arrangements are the popular Hindi rock ensemble Anand Bhaskar Collective and pop duo from Kolkata mdash with a big fan following in Mumbai mdash Parekh amp Singh in signature fruity suits The show is a way of seeing a people and their culture and understanding their politics and issues through the prism of art Standup comedy and spoken word are burgeoning fields in Mumbai There is also a sea change in the kind of subjects that Indian cinema is choosing Issues like sanitation erectile dysfunction and fat shaming are not just making it to film they are also managing to attract audiences into theatres says Bedi about why it was a good time to come to MumbaiNischay Parekh readies to perform the bands hit songFor this editions research Bedi who was born a Moolgaokar and has roots in Mumbai played the fact checker for producer Nicki Paxman along with providing other insider inputs A regular feature of the show The Culture Cab involves the presenter hailing a cab with an artiste who then takes her around the city to explore it like a local Though her Mumbai guide was Pal with whom she explored the splash of global colours at the ongoing Sassoon Docks art project and the murals of Bandra Bedi shared her favourite part of the city with him too mdash Walkeshwars BangangaThroughout the recording that lasted two and a half hours the teams homework kept the conversation alive and relevant Bedi a natural at hosting puts her guests at ease It comes across in Pednekars candour who minces no words when asked about the ongoing controversy around Padmavati You know these are people who dont give a st about history she says a word Paxman gets politely replaced at the end of the show with the milder damn Bedi then moves on to ask Pal and Reuben if comedy and spoken word have become popular for similar reasons and how social media has played a part With artistes as guests each segment packs in a performance While Pals jibes about SoBo residents have the audience in splits Reubens poetry moves many to tears Vocalist Nischay Parekh of Parekh amp Singh shares the inspiration behind their music video with a million hits I Love You Baby I Love You Doll before performing it and Anand Bhaskar shares why all his compositions are in Hindi before segueing the show to its end with a rendition of FanaaAn audience member comments about the need to see more everyday people in filmsRahul Baswani who came to know of the show through Pals tweet is happy to have made it in the audience I listen to a lot of podcasts So the most fascinating bit for me was towards the end when they did the retakes he says In the green room mutual understanding and fandom fill the air At the end of the day we are all artistes and we could feel the synergy and a shared language throughout says Parekh who has just promised Pal that hell be there for his Kolkata gig the next day even as Pal admits that the music duo is everything he would have wanted to be as a 27yearoldThe sound engineers at workChopra on the other hand is happy that the show recognises the power of Indian cinema and how it is evolving Outside India there is a fixed notion of what Bollywood is But there is a different language spoken now which most people dont know of I am hoping that the show will communicate that For Reuben it has been a platform for artistic exchange The beauty of tonight was people might have come to watch comedy and they learnt a bit about spoken word Or that they wanted to hear a poem and they left with music he says For the BBC to say that there is something stirring in Mumbai is a statement