A whopping Rs45 crore is what Abu Malik, co-organiser of 'Heat', the current Bollywood world tour that kicked off in Dubai on April 6, approximates as the cost of the tour.
The spectacular show the Indian contingent — Bollywood that is, never mind the athletes — put up at the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, is reportedly plagued by demands for moolah, that has left the government reeling. So while The Rolling Stones set off for a historic China show and Christina Aguilera gets Europe bumping and grinding this summer on the strength of their talent, is the bid to make actors' lip-syncing shows representative of India a little misplaced? Online non-resident Indian blogs and forums are abuzz with the debate. Should the athletes have been overshadowed by stars? Should a stamp have not been released to an athlete? Or is Bollywood India?
Aron Govil, son of Amit Govil, one of America's earliest concert organisers, and host of Heat's American leg, sees Bollywood as larger brands than what they represent.
"Indian film actors are Indian rock stars. Indian films are musicals. It is immaterial as to who is really singing the song. You have to look at the total entertainment that is being created for the audience."
Besides, he says, "Nowadays during live performances, even the western stars only lip-sync on the stage to pre-recorded songs." Abu Malik explains the funding process. "Most of the funding for Heat, organised by Safdar Hussein, is from overseas," he says. He adds, "Local sponsors book the auditoriums and take care of ticket sales."
Govil explains that the cost varies though. "The cost has increased dramatically over the years due to the complexity of the production." Indians love the big bang. "The shows are comparable to a Broadway production," says Govil.
"There are months of rehearsals; over 30-40 dancers on stage with choreographers. Every dance number has a different costume, fireworks and pyro effects. Many of the arena production staff comment that requirements of our shows are bigger than the shows of Madonna." So while Sean Connery, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie may never quite lip- sync, gyrate to songs they didn't write, sing, or choreograph, and athletes may still await recognition, fact is that desi actors remain the crowd-pulling rockstars overseas.
The touring brigade
Salman Khan will embark on a tour. John Abraham, Zayed Khan, Shaahid Kapoor, Kareena Kapoor, Esha Deol and Mallika Sherawat will accompany him. For many of them, this will be the first live tour. Here's the schedule:
Dubai - April 13; Calgary - April 21; Los Angeles - April 22; Vancouver - April 23; Detroit - April 28; San Francisco - April 29; Dallas - April 30; Houston - May 5; Atlantic City - May 6; Orlando - May 7; Atlanta - May 12; Washington - May 13; Boston - May 14; Chicago - May 19; New York - May 20; Toronto - May 21; Amsterdam - May 25; Birmingham - May 28; London - May 29
Akhsay Kumar is currently on a world tour called 'Heat'. On Friday he performed in Dubai. He will also perform in San Francisco, Dallas Detroit, and New York.
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