IndiaPost.com - Bachchans big show

India Post News Service

NEW YORK: Coming almost a year in advance, Wizcraft, the premier entertainment company from India is already creating a buzz among Bollywood fans across the globe by announcing The Unforgettable Tour, a mega concert tour featuring some of the biggest names in Indian cinema.

Beginning July 2008, a galaxy of Indian stars including Amitabh Bachchan, Akshay Kumar, Abhishek Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai, Bipasha Basu, Lara Dutta and Riteish Deshmukh will hit the road across several cities in the US and the UK, Holland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Africa, Egypt, the Middle East and Singapore.

Announcing the event at a press conference at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Manhattan on Aug 18, Viraf Sarkari of Wizcraft said it would the "biggest global media event coming out of India and will definitely create world hysteria."

Sarkari was joined at the press conference by the Bachchan family - Amitabh, Abhishek and Aishwarya. In his opening statement, Amitabh recalled his concert tour to New York in 1981, as an assistant performer to singing legend Lata Mangeshkar. "We have been on many tours since around the US and have been getting a lot of appreciation," the Senior Bachchan said.

"It's been a while since I've been on stage and am very apprehensive about getting up there again. But I think the combination of Wizcraft and many of my colleagues made me get on board." Amitabh added that with the Unforgettable Tour they hope to recreate the magic of Indian cinema on stage through improved production values and content.

Reminiscing once again his US concert of '81, Amitabh said that at that time, they could not get an interview with the management of Madison Square Garden in New York City because they were not sure the Indian entertainers would live up to the reputation of their prestigious venue. "But eventually when we did, they were happily surprised," he recalled.

"Also, at the Giants Stadium, we had an audience of 60,000 people. It was an experience we cannot forget. But now we have a whole young generation that is very keen, very eager, very aggressive, very determined to outdo all that we have done in the past. I'll be there to lend my support, and perhaps shake a leg along with them. It's going to be tough but I think it's going to be very worthwhile."

Responding to a question, Abhishek said this was a very exciting time for any actor in India because Indian cinema is virtually becoming a global phenomenon. "We are crossing borders and hope that through the Unforgettable Tour people who are not acquainted with Indian cinema or its actors get to experience a little bit of the magic of Indian cinema."

Stating that personally he felt fortunate to be working in the Indian film industry today, Abhishek said, "The world is becoming smaller in many ways and we get to share a lot of our talent across borders with a lot of others. We have technicians from the West and from the East working together on films and a lot of our talent is going from India abroad. I really think it's an important time for the creative medium of film."

On being the brand ambassador for many international brands, Aishwarya said, "The fact that we get to endorse brands and work in films across the border is a reflection of the world getting smaller. But, this isn't limited only to films, you have a multi-cultural fraternity in many fields and professions, and to me I look at it as the world getting smaller and communities getting together for a more varied experience.

I consider myself blessed to have been given the opportunity so many times to represent India on the international platform." Talking about Bollywood going global, Amitabh said it has to start with stopping the usage of the word Bollywood to describe Indian cinema.

"It's demeaning to our industry and I think we are an industry has the strength to stand on its own and need not be compared," he said. "Indian cinema was an entity that was looked down upon, there was great criticism and cynicism towards our content.

But now that very format has become very popular among not just expatriates but among locals as well. We are very happy that this is happening, and a show like this (the Unforgettable Tour) will bring on stage what we want to showcase not just for the Indian Diaspora but for mainstream audiences as well."

Adding to that view, Amitabh further said that with the opening up of the economy and the liberalization in India, suddenly everything Indian has become important. "With large amounts of investments coming from the US -- our food, our culture, our dress, everything has suddenly become very high profile.

India is projected as a super power of the future. I think with the liberalization, a lot of people from the West start taking interest in not just our curries, but films as well." If Indian films were not popular with Western audiences, it is not so much a reflection of the kind of cinema that comes out of India, but because of the language barrier, said Abhishek.

"At the end of the day you can't expect to dominate a market that does not speak your language. I think that's the major issue, its got nothing to do with sensibilities or aesthetics." If the phase of globalization is bringing Indian cinema to the west, there is also an effort now to bring Hollywood's marketing expertise to India, Amitabh said.

"I know it will be a bit detrimental to the economics of the Indian film industry because Hollywood comes with a lot of power -- look what they did in Europe and UK, they destroyed their industry. They are now in India and they are using wonderful technology to get in.

For instance, look at the way they dubbed Spiderman 3 in India in eight different languages, even Bhojpuri. It was a remarkably smart move. We will be welcoming competition, but one needs to appreciate the fact that they will come to India on our terms, and I think we need to do that to come to their part of the world on their terms.

Hopefully there will be a happy union." The globalized atmosphere not only brings Indian cinema to western audiences, but also opens up opportunities for Indian actors to work in Hollywood, Amitabh said. "I believe that the isolation which used to happen because of lack of communication is gradually disappearing, so there will be a lot of interest in both countries.

There will come a time when there will be a point of saturation in both industries when they will want to explore the greater boundaries." To prove his point, Amitabh said he was working in Mira Nair's Shantaram, which is a Warner Bros film. He will also been seen Rituparno Ghosh's The Last Lear, which is being made in English.