Interview: Viraf Sarkari of Zangoora

Viraf Sarkari, one of the founder directors of Wizcraft International Entertainment has been one of the pioneers in entertainment business in India.

Viraf's career encompasses extensive expertise in producing and directing mega events worldwide. Some of these include 50 years of Indian Independence Celebrations, 30 years of Mauritian Independence Celebrations, the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the National Games, and Afro Asian Games 2003, South Asian Games in Colombo amongst many others. Viraf also produced and directed the opening and closing ceremonies of the Commonwealth Games in 2010 in New Delhi.

He is also the executive producer and director of a long running and the World Biggest Bollywood Musical show Zangoora, hosted at Kingdom of Dreams.

BWW chats with him on the future of live shows in India

BWW: How did you come up with the brilliant concept like Zangoora. When it launched it was the first time that India was experiencing a dance and music way to telling a live story on such a grand scale. What was the inspiration?

VS: I am a live events person. I produce & direct large format live events. Years ago I had visited Broadway in NYC, Moulin Rouge in Paris & then some spectacular shows in Las Vegas. When I saw some of these shows there I wondered why we did not have Musicals & shows like these in India. India is so rich in its culture & has over 5000 year of heritage.

There is no celebration in India without song & dance & to top it up there is so much hidden talent in India, so I thought that having a Broadway / Vegas kind of a show in India is a must do so I started on the journey & creatEd Zangoora & Jhumroo at KOD.

Recently I produced & directed another Bollywood Musical at Dubai Parks & resorts called Jaan e Jigar. These are all fitted shows for these spectacular venues. Currently I'm in the midst of producing & directing The Biggest & The Craziest Indian Wedding Musical. This one is designed to be a touring show & therefore we plan to showcase it all over the world.

BWW: Tell us more about your wedding musical. The details the scale you are working on. What is the concept and idea behind it?

VS: Currently at the moment we have not announced the show to media. All I can tell you that it's a Bollywood Musical Comedy. I have done the story and stage play & I am directing it too. It is designed to be a touring show & we intend to tour all over the world with it. We have a big plan for a touring it in USA, UK, Europe, Asia. Australia Middle East etc.

This will be the 1st all singing cast musical from India. More when we do a media launch.

BWW: When it comes to live performance culture, where do you think we are with respect to other countries in the world? Which are your favorite destinations for live performance and why

VS: We have a load of untapped talent in India. We are waiting to explode. This is evident from the reality shows that happen on Indian Television. Obviously the opportunity in a country like USA is amazing for everyone from around the world. I love to watch shows in London, New York & Las Vegas. I love Broadway musicals. The talent performing on Broadway is superb. I love the scale of the shows in Vegas. They get my creative juices flowing. My shows are inspired from Broadway & Vegas.

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