Pravesh Kumar’s ‘Frankie Goes to Bollywood’ is currently playing at the Southbank Centre and has just celebrated it’s one hundredth show. The billion-colour musical is true to its name and follows eponymous heroine Frankie on her journey to Bollywood stardom. It is a classic, fish out of water story, and one of self-discovery, set in the Bollywood bubble. What stood out to me most firstly was Laila Zaidi’s powerhouse performance as Frankie, and secondly the multi-faceted nature of the show. The show is British, and Indian, it is Bollywood, and not, it praises Bollywood and critiques it, promotes the sisterhood but airs its pitfalls, chastises men but sympathises with them and showcases corruption and pits it against compassion. It does not just provide commentary about Bollywood, but about life – Bollywood provides the microscope that all the characters are placed under, and crushed, under.
At the heart of the show is Frankie, who not only is navigating Bollywood but also navigating herself. She is that classic dichotomy of being British and Indian, and trying to find out where she fits. While being in Britain, she longs for the life of the Bollywood heroine, and when she gets it, and realises that it is not all that it cracked up to be, she wishes to go back and does not feel that she fits. The musical follows the bildungsroman formula, as in true coming of age style, Frankie’s naivete is shattered when she finally achieves her dreams and realises the reality of them. The Bollywood illusion falls and despite the stardom, it is authentic friendship and companionship that she misses, as personified by her cousin sister Goldy.
Kate Stasi’s Goldy is unflinchingly comedic and authentic – this authenticity is what Bollywood appears to lack. Frankie loses her authenticity as her naivete dwindles, as she gets swept in the Bollywood glamour and as a result, turns her back on Goldy and the sisterhood. The lack of authenticity in Bollywood is also signalled by Bollywood star Mallika, played by Helen K Wint, who in song and speech, tells Frankie that the Bollywood world is a stage, she is not just performing in the films but performing constantly in public as well. Mallika knows that to survive, especially as a woman, you must be brutal and willing to destroy other women. Bollywood appears to be the enemy of the sisterhood. Frankie complies, and steals Mallika’s husband, Bollywood icon Raju King (Geet Sagar). Frankie usurps Mallika’s husband, as Bollywood usurps Frankie’s morals and authenticity. She knows it’s morally wrong to treat Mallika this way, but she continues to do so in her quest for Bollywood stardom. Bollywood is corrupting her from the inside, and this breaking of the sisterhood with Mallika is repeated with Goldy, as Frankie becomes ever distant from her.
Early on Frankie realises that her value is based on her looks, her beauty is currency. Gigi Zahir’s Shona, despite claiming to be Frankie’s friend, informs her that all the audience want to see is boobs, ass, moves and sass. Although this is one of the shows best dance numbers, this message is certainly not. The more fame she attracts, the more Frankie realises that she is treated like a piece of ‘flesh,’ and becomes increasingly distressed by peoples’ comments on her body. Mallika is also tragic in this way, she has fallen out of favour because of her age, something that she has no control over. The same fate will befall Frankie, and initially she decides to ride that wave until it does. The men do not have this issue though. This commentary is probably one that is most prominent in Bollywood, as although we all love Shah Rukh Khan, him playing a college student in ‘Om Shanti Om’ was not that believable. The sexism of Bollywood and double standards upheld is explicitly highlighted throughout the show and forms its biggest critique of Bollywood.
Frankie’s realisation and ending, although predictable, is incredibly satisfying – she realises she can be a bit of everything. It is this realisation that restores her authenticity, she gets her soul back and with it works to repair her sisterhood with Goldy and Mallika. Throughout the first half of the production, we question how far Frankie is willing to go to achieve her dreams, and how much she is corrupted by it, and by the end, she realises that she does not have to compromise her integrity for Bollywood. She can form her own version of Bollywood and take those who are deserving with her. Those that are deserving are so because of their talent, not because of nepotism or looks, something well addressed and critiqued throughout.
Frankie forms a production company that is going to make stories by women, about women. Frankie does not only take what she has learnt from her Bollywood experience and apply it to her own life, she is going to share it with other young women to help them. This is truly admirable; she is not just a ‘warrior’ in her own story but is willing to be the warrior and heroine that fights for other people too. She does get her own Bollywood feminist happy ending – and note, she does not need a man to achieve it. A subversion of the classic Bollywood romantic ending. Frankie does not need a man, she has her (cousin) sisters.
But what of the men? Is there space for them in Frankie’s new world? While men are heavily criticised, mainly for the complicity in their poor treatment of women, there is also sympathy there too. Navin Kundra’s Prem is a director, who, despite being a kind creative, and supporting Frankie throughout her first film, is creatively constrained. Prem is one of the good guys, and his goodness, like Frankie’s is being crushed by the beast that is Bollywood. Unlike Frankie, who had Goldy to lean on, Prem does not seem to have anyone to confide him. Although it is not explored that much, his plight touches on the underrepresented issue and stigmatisation of men’s mental health in Asian culture, as in his sadness and stress he drinks, which only tarnishes his reputation within the industry. He cannot seem to win – until Frankie does. Frankie sees the goodness in him, and Frankie’s fight for women and freedom finds space for him, as she asks him to direct her films in future.
From a technical perspective, the set design, while formed of simple arches and a retracting stage, is incredibly effective due to the use of lighting. This is where the ‘billion’ colours come into play, with the multiple costumes significantly upping the colour count. The play encapsulates the best bits of Bollywood that we love, the costumes and the songs, and does so in such a manner that it will not alienate those who are not familiar. It invites those in who are not familiar and holds their hand as it introduces them to the world of love, melodrama, slow mo and saris. The show also honours the Hindi language of Bollywood in several songs, but primarily songs are sung in English but with Bollywood-esque instrumental, to ensure that people, and their varying knowledge of Hindi, like Frankie herself, are included. The use of English is cleverly explained to Frankie as the ‘side effect of colonialism’ – a standout line for me.
Something that I pondered on the way home, are we all complicit in the systemic sexism and corruption of Bollywood? By loving the films, and worshipping the heroes, are we doing a disservice to those that work in the industry? Female lead films in Bollywood are on the rise, as championed by Alia Bhatt in ‘Gangubhai,’ and Kareena Kapoor’s recent romp ‘Crew.’ But again, perhaps we can never know as we are not in the industry, we just sit watching on the outside, as Frankie did when she was young. It is only through Frankie’s adventuring that she discovered the truth by rediscovering her own, and managed to find her own Bollywood happy ending with that feminist spin that the industry needs right now.
‘Frankie Goes to Bollywood’ is playing at the Southbank Centre until tomorrow, Sunday 18th August.
Don’t miss it!
Thanks for reading!
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