Subhash K Jha 

Mumbai: India scored a creative victory Friday at the posh Theatre du Chatelet in Paris when Sanjay Leela Bhansali's adaptation of Albert Rousell's opera "Padmavati" was staged to a sold-out audience.

Fires raged on the stage, elephants ambled through the panoramic scenario, women in gorgeous "ghagra-choli" (traditional skirts and blouse) swirled and twirled on the stage as the Rajasthani heroine Padmavati fought with valour for love, clan honour and pride. At the end of the two-hour majestic show, the audience gave the director a standing ovation for full 15 minutes.

"You can call it a strange home-coming for me," the emotionally charged director said moments after the first triumphant public show of the flamboyant drama.

"I was fully prepared and so was the cast and crew. I knew Lawrence Foster's orchestra would cement whatever breaches had occurred on the opening night," he said.

The response stunned Sanjay. "Nothing had prepared me for this. The audience was swept into the thunderous tale as much as I was when I took charge. They responded to the drama, music, pathos and passion and they just wouldn't stop clapping at the end," he said.