IT WAS A HUMID March afternoon and Mumbai’s most eclectic crowd had gathered in the city’s newest cultural destination — the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre (NMACC) — to watch the 2 pm show of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical masterpiece, The Phantom of the Opera. As we sat in the theatre café and sinned on a giant chocolate muffin, waiting for the doors of The Grand Theatre to open, I couldn’t help but eavesdrop on conversations of people about their The Phantom of the Opera experience at the West End in London or Broadway in New York.

“I have watched Phantom thrice in London decades ago. I hope I will be able to relive the extravaganza in Mumbai. The musical takes love and obsession to new heights,” said a lady next to our table excitedly. Her Gen Z daughter was cryptic. “I hope it’s worth our travel from Bengaluru, mom,” she cribbed. The mother-daughter duo happened to sit next to me at The Grand Theatre and as I cozied up to them, I realised the daughter was studying theatre in New York. No wonder, the scepticism, I thought to myself. But within the next 15 minutes the 20-something was full of excitement. She seemed thoroughly impressed.

After all, The Grand Theatre is the focal point of the NMACC. With a seating capacity of 2,000 spread across four tiers, it is, by design and purpose, a democratic space — one that doesn’t compromise on quality regardless of where you are seated. The upper balcony tickets can go for as low as ₹1,350 on weekdays. For Marathi and regional shows, prices have dipped to as low as ₹700. But international productions such as The Phantom of the Opera obviously come at a premium. The tickets range from ₹2,500 to ₹20,000, with 18 private boxes priced upwards of ₹35,000 each.

The seat pricing, surprisingly varied and inclusive, tells you a lot about how the space is envisioned. The seating — by French luxury brand Poltrona Frau, which also designs for Ferrari — is plush. However, the theatre’s real centrepiece is above one’s head: the lotus-inspired ceiling studded with 8,084 Swarovski crystals. Each one is individually programmable, capable of displaying logos, flags, or even — as it did during The Phantom of the Opera — the haunting white mask of the Phantom.

When the show began, my 20-something neighbour did murmur that it was not the original cast and crew which performed at Broadway or West End, but within minutes she was taken in by the opulence and grandeur of the show — the dramatic descent of the magnificent chandelier (which the Phantom often uses to take revenge, weighs over 1,500 pounds), the grand masquerade scene and recreation of water bodies — did leave the jam-packed audience spellbound.

The scale of productions is impressive as well. The Phantom of the Opera, which debuted at the NMACC earlier this year, involved a crew of 100-200 people and a load-in of 10 days. The set-up reportedly came in 36 cargo containers. The production recreated an underground river, complete with a boat sequence, and used every ounce of the theatre’s technical capabilities — 69 fly bars, retractable orchestra pits, LED ceiling programming, integrated Dolby Atmos surround sound system and virtual acoustic system, and high-capacity fire-rated curtains.

The NMACC isn’t just bringing global Broadway hits here — it’s also backing original Indian productions, including its own IPs. Among them are Parampara, conceived as an annual tribute to the enduring guru-shishya tradition, and Bachpan, a specially curated celebration for children aged 2 to 14. Major productions like Feroz Abbas Khan’s The Great Indian Musical: Civilization to Nation and Mughal-e-Azam, and Prasoon Joshi’s Rajadhiraaj: Love, Life, Leela have already played to packed houses.

“The NMACC is a response to an urgent need for an urban cultural centre that promotes excellence, and is inclusive and democratic in its disposition,” director and playwright Feroz Abbas Khan had said earlier.

Indians are warming up to live entertainment experiences and the NMACC is at the helm of offering those experiences. “It is a truly inclusive centre for performers and visitors, for dreamers and creators, for one and all. With world-class infrastructure and robust programming, our aim is to make arts accessible to everyone,” Nita Ambani, founder and chairperson of Reliance Foundation, has reiterated on multiple daises.

But are these larger-than-life shows profitable? “Even if the average ticket price is in the range of ₹4,000-5,000 and the show ran packed for over a month, The Phantom of the Opera would be far from profitable,” says a leading theatre professional. “But we need visionaries such as the Ambani family to patronise theatre,” he adds.

Small is big

Beyond the glitter of The Grand Theatre are two smaller spaces — The Cube and The Studio Theatre. They carry the core of the NMACC’s access-first ideology.

The Studio Theatre has a seating capacity of 250, and The Cube theatre, 125. Initially, both spaces priced all tickets at ₹250 and ₹500. Today, even with revised prices, you can still catch a stand-up show, a classical dance performance, or an indie music act for ₹450 or ₹750.

Some emerging artistes are also paid to perform at the smaller theatres. The aim is to build an audience. Shows run Thursday to Sunday.

Art that moves

Some 100 steps from the Jio World Convention Centre (from Gate 11), is the ‘Fountain of Joy’ at the Dhirubhai Ambani Square, designed by California-based WET Design, the same company that designed the Dubai Mall fountain. The only difference is that the water jets here move to Bollywood tracks, not Arabic melodies.

It’s a detail that sums up the larger philosophy. Located in the heart of Mumbai’s Bandra-Kurla Complex, the 18-acre Jio World Centre has three main verticals fully functional so far — convention, retail, and culture — with residences and offices still to come.

The idea is to make fine art visible. The Art House is a four-storey space that anchors the NMACC’s commitment to visual arts. One of the first things one encounters is Yayoi Kusama’s ‘Clouds’ — a sprawling, sky-mirroring installation of 90 stainless steel pieces. A stark departure from Kusama’s signature polka dots and infinity rooms, this organic metallic expanse evokes an ever-shifting sky. At 56 ft is the ‘Kamal Kunj’ — a humungous Pichwai painting commissioned by the Reliance Foundation — a towering tribute to the 400-year-old art form from Nathdwara.

And then there are Reena Kallat’s ‘Closet Quarries I & II’ and Vibha Galhotra’s ‘City Obscure’, which at first glance, could be mistaken for elaborate Lego mosaics or textured murals. Kallat’s works, crafted entirely from rubber stamps, echo the intricate floral inlay of Mughal monuments while embedding the names of forgotten artisans, turning ornament into elegy. Galhotra’s urban sprawl, meanwhile, stitched together with thousands of ghungroos, captures Mumbai’s contradictions — its chaos, celebration, and deep rebellion.

And then there’s the world’s largest elevator, capable of carrying 235 people at once!

The curatorial range is wide, but the mission is the same: to make rare and refined feel accessible.

It took 10 years to build the Jio World Centre. Designed by Richard Gluckman, TVS Design, and Theatre Project Consultants (known for their work on major theatres around the world), the NMACC is more than a physical space. In 2024, it hosted 115 active show days, a number that’s expected to rise. This year, the NMACC heads to New York’s Lincoln Center for its first international cultural weekend — a signal that the flow of cultural capital won’t just be inbound anymore.

As Nita Ambani once said, “I have seen first-hand the magical transformation that art makes possible. It gives hope, creates solidarity, nurtures imagination, and embraces divergence. An ode to our nation, the cultural centre aims to preserve and promote Indian arts.”

Cheers to that.