Carmen conundrum as BBC brings the sparkle of Bollywood to Bradford

Equally, Georges Bizet’s famous opera and Bollywood glitz might, on first thought, seem like a slightly odd combination.

So when the BBC announced it was giving this most classic of operas a Bollywood spin, staging it in the middle of Bradford city centre and broadcasting it live to the nation, there were a few raised eyebrows. But next Sunday night this is exactly what will happen when City Park will be transformed into a rainbow of song, dance and drama as Bollywood Carmen Live is beamed out on BBC3.

Given the fact there’s little in this world more unpredictable than the vagaries of the Great British weather, this might sound like a bit of a gamble. But the one-hour show, which re-tells the story of Carmen in a contemporary Bollywood style, aims to build on BBC 3’s successful live events which have included Frankenstein’s Wedding, shot 
at Kirkstall Abbey, in Leeds, two years ago.

Bradford often finds itself overshadowed by its bigger, more glamorous neighbour a couple of junctions further east along the M62, but with its strong multi-cultural connections the city was seen as the ideal place to stage this ambitious production. For as well as being the world’s first Unesco City of Film, it was home to the popular Bite the Mango Film Festival, which brought some of Asia’s biggest stars to Yorkshire during its 15-year run.

Bollywood Carmen Live follows the story of Bradford girl Carmen (played by Preeya Kalidas), a wannabe dancer obsessed with movie stardom. When an Indian film crew comes to the city to record sequences for their new movie version of the opera Carmen she thinks her time has come, but events then start to unravel.

The production features an original score by Kuljit Bhamra as well as a selection of pop songs, Bollywood movie classics and Bhangra hits. It also has an impressive line-up with actor, writer and comedian Meera Syal and last year’s Strictly Come Dancing runner-up Chelsee Healey, among the cast.

So, too, is Bradford-born Rachel Leskovac who plays Carmen’s feisty friend, Kylie. Her parents and two sisters still live in the area and the fact the event is taking place in her home city gives it an added significance for her.

“Growing up I remember going to the Mela over in Lister Park. It was always really vibrant and fun and you saw people from all backgrounds coming together for that moment,” she says. “So it’s great for me to be part of something unique like Bollywood Carmen and I’m sure the city will get behind it.”

Although she has now moved across the Pennines, the former Coronation Street star believes Bradford is an ideal place to stage a production like this. “Bradford is known for being a multi-cultural city so it was a no brainer to do this here.” She feels there’s a renewed sense of optimism in the city and a growing civic pride. “Whenever I come and visit my folks and see what they’ve done with the square and the fountain I realise how good the city centre is starting to look and you get the feeling it’s a place on the way up.”

Rachel, like most of those taking part in the musical, has never appeared in anything like it before but says she’s looking forward to the whole experience. “It’s great, it’s full of music and dancing. I’m more excited than daunted, perhaps because I’ve never done anything like this before. It’s a bit like a bungee jump, once you decide to do it you just get on with it,” she says. “The audience will play a big part and also you only have to do it once, you don’t have to do it all again, so hopefully it all goes well.”

As someone raised in the city she knows the positive effect something like this can have. “It’s so important for Bradford. I spend a lot of time travelling around the UK with my work and when I get in a taxi the driver will often ask me where I’m from, but when I tell them they usually pull a face and say something like ‘well, I suppose someone has to.’

“It’s disheartening because they see what’s in the press and think we’re just the city that had the riots.” But she feels events like Bradford Carmen Live can help change people’s attitudes. “The success of the football team has put Bradford on the map. The city is already in a positive place and something this can only help.”

Her only real concern is the weather. “When we had the press conference about a month ago it was a lovely sunny day, but you could still see a bit of snow on the tops of the hills. So I’m keeping my fingers crossed, hopefully the gods will be on our side.”

Meera Syal, who plays cafe owner and fortune teller Lily P, is delighted to be involved. “It’s something completely different from what I’ve done before, but I like the idea of performing live on telly because it’s a bit of a cross over between a TV show and a live performance. It’s a bit of a cultural collision and I think it’s a really interesting idea,” she says.

“Given recent events it’s good to have something positive to talk about, something that celebrates how good we can be when we’re together and shows the good things multi-culturalism has to offer. The fact it’s in City Park with its amazing fountain is great and we’re asking for the people of Bradford to come and join in and be part of the experience.”

Syal rose to prominence as one of the team behind the hugely popular sketch show Goodness Gracious Me and then later as Sanjeev Bhaskar’s grandmother in The Kumars at No. 42. Despite her Indian family background she’s only appeared in a Bollywood film once before. “I played the mother to an actor who was three years younger than me,” she says, laughing.

Syal believes Bollywood and opera are a perfect marriage. “Most people in this country have probably watched at least one Bollywood film. The stories are very melodramatic and theatrical, it’s all about unrequited love and passion and jealousy, and opera deals with similar kinds of big emotions. So it’s a great match.”

Some people regard Bollywood-style productions as a bit dated, but she disagrees. “There are a lot of exciting new film-makers coming out of Bollywood, it’s constantly evolving which is why it’s been able to survive for so long. It’s very accessible, it’s escapism and fun. You still have the song and dance but you also get stories dealing with social issues as well.”

But will younger audiences brought up on more edgy, streetwise soaps like EastEnders find it interesting?

“There will be a whole new audience but I don’t think they will find it alien, it’s not really much different from the Hollywood rom-coms. They’ve been very clever with the script and done a mash-up of modern songs with an Eastern influence so I think there’s a lot to interest them.”

Indian film star Abhay Deol, who plays film hotshot AD, is part of the famous Deol acting dynasty from India and believes this kind of event can spark people’s interest in Bollywood in Britain. “Bollywood has had a lot of press and publicity over the years, but how much of that has transmitted outside of the Indian sub-continent I’m not sure,” he says.

“Everyone knows the word ‘Bollywood’ but maybe hasn’t seen a Bollywood film so this is a good platform to show people what it’s is all about. Carmen the musical is the perfect subject because it has high drama, tragedy, romance and betrayal, all the classic Bollywood elements, and hopefully this will give people a taste of what makes for a Bollywood movie.”

It will be the first time Abhay 
has been to Bradford and he 
says he’s looking forward to performing in the city, whatever the weather. “I said to the director, ‘what if it rains when we’re performing?’ And he said ‘the 
show must go on’ which is true. I’m sure it will all be fine, I’ll just have to make sure I’m wearing my thermal underwear.”

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Bollywood Carmen Live, is being screened on BBC Three, June 9, at 9pm. The ticketed areas have all sold out but people are welcome to come along and sample the atmosphere.