The Indian man on Broadway

Its a bit coincidental that this writer has been obsessing over Alanis Morissettersquos legendary 1995 album Jagged Little Pill all of last month in an attempt to feel better about the mad times we live in To surviveCall it serendipity that the opportunity to interview Vivek Tiwary came by this week Born in New York to Indian immigrant parents Tiwary has taken the album to Broadway as a theatrical show which incidentally was nominated for 15 Tonys We now hear that itrsquos heading to Australia this fall and will be available for viewing on streaming sites or in a recorded format soon as wellBut like Morissette who gave a whole generation of women anthems for their broken hearts Tiwary himself is an inspiration He describes himself as the weird Indian kid from the Lower East Side who made it in theatreVivek TiwaryldquoAs soon as I was allowed out of the house I would go watch punk bandsrdquo he says during a telephonic interview from New York ldquoAnd in downtown NY every record store turned into a musical and experiential performance space every evening I watched Starlight Express by Andrew Lloyd Webber and I came out of that screening and told my parents that I wanted to do just thatrdquo He was 21 then and now at 48 Tiwary has gone through the rigours of the American theatre rigmarole Before Jagged he made American Idiot that remains Green Dayrsquos defining album that also won a Tony award ldquoAmerican Idiot was very loud and male So I wanted to do a song from the female gaze and Alanisrsquos album fit Itrsquos like it is written for stagemdashthe show needs to start with a lsquoI wantrsquo song and she wrote a song called All I really want on the album Then You learn ends the show It was all thererdquo he says of the show that focuses on a family that is going through the trials of lifeBut although the theatre community was inclusive he had a hard time coming up through the ranks ldquoThey were all like lsquowho is this boyrsquo I was seen as the outsider But I have to say that most people were intrigued about who I was and where I came from and most people turned out to be supportive But at that time I was the only Indian maybe the only person of colour in the theatre community There are very few even nowrdquo says the producer He says he decided to call his firm Tiwary Entertainment because ldquoI wanted those two words to go together so that people know I am not just meant to be a doctor or engineerrdquo His dream seems to have come true As he walked the ramp with Morissette one day he told her ldquoIf you had told me at 20 I would be doing this I would have never believed itrdquo He describes the singer as one who wants things done her way but is also open to collaboration ldquoAnd those are the best people to work withrdquoTiwary also has a graphic novel to his name called The Fifth Beatle about Brian Epstein manager to the Beatles and the man responsible for the band achieving cult status ldquoIf a gay Jewish man from Liverpool could do it a weird Indian can do it as wellrdquoThese days Tiwary is working on taking the show overseas and is busy with a teleplay based on the Fifth Beatle ldquoI am doing nine projects this yearMost of them are for television and theatre but one is for the movies toordquo Ask him about his connection with India and he says he has a story to tell ldquoI came to India four years ago for the Comicon in Hyderabad and among all the geeks while I was talking about my book I felt at home I felt like I most belonged in India that day in Hyderabad Does that answer your questionrdquo