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Bollywood abroad

Kavita Khanna in Washington DC

Attention, fans, Amitabh Bachchan will not be giving his 5 pm darshan at his home these days. Not till June 15 at least. He is doing a round trip of North America and England with maybe a swipe at north Europe.

As usual, he leaves in his trail swooning swarms of Indians and Indophiles. Along with him -- and having a similar effect -- are Anil Kapoor, Manisha Koirala, Sanjay Kapoor, Shilpa Shetty and many, many others, leaving Bollywood feeling all listless and lifeless.

The visit is part of the grandly-named Mega Stars World Tour, which began on May 16 at Atlanta and which will wind its way through Fort Lauderdale, New York, Chicago, Houston, Detroit, Washington DC, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, London, Birmingham and Manchester. A venue in Holland is also being planned, says Vijay Taneja of Elite Entertainment, the concert's international promoter.

The locals musta been quite amazed by the Indian response at the Civic Center, Altanta, where the first concert was held. And rumour has it that over a third of the tickets were wiped out in Vancouver within a week of the ads coming out.

And, contrary to standards established back home, the show started just 10 minutes late and lasted over four-and-half hours.

Archana Puran Singh, face nearly split in half by her usual grin, conducted almost 25 items.

"We had actually rehearsed about 30 items, but the time restriction forced us to quickly eliminate some... performances," says Taneja. One of them was an antakshari by Amitabh Bachchan and Anil Kapoor. But it was reinstated in Vancouver, much to the gratification of the fans there.

Of course, every celebrity was welcomed on stage by thunderous applause and whistles from the predominantly Indian and Pakistani audience. People in surrounding residential areas stuffed their heads into pillows and muttered imprecations under their breath till APS introduced "the legend of Indian cinema" Amitabh Bachchan, and they couldn't even hear themselves.

After the racket subsided, the big B sang -- and danced -- to Masti bhari raat hai soni kudion ka saath hai from Mrityudaata. The song soon had the crowd in a frenzy -- a few young men removed their T-shirts and waved them frenetically in the muggy air. Some over-enthusiastic admirers tried to get onstage but were quickly and firmly deterred by the big burly -- and unfriendly-looking -- guards up there.

"We were kind of disappointed that Amitabh did not invite the audience to come on stage -- like he did four years ago," said a member of a forlorn group. "We especially bought expensive front seat tickets in the hopes of getting on stage with him..." Ah well, better luck in the next millenium.

"We were worried that since there were so many stars in this show, we would not get a chance to see enough of Amitabh," said Ashish, speaking on behalf of a group of local students, "but he came off-and-on for almost an hour, and every minute was worth its weight in gold!"

"Amitabh's dialogues were a real treat," commented Amar Srivastava, a Bollywood fan. But he found fault with the Daler Mehndi-Bachchan sang. Mehndi (left) could have sung it better, he felt.

That the audience liked the big B -- no matter that his Mrityudaata flunked -- could be made out in the affectionate though mystifying cry from the crowd, "Amitabh, you are still Amitabh."

Throughout the evening, the audience was treated to a wide flavour of songs -- from catchy, foot-tapping beats to heart-breaking, kerchief-soaking dirges. The music was organised by Viju Shah who wrote the score for Tridev, Mohra, Aar Ya Paar, Tere Mere Sapne,and, for the upcoming Rajiv Rai film, Gupt.

Anil Kapoor was another hit. He danced to the latest numbers from Judaai and had the audience roaring its approval with his performances with older hits like Ek do teen from Tezaab.

While Anil Kapoor, Manisha Koirala, Sanjay Kapoor and Shilpa Shetty danced together with a well-coordinated troupe, Johnny Lever provided his characteristic form of comedy. "I could not stop laughing when he (Johnny Lever) acted out the part of Madhuri while Sanjay Kapoor danced to akhiyaan millaoon kabhi akhiyaan jhukaaon (from Raja)" said one spectator after the concert.

Manisha Koirala, draped in her ethnic best, held quite a few hearts in the palm of her hand after she danced to songs from films like 1942, A Love Story, Bombay and Khamoshi. Koirala also joined Amitabh Bachchan for a number from Silsila.

"Manisha was the only one in the show who seemed to have put in some extra effort towards her costumes... She looked very graceful..." said a fan.

While the songs, dances, and dialogues spanned the last 30 years of Indian cinema, it was clear that the concert was targetted at the younger generation.

"I had a blast, but... my parents just went home with a headache!" said Shruti Marwa. She should have asked the people in the neighbourhood. "I thought one of the best parts was when almost the whole audience joined in to do the Macarena with Sanjay and Shilpa," she said, referring to the song Arre baba arre baba fromAuzaar.

"I liked the Judaai-waala uncle best" said five-year old Vishal of Anil Kapoor. "I saw him in a movie, and he looks just the same in real life -- except he is much shorter." Kind boy.

Quizzed afterwards, Taneja didn't rub his hands in glee. "Overall, the concert was a resounding success," he admitted modestly.

Taneja has some specials for the show in Washington DC. "We will add a few items -- including some Punjabi songs."

With so many stars to deal with, Taneja is also feeling the heat.

"It is always tense when we organise shows... But when someone as big as Amitabh Bachchan is coming, it it becomes much more so... After all, he is known as one of the most powerful men in India... This is the first time that I have had to specially assign two around-the-clock security guards for someone."

Bollywood's abroad, and may be coming to your hometown next. Are you gonna be there?