Mumbai, June 16 (IANS) Going by the dismal fate of the latest Rock Stars concert abroad, it may be a long time before any organiser or Bollywood celebrity dares venture into a world tour.
The last stop for the Rock Stars entourage - Salman Khan, John Abraham, Mallika Sherawat, Shahid Kapur and Kareena Kapoor - last week turned out to be a nightmare that the stars aren't likely to forget.
"There was almost nil attendance," a source told IANS.
"The show at Wembley in London had to be cancelled because there was hardly anyone there to see our so-called Rock Stars. In all, 500-600 people turned up to watch our great entourage. You should have seen the expression on their faces.
"On the evening before at Birmingham the attendance was hardly any better. There were around 1,500 people in all," the source added.
"Fortunately, the show at Birmingham didn't have to be cancelled. But what happened at Wembley has sobered and cautioned our entire Bollywood fraternity. I don't think the stars are likely to go on concert tours for a long, long time to come."
The worst blow was yet to come. Sahara India had acquired TV filming rights of the cancelled concert.
"Their expensive equipment and large crew had to return without any footage. There's a lot of financial accounting to be done. The organisers haven't even started counting their losses in Britain as yet," said the source.
So is it a no-no for Bollywood concerts abroad?
"For others stars? Yes, they are unlikely to go for a long time after this experience," said the source. "But if it's a concert featuring Amitabh Bachchan, Abhishek and Aishwarya Rai, tickets will sell like hot cakes anytime.
"Salman and John returned to Mumbai Monday. Shahid and Kareena are expected back later during the week."
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