Singer-Theatre Artist Vishaal Asrani On Directing ‘Masha And The Bear LIVE’: We Had To Create Something Bigger And Better

Famous children's cartoon ‘Masha And The Bear’ is all set to come to New Delhi with its live adaptation on January 20 and 21. The live adaptation musical is backed by Viacom18 LIVE and directed by Vishaal Asrani, and will be held at Siri Fort Auditorium. The show is packed with music, dance, and a story around “A Very Detective Story”, which would need the audience’s help to solve the mystery together. 

Masha and the Bear LIVE, the musical story, will revolve around Masha, The Bear, Professor Nonbelevious, Rosie, the Panda, Sly Wolf and Silly Wolf & more, and boasts of an engaging storytelling, and wonderful music. 

Now Vishaal Asrani, the singer and theatre artiste, who’s earlier directed shows like ‘Dreamworks’ Madagascar’, ‘The Wizards of OZ’ and the popular ‘Jungle Book LIVE’, gets candid about bringing forth ‘Masha And The Bear LIVE’ to the audience. Edited excerpts from his interview with Outlook:

‘Masha and the Bear’ has gained immense popularity in India. Was its popularity the main reason behind you taking up the project?

When Viacom 18 approached me to direct this show, I had no clue about Masha and the Bear! However when I watched a couple of episodes, I fell in love with characters and the ethos of the series. The messages of Love, acceptance, kindness, diversity and friendship tugged at my heart and I knew that I had to do this project. 

With a title already being popular, there’s always something you need to do extra to make it more appealing. So how is this live show different?

When bringing a popular series to life on stage, one has to keep in mind that we don’t lose the characterisation that has made it so popular in the first place. However, the music, the special effects such as magic on stage is something that we worked really hard on to make it a spectacular visual treat. We also ensured there was immense audience interaction and participation, so that the kids feel that they are part of the show itself and not just spectators. 

Tell us how it was planned in the first place, and how did it come to fruition?

The show is one that required so many things to be done in such a short time. We required larger than life costumes. Some were 8 and a half feet high, (in the case of the bear), some had mechanical motors and gadgets fitted inside to create magic on stage. The choreography was a visual spectacle, yet we had to keep it simple so that the kids could join in and copy the steps of the actors and dance in the audience. The rehearsals were tough with actors having to adjust to bulky mascot type costumes. The coordination of the visuals on the LED wall had to do with actors movements and mapping it was a thrilling experience. All in all it turned out just as magical as we had imagined it would. 

You’ve earlier directed shows, including ‘Jungle Book LIVE’ in India. What response are you looking forward to with this one?

A well known fact is  “You are only remembered by the success of your last production”. Hence after the tremendous success of the VAIPA shows in Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Ahmedabad and other cities, we had to create something bigger and better than ever before. The audiences expect that from us. We are known for big budget Glossy productions with amazing technology involved. We have tried to push the envelope with ‘Masha and the Bear’. Having Viacom 18 as the producers has made it a dream team! We are sure the audiences will be as thrilled as we are with the final product!

Making its debut in Mumbai first, the show would head to Hyderabad next after New Delhi.