Ayesha Dharker
Hometown: Bombay, India.
Currently: Making her Broadway debut in Andrew Lloyd Webber and A.R. Rahman's Bombay Dreams, in which she plays the comically-vain Bollywood film goddess, Rani, and gets to sing the show's most oft-heard tune, "Shakalaka Baby."
Screen to Stage: Bombay Dreams not only marks Dharker's Broadway debut, as it marked her West End debut in London, but it's one of the first stage roles period. A working actress since her childhood, Dharker has appeared in a wide range of independent films not to mention the decidedly not-independent Star Wars: Episode II. "Most people in this community have always dreamt about being here, and I think I did too," she confesses. "But I did it secretly. When you start off as a teenager, you can be very judgmental and idealistic. To me, commercialism or mainstream entertainment was easier to do and less important than more meaningful art. But now I've had to revise opinion, because it's bloody hard work! There was a time when I would have loathed nothing more than to be in a Bollywood picture. You know, putting on something skimpy and dancing around in the rain. Well, look at me now!"
Twist of Fate: Dharker first became aware of Bombay Dreams through her friendship with bookwriter Meera Syal. However, she had little interest in the role of Rani, which was originally a 12-line role, essentially a cameo. "But then something happened that was really silly," she explains. "I make my own jewelry, and I was stopping by this bead shot to get beads and wire. I happened to pass the show's musical director, and he asked me if I was in the neighborhood to audition. When I told him I was just buying beads, he told me I should come in and audition. I said, 'I have to call my agent!' But he insisted. So I ran in, and then I did an audition later. And the part had gotten bigger, and they wanted me to do it, and I thought to myself, 'I should shop for beads more often!'"
The King of Bollywood: One of the greatest attractions to Bombay Dreams came in the form of composer A.R. Rahman. "He's a major Indian talent! He's sold more albums than Michael Jackson and Madonna put together," Dharker says. "There's so much texture in his music." When she first encountered Rahman as she refers to him, it was at a party in Bombay. "I was watching all these Bollywood actresses and would-be Bollywood actresses surrounding him. And then Rahman made the mistake of sitting down at the piano, and suddenly there are 20 women draping themselves all over him. They tried to look as gorgeous as possible while trying to belt out absolute nonsense. Of course, none of them could sing."
Diva Deluxe: Dharker drew from a wide pool of references to create Rani's star temper. "I considered many different influences, in conjunction with the creative team," she recalls. "One of the first one that we could all agree on was Miss Piggy." Yet despite the Piggy-ness that Dharker strives for, audiences get to see Rani's heart by the end of the show and she comes off as entirely loveable. "It's so odd, because people like Rani better than they like me," Dharker says. "I suppose it's understandable, because, after all, I wear no glitter."
Helluva Town: Having spent the past seven years living all over in the globe--in places like Egypt, Trinidad, Turkey, Budapest and London--Dharker is thrilled to have taken the show here to New York. "I'm absolutely loving it," she gushes. "Doing this show has forced me to stay in one place for more than two months. I'm really enjoying New York. It looks like Bombay, and it smells like Bombay! I lived in Europe for a long time, and you get used to places being very clean and polite. I completely identify with the so-called 'New York attitude.' People are very friendly, warm, and open, but they have the same attitude as in Bombay, which is one of no-nonsense. They're here because this is where they can be the best at what they do, and I'm very happy to be a part of that."