Julie Clare Productions
theatre people want to see
Bollywood Rose
In Development
Bollywood Rose is the story of Nathika, a cynical, British Asian single mother, who gets trapped in a Bollywood movie. Having derailed the storyline, she has to fix what she has broken so she can return to the real world and change her own story.
Bollywood Rose was first showcased at BEAM 2018 and SIGNAL. Since then, Julie Clare Productions has been developing it with the writers Sumerah and Ajay Srivastav and we are delighted to announce a partnership with British Youth Music Theatre in the first development production scheduled for Summer 2026.
About The Writers:
Sumerah and Ajay Srivastav
Sumerah is a playwright, librettist and screenwriter who was identified as a rising star in the BBC’s 2017 New Talent Hotlist. For television, she has written for BBC, ITV and Netflix. As a playwright, she has been a member of the Royal Court Critical Mass and invited Studio Writers’ programmes, the Stratford East Musical Theatre Initiative, Orange Tree Writers Collective and The Criterion playwrights programme. Recent work includes #864 Live directed by Matthew Xia for Stratford East, Sketching with James Graham at Wilton’s Music Hall, Lupin (Netflix), Eastenders and Casualty (BBC). She is Co-Artistic Director of Kahani Arts in Redbridge and is Co-chair of the Equalities & Diversity Committee at the Writers Guild of Great Britain. Before turning to writing, Sumerah was Creative head of a multi award winning London radio station for young BritAsians - Club Asia. She is also a law graduate, holds an MBA in film business and has a background in TV & film production.
Ajay is a musician with over 15 years of experience in the industry, including chart success on two continents, touring the world and working with legends such as Jamiroquai, The Brand New Heavies and Gregory Isaacs. His natural curiosity for blending the music he had grown up with alongside the music he discovered, led him to the World Music scene where he worked with artists like Jah Wobble, Apache Indian, Zakir Hussain and Sister India - for whom he wrote and produced their signature song Out of Place. Songs like Aaja Sajana, Kasam Se and Sapnay became airplay chart hits on Asian radio and TV stations across the UK and made Ajay a successful Hindi-pop artist in the UK’s thriving Asian music scene.
His band Botown (named in reverence to Bollywood and Motown) became a runaway success that continues today. Dubbed as “Bollywood’s answer to Sly & the Family Stone”, the band has carved its own niche with dynamic live shows which attract a diverse and passionate audience.
As a team they were both part of the Theatre Royal Stratford East New Musical Writing Programme.