www.nytimes.com wrote:Movie Stars Take to the Stage, Giving ’Em the Old Bollywood Razzle-Dazzle
August 18, 2008
By JON CARAMANICA
UNIONDALE, N.Y. — Abhishek Bachchan was everywhere on Friday night at the Nassau Coliseum: walking through the sold-out stadium surrounded by bodyguards; soaring above the crowd on a platform, pointing out women and serenading them; rapping, in a red leather jacket, alongside the duo Vishal-Shekhar; running onstage to hug his wife, the actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, while she made pleas to the audience about sustainable development.
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All that movement, and still he couldn’t quite outrun the long shadow cast by his father, Amitabh, a veteran of more than 150 films. He worked half as hard as his son, but was the clear focal point of the Unforgettable Tour, a four-hour song-and-dance-and-more extravaganza featuring several stars of Indian cinema.
There is no American equivalent to this spectacle, in which actors, joined by dozens of dancers, recreate musical numbers from popular movies. Here, all talents — acting, singing, dancing — are equal. Well, not always singing; in most Bollywood films, vocals are provided by playback singers while the stars on screen lip-sync.
And so went most of the performances here, making for an extravagant yet curiously restrained affair. For much of the show — including most of the solo sets of the lithe actress Preity Zinta, who was dressed like a flapper; and the energetic comic actor Riteish Deshmukh, who, during the theme song from the movie “Cash,” danced awkwardly in front of oversized $100 bills — the crowd responded as if they were watching a film: seated, muted, considerate.
These performances were also saddled with a contrived intimacy. Actors had jumped off the screen onto the stage, but were still at a remove. Success required removing the veneer of unattainability. This was done best by Madhuri Dixit, the oldest of the female performers, who was also the most graceful and subtle; her performance with Ms. Rai Bachchan, in a dance routine from “Devdas,” was one of the night’s most stirring.
Surprisingly, some of the most enthusiastically received performances were also the least traditional. Vishal-Shekhar, a young duo known best for progressive soundtrack work that dabbles in hip-hop, were rousing, especially on “Deewangi Deewangi,” from “Om Shanti Om.” They also performed with a live band, upending the show’s formality.
Though the musicians remained onstage for Amitabh Bachchan’s first solo set, they were less consequential. His appearance was more an exercise in collective memory than a great performance. A star of stratospheric proportions, he was celebrated with hagiographical videos and voice-overs. (“Even the way he stands makes an impact.” “They aped his hairstyle.”) The younger Mr. Bachchan performed one of his father’s best-known routines, from “Don,” while images from that film flashed on a screen behind him.
With a silver goatee and short dark hair, the elder Mr. Bachchan cut an august figure. But he, too, was not immune to the pulls of legacy. Toward the end of the show, in a segment that was part spoken-word performance, part “Inside the Actors Studio,” he discussed his own parents with emotion. First, he recited a few lines of “Agneepath,” a poem by his father, Harivansh Rai Bachchan, which was, he said, “written to inspire the Indians.” (Friday was the 61st anniversary of Indian independence.)
Then he spoke about his mother, who died last year, and slipped into his character from the film “Deewaar,” who prays for his mother’s health. As Mr. Bachchan delivered the lines, his voice grew deep, mean and improbably raspy. And then, just as quickly as he had begun, he snapped back to normal and was greeted with the night’s most sincere standing ovation. On a night full of carefully choreographed moments, this blatant blast of acting also proved to be the truest.
Gojan 6-2
. The first round went to the Kazakh, but the next two Yogeshwar was on top. It was quite exciting to watch -- good quality video to my laptop.