Bollywood on Box Office

Last night I attended the official launch for Multichoices announcement on bringing Bollywood onto their Box Office service. It was a glitzy affair held at Durban's award winning ICC with many local personalities and celebrities in attendance. Now although I come from an Indian background, I wouldn't say I am a fan of Bollywood movies, for one they're lengthy with 90% of them being 3 hours long and with the language barrier, I find myself reading subtitles more than watching the film but with that being said, the movies which are produced in India deserve major credit. It's one of, if not the largest movie industry in the world with new movies being released on a weekly basis. Bollywood has been making waves worldwide, with films being nominated for prestigious International Awards. Hollywood has also picked up at how large the industry is growing and started to adopt styles and actors in their productions. From Irrfan Khan in Jurassic World, the Big B (Amithab Bachan) in the Great Gatsby to Priyanka Chopra who is currently taking Hollywood by storm in her series blockbuster, Quantico, the influence Indian cinema is having across the globe is clear to see.

The evening kicked off with a live performance by a local dance academy who team up with an Indian choreographer who mesmerized the crowd with stunning dances throughout the evening and taking us through the various phases Bollywood went through with their productions, with the first movie to be produced just being a musical with no words being spoken, as they went through the years it brought back memories of my family and I going to various movie houses in the CBD to watch them as Bollywood movies were not available at the mainstream movie houses. All of those memories were good and I was surprised that I remembered words to certain songs as my mum used to listen to the various movie soundtracks at home quite often. The thing with Bollywood movies, all if not most are the feel good type of movies. Yes many will send you through an emotional roller-coaster but the end result is always a sense of satisfaction after watching them. 

Maybe now that DStv are launching them on Box Office I might start watching more of them. Bollywood on Box Office is available from the 12th of October 2016 and unlike previously where Box Office was only available for Premium, Extra and Catch up customers, Multichoice has opened the service to all. At just R35 you can rent the hottest movies whenever you want them to watch at your leisure from the comfort of your home. "BoxOffice is the most convenient way for our customers to access the latest blockbusters and we're thrilled that all our customers can now experience this service. No doubt, the addition of Bollywood movies will bring extra excitement to our customers' summer" - Mark Rayner, CEO of Multichoice South Africa. 

With the constant increase in movie ticket prices and not to mention the price of popcorn and coke at the the various movie houses, it's a simple decision to make. Also with the various payment methods BoxOffice has, it's so simple to rent your movie of choice. From next month customers will also be able to pay via WeChat! With DStv giving customers R35 back into their WeChat wallet when renting up to 4 movies, which is all part of their crazy deals campaign. 

For more information on this, visit the DStv website on www.dstv.com

Mystic India comes to Durban - Competition

                  

After entertaining audiences around the world with electrifying and mind blowing performances to sold out shows, the much anticipated Mystic India in association with Zee TV makes it way to South African shores, to leave local audiences spell bound with brilliant dancers, breathtaking acrobats, renowned musicians, extravagant sets and stunning visual effects. 

Mystic India has been seen by over half a million people in it's world wide performances and tours. Critics have only spoken of high praise for the show which features a cast of 22 talented performers in a show that takes you through the journey of India and it's dance. This production intertwines a mesmerizing combo: Traditional India meets the urban streets of Mumbai and New York. The audience will be taken through a cultural expose' of the various dance forms through the many states in India, from Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat as well the evolution of Bollywood films via a visual display that fuses dance, theatre and special effects. 

It's like a Bollywood spectacular but live on stage, with 750 lavish costume changes, and a celebratory production which is directed and choreographed by the prominent choreographer and production master, Amit Shah, and produced by US-based AATMA Performing Arts, of which Shah is the founder and creative director.  Shah is no stranger to such productions as he has been known to have a critical eye and creative disposition with his many years of experience in the world of dance, theatre and media as well as working on Bollywood film sets and choregrpahing stage productions with top actor and former Miss World, Priyanka Chopra. 

"If you have ever wanted to visit India, this production is your direct flight there. Mystic Indian will blow you all the way to the small villages of India to the fast-paced streets of Mumbai and New York. Audiences will get it all!" - said Shah about Mystic India.

South African audiences can look forward to this spectacular on stage performance that features a female lead of Kruti Shah, an internationally distinguished dancer and choreographer who shot to fame as a Top 10 finalist on the dance reality show, Just Dance. She's trained in modern forms of movement, such as ballet, pointe, tap, hip-hop, jazz and modern. Kruti also developed an interest in more ancient Indian forms of dance, particularly Bharatnyatam and Kathak. 

This larger than life Bollywood extravaganza will be visiting Durban on the 23rd of April at Durban's ICC and then moves on to Johannesburg for 3 nights at The Teatro Monecasino from the 29th of April till the 1st of May 2016. Tickets range between R185 and R485 and will be available through Computicket and its various retail outlets. Bookings are now open so make sure you get your tickets now! for more information visit their website: www.mysticindiatheshow.com

Competition time! the Bucket in association with Mystic India is giving away a set of double tickets to one lucky reader for the Durban show on the 23rd of April 2016. All you have to do is Tweet me @AMG133 "I want to win with #MysticIndia and #theBucket". Competition closes on the 12th of April and winners will be notified by Twitter.