Australian High Commission
New Delhi
India, Bhutan

PA/40/12 “Fearless Nadia” – a unique film

PA/40/12                                                                                                           9 November 2012

                                     “Fearless Nadia” – a unique film and live music spectacular

In celebration of 100 years of Indian cinema, Oz Fest and South Australia's OzAsia Festival have co-commissioned a unique production to present to Indian and Australian audiences. “Fearless Nadia” will premiere in India on 21 November at the historic art deco Liberty Cinema in Mumbai – the heart of Bollywood. Mr Amitabh Bachchan will be the Guest of Honour at the event and the Hon Jay Weatherill MP, Premier of South Australia, will be the Chief Guest. Wadia Movietone and Heroes Project, the HIV awareness and education NGO founded and chaired by Mrs Parmeshwar Godrej, will support the evening.

“Fearless Nadia” is a show created by Australian composer/percussionist Ben Walsh, which pays tribute to a film actress and stuntwoman who rose to fame in Indian cinema during the 1930s. Fearless Nadia was born Mary Evans in Perth, Western Australia in 1908 and lived in India from the age of five. Combining her diverse talents for ballet, circus stunts and horse-riding, she came to be known as Fearless Nadia, a persona created and promoted by Jamshed ‘JBH’ Wadia, founder of the pioneering Wadia Movietone studio. Her talent for daredevil stunts, combined with a robust physique and acting ability, endeared her to film-goers of the time and created a legend of Hindi cinema. Her best known films include Hunterwali (Lady of the Whip) and Diamond Queen.

Roy Wadia, great nephew of Nadia and grandson of JBH Wadia said "Whips, quips, swinging hips! That, in a nutshell, describes the lady I used to know as Mary Aunty. She was truly unique, but truly nonchalant as well about what she’d accomplished. To her it was no big deal – all in a day’s work."

Diamond Queen (1940), perhaps the most perfect film of Fearless Nadia’s career, has been set to a composition by Ben Walsh. The work will be performed by Walsh and the Orkestra of the Underground - a band of 13 musicians from Australia and India, including table maestro Aneesh Pradhan.

“Australians, like Indians, love their cinema. The first Australian and Indian films were made within a few years of each other in the early 20th century. I am delighted that through Oz Fest we are presenting a project as exciting and unique as Fearless Nadia”, said Australian High Commissioner to India, Mr Peter Varghese.

The production will also be open to audiences in Mumbai on 22 November at Liberty Cinema and in Chennai on 25 and 26 November at Sri Mutha Vekatasubba Rao Concert Hall. The Australian premiere at the Oz Asia Festival in Adelaide in September 2012 met with rave reviews.

Mumbai
Time and venue: 22 November at 8 pm at Liberty Cinema, 41/42, Ground Floor, Liberty Building, near Bombay Hospital, New Marine Lines
Tickets: Available at Liberty Cinema

Chennai
Time and venue: 25 November at 6 pm at Sri Mutha Vekatasubba Rao Concert Hall, 7, Harrington Road, Chetput
Monday 26 November- 2pm (schools matinee)
Entry is free for both shows.
Passes available for collection in advance at the venue.

Ben Walsh leads his 13 piece 'Orkestra of the Underground', a band of some of the most exciting Australian and Indian musicians featuring a wild bunch of instruments including saxophones, sousaphone, banjo, double bass and live visual triggering all conducted by Ben Walsh while he plays drums. Master tabla virtuoso Aneesh Pradhan leads the group of outstanding Indian artists in the ensemble with Sudhir Nayak (Harmonium) Sanjeev Shankar (Shehnai) and Sangeet Mishra (Sarangi).

Ben Walsh describes the bringing together of this unique band "I rallied my friends together from varied disciplines of music; jazz, electronic, world, folk and more. Some are classically trained, some homemade. Every background is welcome in my Orkestra of the Underground. The music itself is an exciting blend of sonic texture, alive with rhythm and drenched in fascinating melodic structure; a melting pot of unusual time cycles amongst familiar classical approaches."

The Australia India Council (AIC) is funding a project to preserve a piece of cinematic history. The National Film Archive of India and Wadia Movietone are working with Australia film restoration experts Deluxe to restore the only remaining print of Diamond Queen so it can be enjoyed by future generations of cinema lovers.

The AIC is celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2012. The Council was established to broaden the relationship between Australia and India by encouraging and supporting contacts and increasing levels of knowledge and understanding between the two countries.

Oz Fest is the biggest Australian cultural festival ever staged in India. The Australian Government is working with 24 government, business, institutional and production partners to present over 100 events in 18 locations across India between October and February 2013.

For more information visit www.ozfestindia.com, www.facebook.com/ozfestinindia or follow us on twitter @OzFestIndia

For additional details or interviews, please contact:

Nitya Pillai (Mumbai) on +91 9769933965; Janaki Sreeram (Chennai) on +91 8754473355;
Shekhar Nambiar (New Delhi) on +91 9810154167