In a unique move to contemporise the Tulsidasi 'Ramchoritmanas', bhajan king Anup Jalota will lend his voice to the timeless devotional lyrics to the accompaniment of traditional 'Bharatiya' dance forms.
"Instead of enacting the whole epic in drama form, which will extend beyond several days, we are re-adapting certain parts in one-and-half to two-hour format, retaining the spirit as people don't have that much time now," the 'Aisi Lagi Lagan' singer said from Mumbai.
"I am sure the contemporary format, while retaining the original lines, terms and phrases, will help to strike rapport with the present day audience. I am positive with the never-waning popularity of Ramcharitmanas lines as evident in our homes which also confirms the fact that devotional numbers will always strike a chord with our audiences cutting across generations," Jalota said.
Jalota, who had earlier recorded Srimad Bhagabadgita for the audiences in Hindi, reasoned conemporising didn't mean tinkering with the 'sur and soul' of the songs.
"We are blending visual art in form of Mohiniyattam, Kaladipayettu and Chaau along with the soulful musical composition of Anupji who was sold on the concept the moment we met him at his flat in Mumbai two months back," famed Mohiniyattam danseuse Momm Ganguly said.
"We managed the whole thing real fast and apart from Kolkata and rest of country we hope to reach out to the audience in UK, indophiles, expatriates and others," she said.
"The Kaishiki Arts and Research Centre for the first time portraying the journey of Sri Rama in such a ballad form titled 'The Ballads of Sri Rama - A Musical.' We have every reason to believe the audience will lap up the idea," popular actor and esteemed singer Arjun Chakraborty said.
