Bollywood icons plan series of live shows

Icons of Indian cinema will reprise some of their most beloved musical numbers in a series of live UAE shows.

Bollywood satrs such as Shahrukh Khan will be coming to the UAE to participate in a number of live shows.

DUBAI // Icons of Indian cinema will reprise some of their most beloved musical numbers in a series of live shows coming to the UAE. Shahrukh Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Kareena Kapoor and Minesha Lamba are among the celebrities who will be performing in the stage shows. The news is being welcomed by fans, who have endured a year of lacklustre Bollywood films.

"It has been a long time since such live shows have been organised. We are all excited that this summer we have something to look forward to," said Shamita Mukherjee, a Dubai resident and an admirer of Saif Ali Khan. "If Saif is coming then you can be assured that I will brave the summer and be at the concert." Some of Bollywood's most bankable stars, including Amitabh Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai, caused a stir in New York with their Unforgettable Tour 2008.

Promoters are hoping to deliver similarly successful shows to UAE audiences. Jashn 2008, to be held at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Aug 21, features the celebrity couple Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor. Other stars expected to perform hits from Bollywood films are the actress Minesha Lamba, and the singer Javed Ali. UAE Mobiles, which is organising the event, said yesterday that the show would be hosted by Kashif Khan, the comedian, and one of the highlights would be an 18-minute dance performance by Ganesh Hegde and his troupe of 30 dancers.

Organisers are anticipating an audience of up to 30,000 fans. Tickets for Jashn 2008, priced from Dh50 (US$13) to Dh1,000, will be available from next week. Another eagerly awaited event is the Temptations Reloaded tour by Bollywood's biggest star, Shahrukh Khan. The show played in the Dutch city of Rotterdam last month and Khan is planning to bring it to Dubai on Oct 21. "King" Khan will lead a cast of stars that includes Katrina Kaif, Arjun Rampal and Kareena Kapoor.

Dubai is increasingly becoming a favourite international hub for Bollywood, with stars making regular visits and even investments here. Shahrukh Khan owns a luxurious apartment at Palm Jumeirah and recently Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai bought a villa together in the Sanctuary Falls, a resort-style community within Jumeirah Golf Estates. In June, Yash Raj Films, India's leading film studio, entered into a multimillion-dollar joint venture with Dubai Infinity Holdings to create the world's first large-scale entertainment district featuring Indian cinema.

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