Cinderella Goes To Bollywood This WorldPride

The Cinderella story has been adapted numerous times across the world, from Hollywood films to TV series and even a Tony-award-winning Broadway musical. 

Now, Sunderella, a new Bollywood musical, that arrives just in time for Sydney WorldPride, gives the tale a gender-bending, queer, South Asian twist. 

Set in 18th-century India, Sundar’s evil stepmother and two step-sisters make his life a living hell. Never having experienced love, his life takes a fantastic turn, when a “celestial force” aka the fairy godmother transforms him into a woman. The beautiful princess meets the handsome prince of her dreams, and the rest as they say is their-story . 

A Bollywood Musical

Actor and director Bali Padda, who won critical acclaim last year for his directorial debut Guards At The Taj, says the story wasn’t too hard to adapt into a Bollywood musical. 

“LGBTQI communities often live on the fringes and have to constantly adapt their personal identities to a world that is not set up to accept them as a default,” Padda tells Star Observer in an interview over the phone. 

“As a community, we have become really skilled at doing it and that translated into creating a show that was about same-sex love in a Bollywood setting.” 

Bollywood films, which transcend national borders and cultures in South Asia, were the obvious inspiration for the team behind the musical. 

“We took the art form and the structure of the formulaic Bollywood film, also known as ‘masala‘ films, where there is comedy, conflict, romance, fight and dances, as our inspiration,” says Padda. The song and dance sequences that are so intrinsic to Bollywood films help move the plot and narrative forward.

‘We Are Also Part Of LGBTQI Community’

An earlier version of Sunderella debuted in 2017, during Australia’s marriage equality vote. “The marriage equality debates were a traumatising process for many and back then it was an important message that we wanted to send to the community,” recalls Padda. 

“Just because we now have marriage equality doesn’t mean discrimination doesn’t exist. Prejudice, anger, social norms and customs still challenge and affect our community. And, within South Asian communities, we still have a lot of work to do to generate acceptance for who people are, their happiness and for their own self-expression in their lives,” says Padda. 

The 2023 version, produced by Sydney-based South Asian LGBTQI group Trikone Australia, has received some major upgrades. The sets, lighting and costumes are on a grander scale, which befits a Bollywood production. 

For the large cast of 17 – many are first-time actors – it’s also an opportunity to see people like themselves reflected in the arts and storytelling. 

“It’s really important for us to carve out a space for ourselves and to show up, represent and remind people that we are also part of the LGBTQI plus community,” says Padda. 

“The Sydney WorldPride is a massive global gathering and it is a great opportunity to showcase that there are diverse expressions of gender identity and sexual orientation and that all the colours of the rainbow are here,” adds Padda. 

Sunderella plays at ARA Darling Quarter Theatre in Sydney’s Darling Harbour from March 1-4, 2023.