“It’s like a party for the audience,” says Asrani, whose production is returning to Mumbai for its third run after sold out shows last year and earlier this year. The first two shows saw celebrities such as Soha Ali Khan, Mandira Bedi and Neha Dhupia attending with their kids.

“When Masha and the Bear run on stage, kids squeal with joy as they finally see their favourite characters come to life,” he says, adding, “It’s not a sit-down show; we encourage everyone to get up, shout, dance and participate.” The show is packed with music, dance choreography that kids can easily follow, and stunning special effects to pull off magic tricks, such as magical transformation of characters, flying onstage, and things disappear. “Kids start to wonder, who could be behind the disappearances,” says the director. 

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For Asrani, it is exhilarating to see children enjoy the fruit of all the labour that went into creating the show, right from translating and adapting a Russian script to fit Indian sensibilities, to developing the magic effects and the gigantic costumes. “The Bear costume is eight-feet-tall and weighs about 12-14kg. It was a challenge to get the actors to emote under such heavy costumes, and it also gets quite hot in them. There is a lot of physical acting and emoting through voice. It was also challenging to pull off extremely quick costume changes for Masha,” recalls Asrani about the “larger-than-life” production. 

The show is visually exciting, but there are also moments of vulnerability, he says. “There are scenes about love, loyalty, diversity and equality where the kids have tears in their eyes because they can identify with it,” Asrani recounts, adding that it’s a great way to instill a love for theatre in kids at such an early age.  The show will also be staged in Bangalore on June 29 and 30.

When: June 9, 1130 AM, 230 PM & 530PM  
Where: Bal Gandharva Rang Mandir, Bandra West
Price: '750 onwards
To Book: bookmyshow.in