PSYCHEDELIC lights bathe Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, New Delhi, even as the much-hyped “Show of the Roshans” gets underway. Then, out of the blue, as it were, the lights in the stadium are switched off, as a compere asks, “Are you ready for the Roshans?”
Enter HRITHIK clad in skintight golden trousers and a sleeveless T-shirt, whipping up a frenzy, with lines as these, “New Delhi’s the heart of India. That’s why I’m here, to win your hearts. Will you give it to me, pleeeeease?”
The 70,000 odd audience seems to scream “Yes” in unison, prompting a pleased Hrithik to go into humour mode. “I’ve been nervous as hell, waiting for the show to go on. But when someone asked me if I were nervous, I said ‘no.’ ‘What in hell are you doing in the ladies’ loo, then?,” she asked me. Honestly, I hadn’t realised where I was.”
The show, put up as a celebration to mark the 50th year of the Roshan clan in films, was rather drab and dreary for the most part, till Hrithik set the stage on fire. No, he didn’t turn up on a motorbike as some promised us he would. And neither did he zoom in, with brand new wife Suzanne in tow, in a sports car. But turn up he did, thank God...
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Basharat Peer in New Delhi
Hrithik Roshan proved what star power means at the Roshans' Show at Jawaharlal Nehru stadium, New Delhi, on Friday.
Around 40,000 people watched the dancing sensation perform live sequences of his superhit songs from Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai, Mission Kashmir and Fiza.
Clouds of artificial smoke lent a misty haze to the sets. And the audience went hysterical when a masked Hrithik made a dramatic entrance in a shiny attire.
After a martial dance sequence, the star threw off his mask towards the audience. With arms wide open, shouted his first words, "Mere watan, mere watan." As his voice reverberated over the frenzied gathering, a tricolour slid over the show's banner, which formed the stage's backdrop.
Soon after, he moved all over the jam packed stadium in a trolley attached to a crane, waving to the crowd struggling for a closer glimpse of their heartthrob.
The trolley landed Hrithik on stage. Attired in a silver salwarand sleeveless vest, he danced to the tune of Rind poshmal gindne drai lo lo, from Mission Kashmir, in which he played the role of a Kashmiri militant. The header of the song has been borrowed from a Kashmiri folk song.
Panting after a vigorous dance sequence, he gulped some orange juice and then shared a light moment with the crowd: "Backstage, when I was biting my nails nervously, compere Archana Puran Singh asked me why I was nervous. When I denied it, she asked me why I was in the ladies toilet!''
He called Delhi "Hindustan ka dil" and declared that he was there to win the heart of Hindustan -- Delhi. The crowd's applause was proof enough that he had.
He went on to perform more numbers from Mission Kashmir with Namrata Shirodkar and Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai heroine Amisha Patel.
He ended with Dil ne dil ko pukara, again from Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai, with Patel and Shirodkar.
Alka Yagnik, Udit Narayan, Babul Supriyo and Mohd Aziz rendered songs composed by Hritik's uncle, music composer Rajesh Roshan, in-between his performances.
Rajesh directed the orchestra, while Hrithik's wife Suzanne Khan sat in the front row, with the audience.
The show, which was to be held on February 3, was postponed for 'security reasons'. Friday's show saw unprecedented security arrangements, supervised by P Kamraj, deputy police commissioner, south district.
Rakesh Roshan, Hrithik's film director father, told rediff.com, "I am very happy with the security arrangements and the response we got from the people."
The show also saw the auction of a Maruti Wagon R, the money from will be donated to the Gujarat earthquake victims. A documentary highlighting the plight of the quake victims, Remains of a Republic Day by Ramesh Kalwani was also screened at the show.
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Behind Hrithik’s dancing shoes…Is a Woman!
Post-toddling Hrithik danced for the first time in Delhi for his grandmother,'' reveals Rakesh Roshan.
Yes, it's true. The woman who put on the dancing shoes for the nations heart-throb and the latest dancing sensaition is none other than Hrithik's grandmother, Ira Moitro Roshan.
Rakesh Roshan also said that it was Ira who taught Hrithik the finer nuances of being a fleetfooted entertainer, and how to lift people to dizzy heights of excitement.
An otherwise shy kid, Ira coaxed Hrithik to break the shackles of hesitation. Her persistent motivation turned him into an asset to the Indian film industry.
In fact, the coy Hrithik would not step out to dance for anyone but his grandmother. Today, coyness and Hrithik are poles apart. He dances for millions.
The nation saw the dancing prowess of the star for the first time in his debut film, Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai, directed by father Rakesh Roshan.
The Roshans were residents of the Rajendra Nagar area of West Delhi before they shifted to Bombay. And Hrithik will now exhibit his art in the capital, where he picked up the basics of dancing. Sixty thousand-odd Delhiites will witness the magic that is Hrithik Roshan at the Jawaharlal Nehru stadium on Friday, February 23.
This will be Hrithik's last show for the next two years. ''He has no dates available for public performances because of his commitments with film producers,'' Rakesh Roshan said.
Asked why Hrithik agreed to perform in the capital despite the postponement of the 'Hrithik -- Live In The Roshan Show' show for 20 days, Rakesh Roshan said that Hrithik was already committed to perform at the show and there was no question of reneging on the promise.
All preparations for the show have been completed and elaborate security arrangements made to ensure that the event is smooth, in view of the growing threats of the underworld against the Roshan family. Rakesh Roshan had already been attacked in Bombay once for not acceeding to the extortionist demands of the underworld mafia.
The deputy Commissioner of Police (South), P Kamaraj said, ''We have made elaborate arrangements for the show keeping in mind the threat perception against Hrithik. Some restrictions have been imposed on the organisers to manage the show smoothly.''
One of the restrictions is to limit the total number of spectators to 60,000 -- about 40,000 less than what the organisers had wished.
Commenting on this, Rakesh Roshan said the capacity of the venue is much less compared to the stadium in Calcutta which accommodated around 1.2 lakh people. For security reasons, the police have directed the organisers to keep the number within manageable limits.
The show, organised by Show Blitz (India) Pvt. Ltd and Fusion Coliseum LLC, and manged by Pinnacle Events and Exhibitions Pvt Ltd, was postponed to February 23 after the Delhi police refused permission for February 3 due to inadequate security.
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The Roshans’ Show
Roshan hoyi saadi dilli with the brightness of the stars who landed here on the 23rd of Feb! Amisha Patel, Namrata shirodkar, Alka Yagnik , Udit Narayan, Babul Supriyo , Archana Puran singh , Rajesh Roshan, Rakesh Roshan…all of them shone brightly in Delhi…but there was someone outshone them all with his radience…the guy who broke a million hearts recently with his kudmaee but won most of them back immediately with his shy innocent smile…yup! People saada Hrithik! Never has a human made so many dilliwalas behave like lunatics… screaming shouting…jumping…heaving…A normal reaction of his smile and wave!
The day decided for the rendeezvous, prepartions were made, the tickets were sold excitement filled the air…phut! went everything with Delhi police announcing it wasn’t ready to handle the hysteria…"security problems" they told the media. You could see long faces for days after that…but cheer came back soon with a the announcement that Hrithik would keep his date with Delhi…23rd Feb was the next decided date.
6:30 the gates would be closed we were informed….Preeto , I and Phenji were at the gate at 6:25 (btw both the women broke their records of reaching late!). The show was to start at 7:00 but the organisers decided to stick to their Indian standard time and started at 8:30! Arcahna Pooransingh the MC (master of ceremony) introduced the senior most Roshan (Rajesh Roshan). The orchestra played "Jo vaada kiya hai.."(an old number sung by Mohammad Azeez, for the info of those of you who don’t know). Then came Rakesh Roshan and finally entered the man of the day…the sky lit up with fireworks and the earth benath…was fiiled with hysteria! Bhape! I in my whole life have never seen such madness about anybody!
His first performance was almost like a replay of the stage show in KNPH…an entry with the mask…the same mind blowing dancing…the same applause (uh! Well okay that is a mild word for the reaction)…the only difference was perhaps that this, unlike the song in the movie was live! The show went on with Hrithik's dancing on all KNPH numbers and few other popular ones from Fiza and Mission Kashmir , with regular fillers from the other stars.
Amisha danced to the tunes of "Jaaneman…Jaaneman..", Babul Supriyo made the crowd swing to Julie..and then there were performances by Namrata Shirodkar , Alka Yagnik and Udit Narayan. Amisha and Hrithik recreated the magic of the title song of their debut movie crooning "kaho na pyaar hai" to each other. At the end of the song was a little surprise for the crowd…the two threw out red stuffed toy hearts at the ecstatic crowd.
Apart from the Green Eyed Adonis the most amazing thing about the show were the pyrotechnics and the fireworks! Believe me people…the effect created on the stage and above it was enchanting…absolute magic!
The Roshan women accompanied the men of the family but did not show up on stage. Inspite of a lot of hooting …especially for the nayee dulhan Sussane!
Oye! I forgot to mention this…all the proceeds of the show were to be sent in for the Gujarat releif fund. A documentary was shown on the eartquake…and a Wagon R autographed by Roshan junior was auctioned (for Gujrat relief fund again) which was bought by for a whooping 12 lakhs!
And as all good things come to an end so did Dilli's date with the "Roshan" Star but with a lot if pomp…bumb patkhas I mean (crackers).