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Art at the Heart: A Cultural Makeover for Mumbai’s Business Precinct

By Sohini Das Gupta & Krishna Upadhyay

Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre brings to the city a vibrant space for the world of music, dance, visual arts, and boundless imagination

One could argue that infrastructure is as important to the arts as imagination – and they wouldn’t be wrong. The recently opened Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre nurtures a fantastic world of homegrown imagination and talent in the sphere of performing and visual arts, with a global scale and standard of infrastructure and programming. The Cultural Centre located in Mumbai’s Bandra Kurla Complex is home to three distinct performing arts spaces, one visual art space, and a milieu of public art exhibits and installations that throw open the artistic dialogue to anyone who stumbles upon them.

Walk into the Centre – lined with the thoughtfully-curated works of talented artists from the moment you enter – and you are keenly aware of the fact that it has been dreamt into existence by somebody with a singular vision for an art and culture space that includes everyone in the conversation. Indeed, it is centred around the passion of Mrs. Nita Ambani, a Bharatnatyam dancer and a lifelong patron of the arts. The Centre’s diverse programming reflects the scale and range of her intent with equal emphasis on popular and emerging talent, on epic Broadway-style shows, powerful regional theatre, classical recitals or spoken word.

Before you step into this transcendental world, take a moment to admire its larger-than-life facade, looming over the beautiful Fountain of Joy – a picturesque backdrop for the city.

“Our Cultural Centre is envisioned as a platform that showcases the vibrance of India’s heritage and nurtures our young emerging talent. I truly hope that it becomes home to art, artists, and the audience not only from India but around the world.” - Nita Ambani, Founder & Chairperson

The Grand Theatre
Sydney Opera House, Royal Albert Hall, Carnegie Hall, Walt Disney Concert Hall - for those truly immersed in the arts, there aren’t just names. For years, connoisseurs of art have dreamt of a majestic performing arts space just like these, in India.

With the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre, and especially The Grand Theatre, it is finally a reality. The 2,000-seater space is replete with world-class features, and naturally, the Centre’s pièce de resistance.

Having opened its doors to the world with India’s biggest musical, The Grand Theatre is built to give wings to artistic imagination on an incredible scale – think epic Broadway-style musicals and larger-than-life theatricals that can only unfold to their authentic potential within such a space.

Inside the theatre, the seats – designed by the makers of Ferrari seats are the epitome of luxury and comfort. As per its designers, the theatre’s seating has been arranged in such a way that no matter where you are, you have a riveting view of the action on stage.

Its Dolby Atmos Surround Sound and Virtual Acoustic System add a surreal dimension to the viewing experience, but what truly steals the show is the theatre’s custom-made ceiling, comprising over 8,400 Swarovski crystals. Whether lighting up like a sky full of stars or syncing to music to become a part of the performance, it is one of the many elements in The Grand Theatre that will give you goosebumps.

Fancy a dash of luxury to your viewing experiences? The theatre’s 18 Diamond Boxes are here for you. Designed along the sidewalls of the space to offer spectacular views from the lush privacy of your own space, each one of these boxes come with a complimentary lounge, a private powder room, along with a host of exclusive services.

The Studio Theatre and The Cube
If you enjoy the more intimate and engaging atmosphere of some of the timeless performing arts spaces around the world, you will feel right at home at The Studio Theatre and The Cube, two of the Centre’s more dynamic spaces. The 250-seater and 125-seater venues are designed for cutting-edge performances by young, emerging talent as well as your favourite artists.

A host of innovative features such as Integrated Dolby Atmos Surround Sound System and a telescopic seating system that can be transformed based on the nature of the performance make the spaces ideal for truly out-of-the-box artistic experiences of all genres. They have been designed not just to reflect global standards, but to forge deep artist-audience connections - adding wonder to technological excellence, and warmth to community experiences.

Veterans such as Naseeruddin Shah, Ratna Pathak Shah and Shabana Azmi, along with incredible emerging talent like Kamakshi Khanna & Mali, Mahesh Raghvan and Nandini Shankar have already taken stage at these spaces, which are all set for an exciting line-up of performances in the days ahead.

‘The Great Indian Musical: Civilization to Nation’

Directed by Feroz Abbas Khan, ‘The Great Indian Musical: Civilization to Nation’ – touted as India’s biggest musical ever – marked the inauguration of The Grand Theatre at the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre. With a cast of over 350 and an India-meets-world crew of 800 including Tony award-winning talent from Broadway, the mixed-media visual extravaganza was imagined to trace India’s journey through a medley of art forms. The sold-out musical was received with great adulation and has been widely requested to be revived for a second season by popular demand.

‘India in Fashion’
Fashion’s vocabulary and its very definition has come to hold different meanings for different people across time and space, but in India, it has been an ever-evolving medium of expression – one that has informed centuries of cultural heritage, leaving a lasting impact on not just the history of India, but that of the world. ‘India in Fashion: The Impact of Indian Dress and Textile on the Fashionable Imagination’ is a costume art show at the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre, which, with its unique showcase over 140 iconic costumes from around the world, traces India’s influence on global fashion, all the way from the 18th century to the present day.

Envisioned by Mrs. Nita Ambani, the labour of love by costume expert and Curator Hamish Bowles and Rooshad Shroff highlights this very interesting intersection of fashion and history through a curation of costumes sourced painstakingly from 14 reputed museums, 7 countries, 10 international and 6 Indian cities, along with pathbreaking fashion houses such as Christian Dior, Coco Chanel, Yves Saint Laurent and more. Indian designers like Abu Jani Sandeep Khosla, Sabyasachi Mukherjee, Tarun Tahiliani, Rahul Mishra, Ritu Kumar and others also have their works in the exhibit, which takes visitors on a journey through ten visually distinct yet interlinked zones, each with a different theme and telling a different story of India’s fashion narrative, with individual set designs inspired by different elements of Indian architecture.

The sensory experience is complemented by surreal projections, and other mixed media elements, featuring music by electropop artist Sanaya Ardeshir aka Sandunes. The exhibit offers free entry for fashion and art students.

‘Sangam/Confluence’
Imagine soaking up some languid hours at a four-storey art space with a beautiful glass facade, sunlight playing hopscotch across its charming repository of artworks and installations.

You can do exactly that at ‘Sangam/Confluence’, a special visual art show put together by American curator Jeffrey Deitch and Indian cultural theorist Ranjit Hoskote in the Art House at the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre. The showcase, which is a part of the Centre’s launch programming, exhibits over 50 India-inspired works by an eclectic mix of artists such as Bharti Kher, Bhupen Khakhar, Ranjani Shettar, Ratheesh T. and Shantibai, and their international counterparts like Anselm Kiefer, Cecily Brown, Francesco Clemente, Lynda Benglis, and Raqib Shaw.

Simply put, ‘Sangam/Confluence’ makes one marvel at how artists do not confine themselves to a singular art-making language, medium, or style—but, rather, range across a spectrum of possibilities.

Sift through stimulating paintings and thought-provoking installations or linger long enough to soak up the Art House’s serene atmosphere – for a nominal fee, the enigmatic world of art makes room for one and all at this permanent home of shifting exhibits. Like ‘India in Fashion’, it is free for fashion and art students.

It is not just the marquee shows and events that give the Centre its definitive landmark identity. In the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre, art find you in every corner – in the form of stunning public installations and exhibits, or live music spilling over into the concourses and other creative nooks that make their presence felt well beyond designated performing arts spaces.

Once they are creatively satiated, guests can head to a soon-to-be-opened selection of fine-dining restaurants serving everything from inventive Indian cuisine to the best of world fare.

Broadway Comes to India: ‘The Sound of Music’
Building on the Centre’s foundational philosophy of bringing the world to India and continuing The Grand Theatre’s successful tryst with epic musicals, the Centre’s largest performing arts space will now play host to international Broadway musical ‘The Sound of Music’, starting May 3. The 7-time Tony award-winning sensation and spirited family drama will arrive in India for the very first time after touring over 100 countries, complete with its stellar international cast and iconic sing-along numbers such as ‘My Favorite Things’, ‘Do Re Mi’ and many more. With The Grand Theatre marking Broadway’s big India debut, one can only watch the space for more exciting line-ups.

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