Winner of Best Local Act at the 2004 NZ International Comedy Festival and the creators of the hit show D’Arranged Marriage, Those Indian Guys bring their unique blend of comedy, Bollywood, madness and mayhem under the exuberant direction of renowned comedian Te Radar to a theatre near you. From India with Love is a celebration of love, loss and survival. With themes as ripe as cultural alienation and the Indian social system how can you go wrong?

From India with Love begins in a small Indian village in the 1950’s. Manhur meets the beautiful Pushpa who is caring for her sick father. Falling in love with Pushpa immediately, even though she is darker than him and therefore undesirable, Manhur sets out to woo her. With the help of a little song and dance he wins her hand, much to the delight and astonishment of the entire village. Now they must help their families and make their fortunes so they journey to New Zealand. But it’s not all plain sailing. They must survive shipwrecks, unemployment, and an extremely friendly Maori tribe before they achieve their dreams of setting up a little fruit and vegetable shop in Pukekohe and having babies! Combining puppetry, digital film projection, Bollywood Indian music and dancing, a raft of multi-media tricks as well as a lot of laughs, From India with Love warms and delights. From India with Love recently SOLD OUT at its premiere season in Auckland with an extra late show on Friday 20^th of May selling out in 48 hours.

It then toured to Kuala Lumpur where it met critical success during its 2 week season at the Actors Studio in the Bangsar Shopping Centre. In September Those Indian Guys remounted the work for a triumphant return season in Auckland, where a 5 night season of the show completely sold out at the Maidment Theatre.

From India with Love toured South Africa in 2005 where it played in Durbin, Johannesburg and Richards Bay to great critical success.

Early in 2006 From India with Love was performed at the Fortune Theatre in Dunedin and at the Hamilton Gardens Summer Festival where it sold out 3 weeks before opening. It then played at the SKYCITY Theatre in Auckland and to sell out houses in Wellington at Downstage Theatre as part of the ODDFELLOWS NZ International Comedy Festival in May 2006. On the 17th of June it was performed in Whangarei at the Forum North Theatre and then From India with Love opened the Fuel Festival 2006 on the 21st of June in Hamilton. It played the Concert Chamber for two sell out nights.

From India with Love returns to Hamilton on the 8th and 9th of September 2006 for a limited two night engagement...Book now!

PREVIOUS SEASONS | From India With Love Touring Experience

• Whangarei, Forum North Theatre, New Zealand, 17th June 2006
• Hamilton Fuel Festival, WEL Energy Trust Academy of Performing Arts Concert Chamber, New Zealand, 21st - 22nd June 2006 SOLD OUT
• Wellington, Downstage Theatre, New Zealand, 30th May - 3rd June 2006 SOLD OUT
• Auckland, Skycity Theatre, New Zealand, 23rd - 27th May 2006
• Dunedin, Fortune Theatre, New Zealand, 8th - 18th March 2006
• Hamilton Gardens Summer Festival 2006, 22nd February 2006 SOLD OUT
• Richards Bay, Tusk Umfolozi Casino, 8th November 2005 SOLD OUT
• Durbin, The Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre, November 2005
• Auckland, Maidment Mainstage, 13th - 17th September 2005 SOLD OUT
• Malaysia, The Actors Studio, Kuala Lumpur, 14th - 26th June 2005
• Auckland, Herald Theatre, 17th-21st May 2005 SOLD OUT
  

REVIEWS | Critical Acclaim for From India With Love

"Guaranteed to put a smile on your dial….a hilarious yet culturally enlightening blend of love, loss and survival…" - Canvas Magazine New Zealand Herald 21st May 2005

"Tarun and Raj play multiple roles and shift through a dazzling array of Indian accents and costumes… the Bollywood-style dancing and video clips featuring a cameo from Pio Terei were highlights… this is one not to be missed, as it offers a sweet and funny insight into life as an Indian New Zealander… had my Indian New Zealand neighbors in fits of laughter…" - New Zealand Herald 19th May 2005

"Those Indian Guys have audiences in stitches within one minute from the start…you gotta see it to believe it…From India with Love is just the dose of laughter the doctor recommended…" - New Sunday Times, Kuala Lumpur 19 June 2005

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

New Sunday Times 19/06/2005
FROM INDIA WITH LOVE. You gotta see it to believe it

From India With Love offers a parental advisory: As the show deals with marriage, it may not be suitable for young children or bachelors.

After watching the show last week, children and bachelors alike may see happily-ever-after take new meaning, especially if life was just like a Bollywood movie.

But that’s half the fun in this screamingly hilarious show currently being performed at Actors Studio in Bangsar.

The plot was nothing much to shout about — after all how complicated is the journey of a young Indian couple from the backwaters of India to New Zealand?

The Hindi songs were memorable ones — Yeh Dosti from Sholay, Aap Jaisa Koi Meri from Qurbani and the title track from Kabhi Kushi Kabhi Gham just to name a few.

It started with the telling of Pushpa (dark as a burnt chappati) and Manhur’s love story which is sparked by their grandson.

“Why was Dadaji (granddad) such a wise man” the little boy asked, and so the tale was spun as we were transported back in time to a little village in India.

Those Indian Guys — Rajeev Varma and Tarun Mohanbhai — plus one wooden puppet, and some pre-recorded screen footage was all it took to have audiences in stitches within a minute of the start.

There are plenty of gags to keep you cracking up during this 75-minute show, without intermission.

The most outrageous character has to be Dillip — the C grade porter and D grade doctor pal of Manhur. He is full of sage advice such as “forget the facts”.

As to how to woo Pushpa, he shows Manhur the lip-synching way with a classic Milli Vanilli number (remember them?) complete with dance moves.

Manhur uses his newfound steps to impress Pushpa at a chance meeting in a hospital — her dad’s ill and he has a fly in his ear (not to be confused with diarrhoea).

They get married but money is hard to come by and so Manhur decides to seek his fortune in New Zealand.

In the cops vs robber scene (and one of the best scenes in this show), Dillip the happy luggage pinching porter/doctor is shot, and then shot, and then shot again.

In his dying breath, he gives Manhur the money needed to make the break to Kiwiland. And, it isn’t the pistols, machine guns or the hand grenade that kills him...

All the death scenes are done in true Hindi movie fashion in the play and what show stealers they are.

Dillip’s demise is only just topped by Dadaji’s journey into the light — that is, disco lights — and as you see him “shake his groove thang” up in heaven with the gods.

Don’t let’s get started on the gods in this show. It is going to fall under “you gotta see it to believe it” category.

Suffice to say that Rajeev’s portrayal of Krishna in Xena — Warrior Princess had that episode banned in India.

Those Indian Guys were as politically incorrect as you can get without being locked up — taking digs at the Chinese, the Taiwanese, India and Indians and most definitely their own home.

From India With Love is just the dose of laughter the doctor recommended.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

NEW ZEALAND - National Business Review May 2004
THOSE INDIAN GUYS PROVIDE EVENING WITH DAIRY OWNER

This play is an exploration of issues that confront Indians living in societies where the traditional culture of India probably appears irrelevant and conservative.

Tarun Mohanbhai and Rajeev Varma play about stereotypes, with the father eventually becoming a dairy owner. The evening sometimes seems like a play but it is more a series of comic incidents and one-liners carefully crafted to build a story typical of all immigrations who have had to adjust and adapt their cultures here. Some of the best bit are their satirizing of the traditional Indian ways, such as the revered swami whose philosophising masks ignorance and philandering.

This India is a place where omens are seen as relevant to decision-making, so their choice of New Zealand as a destination is based on the fact that they have birth marks in the shape of the islands on their genitals.

They also perform an inspired dance set to a contemporary Indian love song in which traditional dance and rock meet in a Bollywood camp rendition.

Their arrival in New Zealand and encounter with a Maori wielding taiaha provides opportunities for foreshore jokes.

In addition to some sustained pieces of comic acting they manage a bit of glove puppetry and shadows puppet work. The final sequence of a slide show of New Zealand Indian dairy owners (concluding with Mohanbhai and Varma in front of a dairy themselves) is both a clever meshing of stereotypes and documentation.

Those Indian Guys will present simultaneous productions of D’Arranged Marriage May 18-22 at the Herald Theatre in Auckland and Circa Theatre in Wellington.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

NEW ZEALAND - The New Zealand Herald May 2004
REVIEW: INDIAN INVADERS AT THE COMEDY FESTIVAL
By Greg Dixon

The Indian Invaders are Tarun Mohanbhai and Rajeev Varma, two New Zealand-born Indians who, a la the English television show The Kumars, mock and prod Indian stereotypes (“savings aren’t for spending, they’re for saving”) and custom.

The show is essentially a short play involving a father explaining to his son how he came to New Zealand in 1968. Play an ever-changing series of characters, the pair mix Bollywood conventions, props, light puppets, sock puppets and even a slide-show to tell their story. It’s very busy – perhaps a little two busy – with them constantly running on and off as the yarn progresses.

The humour is hit and miss. The gag involving why New Zealand was chosen as the destination for immigration (involving marks on two brothers’ testicles) fell flat, as did the light puppet show involving the sinking of a ship. It’s when the story is in New Zealand that the laughs come, particularly a short, sharp caricature of Jake the Muss: “If Tem Morrison can play a Pakistani, then I reckon a couple of lads like us can play Maoris.”

The show is recommended for its imagination, the duo’s versatility and the unexpected poignancy of the closing slide-show.