http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Arti ... id=8378626

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BIG B
AAMIR KAHN
AISHWARIA RAI
SHA RUKH KHAN

LIVE IN CONCERT AT OLD TRAFFORD FOOT BALL GROUND AND HYDE PARK

UK warms up to Bollywood minus Big B


RASHMEE Z AHMED

TIMES NEWS NETWORK [ MONDAY, APRIL 29, 2002 6:38:43 PM ]

ONDON: Amitabh Bachhan flew into Heathrow for Monday’s launch – and unfortunately stayed stranded right there throughout - while Britain digested the news that it would get to attend two unique multi-starrer live concerts straight from Mumbai as part of its ongoing Indian summer of fun and Hindi filmdom.

The concerts, at the end of JUNE, featuring the all-singing, all-dancing line-up of Bachhan, Shah Rukh Khan, Aamir Khan, Aishwariya Rai, Preity Zinta and Gracie Singh, are expected to draw upwards of 100,000 people in central London’s green lung, Hyde Park and Old Trafford, home of the world’s richest football club Manchester United.

The three-hour outdoor "Bollywood pageantry" titled "From India with Love", is to raise hundreds of thousands of pounds for The Prince’s Trust, Prince Charles’s favourite charity, which has so far helped 400,000 disadvantaged young people out of poverty and exclusion.

Commentators said Hindi filmdom’s newly-announced, high-profile association with Britain’s leading royal charity would burnish its image in a country that is already luxuriating in an Indian summer and drinking in the lush sights, sounds and storylines from the so-called "Bollywood".

The concert organisers said it was a unique chance for Britain to see something that was guaranteed "to bring Mumbai to a standstill – ie the Sean Connery, Brad Pitt, Russell Crowe, Julia Roberts and Meg Ryan of the Asian film world together on one stage, (something) they have never done anywhere in the world before".

Monday’s launch of an event created by Clear Channel Entertainment, Planet 7 and Times Infotainment Media Ltd, is only the latest on a lengthening list of Hindi film-related shows, concerts and festivals underway in Britain.

Project manager Sally Atkins told this paper they hoped "the concerts would be truly crossover" with the white mainstream, party-going public happy to pay steep prices of more than 60 pounds per ticket to dance along with Bachhan and the Mumbaiwallahs in Hyde Park.

A.Parigi of Times Infotainment Media Ltd said the event reflected the fact that India exported its films to 90 countries and the South Asian diaspora had emerged as a key market constituent.

But despite the saturation "Bollywood" coverage in the British media, the buzz about Bachhan was unmistakable.

Former Miss World Diana Hayden, slinky in a red sari, announced Bachhan was stranded at the airport because of a traffic pile-up. Western newspaper and television journalists, denied the chance to interview the man, voted the BBC’s ‘actor of the millennium’ in 1999, beating Robert de Niro and Laurence Olivier, confessed to disappointment.

Georgie Arnold, Arts correspondent of Sky TV, which dominates Britain’s media market with its digital, film and sports channels, said she was sent to report on Bollywood because it "is seen as fun, and cheesy. It’s obviously in fashion at the moment".

Some other white media, entertainment and advertising executives added that Bollywood’s appeal lay in its similarity to Italian opera, "over-mimed, exaggerated and easy to follow, even if you don’t know the language".

WOW.............WHAT CAN I SAY...


SAW THE NEWS PIECE ABOUT IT ON SKY NEWS TODAY AISHWARIA WAS ON



Edited By anwar_hatela_survives on April 29 2002 at 21:15

Any idea on time and dates for the London concerts.

by the way what is "Green Lung"

Thx

as per my understanding green lung is referring to the mighty Hyde park...... I had the pleasure of attending a concert there a couple of years ago on a visit(one of those capital fm gigs)... the atmosphere is great!!!

D: Just heard this on Sunrise Radio. The concert is on the 30th of June in Hyde Park. The list of stars include the big B, Shahrukh, Aamir, Ash and Priety Zinta. The hotline number for tickets is 08701 696 853. I'll be calling soon but if any of you do, let us know of the price of the tickets.

Cheers!

And here's more!



Amitabh Launches Concert

Yes, it’s another Bollywood concert folks! This time around Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, Aamir Khan, Preity Zinta, and Aishwarya Rai will grace the stage for a spectacular festival of dance and music to be held in Manchester and London.

Shah Rukh Khan.
‘From India with Love’ will take place at Manchester’s Old Trafford football stadium on 29th June, and in London’s Hyde Park on 30th June, 2002, respectively. It is expected that both venues will cater for more than 115,000 people of all ages.

The news comes after weeks of speculation that Big B was going to hold a rival concert to Hrithik Roshan’s first ever ‘Heartthrobs’ stage extravaganza, which features a line-up of upcoming stars such as Karisma Kapoor, Kareena Kapoor, Arjun Rampal, Aftab Shivdasani and Raageshwari.

Rumours have it that Amitabh Bachchan has been gripped by the Bollywood fever, which has suddenly reached its all time high in the UK. But it’s a surprise nonetheless to learn that both concerts will be going head to head together in June. It will be a case of ‘Old Vs New’ amongst the actors, and competition will be fierce. Which one will be the most popular remains to be seen.

Aishwarya Rai.
Shah Rukh Khan and Aishwarya Rai will be the flavour of the month in June as their blockbuster ‘Devdas’ hits the big screen. No doubt the pair will become the toast of the town and possibly attract a big crowd to their open air concert.

Star of Lagaan, Aamir Khan says: "It is going to be a fantastic occasion and a great opportunity to bring the very best of Indian cinema to such a wide audience."

Not one to miss out on an opportunity, Amitabh Bachchan is also the host of Bollywood at Selfridges - Bollywood opening night ceremony takes place in London on 2nd May, 2002 at their London store.

I called the hotline number and got the ticket prices. They are as follows:

£80 - VIP
£60 - STANDARD
£35 - CHEAPSKATES

The £80 and £60 are seated whereas the £35 are standing at the back. :where:

Or as many are going to-do buy the £35 ticket and sit in the VIP seats and pretend to be a long lost relative of AB :bored:

Ali

man these tickets are expensive

Mugmabo finds these prices cheap compared to what audiences in the US pay for such shows. Typical VIP seats in the US start at $250 upwards to $750 per person. Mugambo's wife wants tickets to the Karishma, Kareena and Hrithik show in the $125 per seat section.

I remember seeing "Parvarotti at the Park" (Hyde Park- the attendance was around 100k), and I remember the arrangements. The stage is on a down slope so those standing at the back will have a view of the stage but if I recall correctly even a monstrously fat Parvarotti could only just be seen. Most people spent the whole performance just watching a couple of huge screens, which on the whole was okay. On the balance of things if you really, and I mean really want to make a day of it, and ask yourself how many times in a "lifetime" do you get a chance to see your fav filmstars on stage in such an auspiscious setting? Then just stump up 60-80 pounds and make sure you get seat plan first before hand your money over. As for Old Trafford, its gonna be the best arena for the concert by far, the atmosphere will be awesome compared to Hyde Park and because its a stadium you can't fail to get good seats, plus a seat plan will definatly be available to get a choice position.

gpzippy

Damn! you Britis, you people get to have all the fun. First, the screening of Old-Gold Classics in Theaters, and now possibly the biggest star-stodded show ever is limited to be only in the UK. Ba-Hum-bag

For more info:Click Here

well i ordered my ticket on the first day i heard about it, which was basically the first day they went on sale on the internet. Phoned up the chor ticket master people cos i didnt wanna take pot luck with the internet allocating me a seat, and they told me all the best blocks had already been sold.....grrrr.....looked at the map and all the cheap seats are ruddy miles away, don't expect to see jack!!!! there is a map on the ticketmaster.co.uk of seating........anyway i got my 60 quid ticket which cost me 68 after they had screwed you for booking fee and P&P etc....the tickets wont be posted to you until about 10 days before the event cos they are souvanir tickets whatever that means!!!!!!!!

anyway heres looking forward to a top show.......

sey shaava shaava!!!!!!!!!!!



Edited By Awaaz on May 07 2002 at 09:01

Awaaz - for what venue did u try and book tickets for... generally what happens in the UK is that sponsers normally purchase all the fron row tickets and sell them at inflated price.. pukkay chors..!!

Anybody know if this will happen in US at all ?

Kareena.

???

for hyde park faddy i was well suspicious that so many tickets had sold quickly but couldnt be bothered to hunt around for who had them.....