Bolly Idol 2005 First Heats - 19th May 2005

BollyIdol, the national talent search for young people interested in Bollywood-style theatre enters its 2nd year. Take part in the auditions as they travel with the Precious Bazaar tour.

The winners of BollyIdol 2005 will work in Pagal, a hotly tipped new dance-drama production written by Samir Bhamra (Precious Bazaar).

The rising stars of tomorrow, as selected by BollyIdol 2004, take to the stage at Watermans in the return of PRECIOUS BAZAAR, a tale of young love, family values and honour combining supercharged action, dance, music and intense drama.

From the hundreds of wannabe Bollywood stars put through their paces in a series of auditions, eight aspiring artists were selected by an on-line poll and given the opportunity to perform in 2004’s debut season of PRECIOUS BAZAAR. Due to overwhelming demand, Phizzical Productions have brought back the Bollywood extravaganza, complete with new staging and action to make it bigger and better than before.

PRECIOUS BAZAAR is the story of mujrawalis (courtesans) who live and work amidst the hustle and bustle of a thriving west London environment. Each night these dancers travel with their Madame to various underground clubs where the girls have to please all – at a price.

PRECIOUS BAZAAR was a great launch pad for Zafreen, a young Bangladeshi brought up in Southall. She plays the part of Suhani, an aspiring reporter who goes undercover to expose a thriving prostitution racket. “I am doing what I’ve wanted to do and my talents have been recognized, “she says.

Mark Khutan from Hillingdon, plays her fiancé, Amar explains that winning gave a much needed boost to his self confidence. “My perspective on things has changed. I really do believe I can do anything,” he confides.

Samir Bhamra, the brainchild behind BollyIdol explained the reason for setting up the talent search: “I like entertaining and I discovered that many young people do not have formal training but are talented and determined. I wanted to create a platform to find the new faces of tomorrow. “

PRECIOUS BAZAAR features a cast of 17 dancing to the best of the raunchy and romantic Bollywood tracks from films such as Don and Maine Pyar Kiya along with some re-mixed favourites.