May 04, 2008

These days, if one wants to raise a phenomenal sum of money for charity, it seems there is only one way to guarantee it — rope in Indian celebrities, whether designers, models, singers or actors.

In keeping with this tradition, a musical programme was arranged recently in Karachi featuring famous Indian singers Alka and Kumar Sanu, and the young Indian idol, Abhas.

With the venue beautifully decorated with grey marquees, candles and white floral chandelier arrangements, lounges and table settings, the tone was set for a classy evening for the benefit of the who’s who of the city. And of course, the latter had gathered as much to enjoy the visiting Indian performers as to contribute to a good cause — the proceeds of the evening arranged by Young Presidents Organisation, Pakistan was to go to Indus Hospital, a state of the art facility completely free of charge, as well as to a TCF school in Mansera.

The one major grouse that most people had with the otherwise well-organised affair was that it started way too late. The invitation card specified 9pm as dinner time and 10.30pm as the performance time. However, dinner was not served till 10.30pm and the programme didn’t begin till almost midnight! The result was that many in the audience left half-way through the show, which was a shame, as one is sure most would have wanted to stay for the entire programme, and it also reflected negatively on the Karachi audience, for no fault of theirs.

The good thing though, was that instead of beginning with the junior-most singer, the organisers realised that they would be really pushing it if they kept the super stars of the evening backstage any longer. After the orchestra displayed its skills by playing two popular numbers, including Aik, Do, Teen to everyone’s delight the compere of the evening Shakeel, welcomed Kumar Sanu on the stage.

With a vast repertoire of extremely popular numbers to his credit, Sanu had no problem singing exactly what the audience wanted to hear. Beginning with Aashiqi Ke Liye he went on to the next romantic ditty, which he said he had sung for Subhash Ghai at one go and was recorded in 25 minutes flat — Do Dil Mil Rahe Hain. The next number came with a surprising feature — a dance troupe performing to Sanu’s rendition — which added a glitzy dimension to the number.

One catchy song followed another — Aik Ladki Ko Dekha To Aisa Laga, Sambhala Hai Mein Ne Bahut Apnay Dil Ko, Tum Dil Ki Dharkan Mein Rehte Ho and Bhool Na Jana to name some — the troupe showing up in different attractive costumes for some of the songs. Introducing his last song of the evening, Sanu said that it was one he personally likes a lot, and that it has been used as music therapy by a patient in Hong Kong and another in London: Jab Koi Baat Bigar Jaye.

Making a dramatic entry, Alka Yagnik was the next to take centre-stage. With the stage enveloped in darkness, and the spotlight on the lone star clad in an all white glittering outfit, the spotlight focused on her as she walked up a flight of steps erected on the stage and climbed down another, to face the audience.

Opening with what she called her “good luck song” — Kuch Kuch Hota Hai — Yagnik immediately began to interact with the audience and it was obvious that this time round (she was here last year as well with Abhijeet) she was more at ease, and also had her finger on the pulse of the audience. Her selection was far better and the audience responded well to her invitations to dance, and for every husband “to hold their wife’s hand” during her song.

Songs such as Dekha Tum Ko Jab Se, Toba, Tumare Yeh Ishare, Mujhe Pyar Hua, Pyar Hua and Sansoon Ko Sanson Mein Dhalne Do Zarra had the audience humming with her, while the faster numbers had many in the audience dancing to her tune, as indeed, it had the troupe on the stage.

A remix with some of her popular numbers followed by Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna brought Yagnik’s segment to an end.

Finally, the young Indian idol, Abhas, came on stage, immediately displaying his prowess as a singer by singing in both male and female voices. Although he sang well — in particular his Rahat Fateh Ali rendition was commendable — many, including myself couldn’t stay till the end of his performance, thanks to the late hour.

It is a shame when so much is invested in a programme that more attention is not paid to punctuality, for a timely start could help make an event so much more enjoyable.