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Bollywood Rocks Hollywood
Bollywood Night with AR Rahman at the prestigious outdoor Hollywood Bowl, summer home of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, presented the world acclaimed Indian icon to an ecstatic audience of 18,000 fans.
LOS ANGELES (PRWEB) July 19, 2006 -- The prestigious outdoor Hollywood Bowl, summer home of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, presented the world acclaimed Indian icon Allah Rakha Rahman to an ecstatic audience of 18,000 fans. The audience was made up of 70% Americans and 30% South Asians. The show, titled ‘Bollywood Night with AR Rahman’, was organized by KCRW World Festival and sold out days ahead of the event.
The physical presence of maestro AR Rahman, an innovative orchestra, distinguished singers, Bhangra dancers, Bollywood movie clips, juxtaposed with guest artistes, exploring dance and musical styles, was a powerful, visceral experience, and one to be cherished for years to come. The program was hosted by Tom Schnabel, Program Director of World Music. Although Indian artists have been featured in the past, this was the Hollywood Bowl's first night completely dedicated to the music and culture of India.
Sheeraz Hasan founder of www.Hollywood.tv was present at the show with his friends from Warner Bros, Fox, and Universal Studios who were so impressed with the performances that they discussed how great it would be if a touch of Bollywood was present at the 2007 Oscars.
Sheeraz said that the American audience was completely blown away by the show; they had never seen anything like it. Many Americans came dressed in Indian outfits and danced enthusiastically. People were saying ‘move over Britney Spears and J-Lo, Bollywood Rocks!’. The most popular song of the evening was ‘Chaiyya Chaiyya’ performed by Sukhwinder Singh. Images of the movie with Shahrukh Khan were projected onto giant screens, and the crowds erupted.
Rahman opened the show by telling the audience, “When I left Chennai for London several years ago to work on the musical ‘Bombay Dreams,’ everyone congratulated me for going to Hollywood. I tried to explain that I was going to London, not Hollywood, but they didn’t understand. So those people who misinterpreted London for Hollywood, would be very happy to see me here today.”
The Rahman extravaganza with its arsenal of instruments, synthesisers, guitars, dholaks, keyboards and inspired singing transcended musical boundaries and featured Sukhwinder Singh, Hariharan, Sadhana Sargam, Madhushree, Musafir and Anisha Nagarajan, star of the hit musical Bombay Dreams.
“Popular entertainers including Cher, Frank Sinatra, the Beatles, Pink Floyd, Judy Garland and Jimi Hendrix have all performed at the Hollywood Bowl in the past, and it was truly a historic night as Bollywood came to Hollywood in great style,” said Sheeraz.
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