Cover Nazm Kaur as Simran in ‘Bollywood Love Story’ (Photo: Instagram / nazmkaur_official)
Nazm Kaur as Simran in ‘Bollywood Love Story’ (Photo: Instagram / nazmkaur_official)
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Ahead of the India by the Bay festival, we talk to Indian folk dancer Nazm Kaur on how dance can be a medium of female empowerment
Bollywood shows are known for their dance, music and air of festivity. While Nazm Kaur, dancer and founder of Punjabi folk dance group Bhangra Queens, will bring all these to Hong Kong in her upcoming production Bollywood Love Story, she also wants for the musical to spread awareness about women’s empowerment.
Running on October 14 at Xiqu Centre, the show is part of India by the Bay, an annual festival that celebrates India’s art and culture in Hong Kong. Kaur’s musical, which takes as its starting point the Bollywood classic film, tells the story of Raj, a young man who goes abroad and falls in love with Simran. For the Hong Kong showcase, which will be performed in English and Hindi, the musical will add local elements such as reference to a cha chaan teng.
Kaur, who plays the female lead Simran, hopes to inspire conversations about female empowerment through music and dance. Ahead of the show, Tatler catches up with her to talk all things Bollywood and bhangra, a form of folk dance.
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Above A rehearsal of “Bollywood Love Story” at Xiqu Centre (Photo: courtesy of India by the Bay)
A rehearsal of “Bollywood Love Story” at Xiqu Centre (Photo: courtesy of India by the Bay)
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What is Bollywood Love Story about?
This production was created ten years ago. With every region we travel to, the show takes a different form, depending on the place and the audience. For the Hong Kong version, the show has taken a contemporary turn. It is still centred on the hero and heroine falling in love and coming together to celebrate India’s festivals. But it also spreads a message of female empowerment [through the lead character fulfilling her dream]. We wanted to send a message to parents that they play a major role in supporting their children’s dreams.
Is this in any way inspired by your personal experiences?
In India’s social structure, many girls are still brought up to choose marriage over their career. We want to change that mindset and encourage girls to follow their dreams, whether it’s a job or something else.
So in a way, Bollywood Love Story is also my story. I come from a family of dancers, and my parents have always supported my dreams, be it getting married, joining Bollywood [film industry], training in folk dances or setting up my own dance academy. [They made me realise that] dance and music can also be a serious career option.
Read more: Meet Keung To of Mirror’s choreographer, Mui Cheuk-yin, who fuses classical and modern dance
Above A performance of “Bollywood Love Story” (Photo: Instagram / @nazmkaur_official)
A performance of “Bollywood Love Story” (Photo: Instagram / @nazmkaur_official)
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What is the most fun part about the creative process?
We had a lot of fun putting a local angle to the story. We added a bit of Cantonese dialogue and included a scene set in a famous [cha chaan teng] in Kowloon.
And the most challenging part?
We have 30 performers with different backgrounds coming together for this production: live singers, classical dancers, Bollywood dancers, hip-hop dancers, just to name a few. We had a long audition process and have been holding rehearsals for more than a month, where everyone has to learn all [the dance moves]. Once everyone is on the same training level, the director and I assign the roles according to their speciality.
You are also the founder of a dance NGO Bhangra Queens. Tell us a bit more about this charity.
Bhangra Queens is a scholarship programme for girls who want to have a career in dance, but don’t have the funds or family support. We teach them to dance for free, and they get paid after completing the programme [when they join our dance troupe]. Most of the funding comes from my own pocket, as I teach at my other [commercial] dance company. Bhangra Queens started with five dancers. Today, we’re a group of 60.
What inspired you to set it up?
During the pandemic, I thought that if the world ended tomorrow, what do I want to remembered as. I come from a Punjabi family; bhangra represents my childhood and community. I wanted to do to some do something for my community and to empower women. Traditionally, men used to dance bhangra to celebrate a prosperous harvest season, whereas women would perform gidda dance on social or festive occasions.
Set up in 2021, Bhangra Queens is the first all-female bhangra group. I wanted to [break gender stereotypes] through teaching girls how to perform bhangra.
Did you encounter any challenges during the process?
People were not convinced by the concept when we started. Some challenged us that somewhere down the line, we would have to include men [to do bhangra] or change our outfits [to masculine clothing]. But through our belief and training, we changed people’s minds. We’ve already appeared on established reality shows in India such as The Kapil Sharma Show in 2023.
Zabrina is the Senior Editor, Arts and Culture of Tatler Hong Kong. She specialises in performing arts, visual art and film. Her wanderlust was first fuelled by the Mighty Rovers Antarctica Expedition 2010. Over the years, she has interviewed A-list artists and filmmakers, including Oscar winners Chlóe Zhao and Tim Yip, Golden Horse winner Sylvia Chang, In the Mood for Love cinematographer Christopher Doyle, Pachinko author Min Jin Lee, and Coachella’s first Chinese solo singer Jackson Wang. She won gold at the WAN-IFRA Asian Media Awards for her 2021 feature on the waves of hate crimes targeting Asian Americans.
