Star Bollywood singer Sukhwinder Singh takes Kuwait by storm
Report & Pics: Wilson Saldanha Shirthady/Kuwait
Daijiworld Media Network - Kuwait
Kuwait, May 11: It was a feast to Bollywood lovers in Kuwait. After the show of Baadshah of Bollywood Mika Singh by Creative Indians Association in April, within a month superstar singer Sukhwinder Singh charmed music fans at the same venue. The show was organized by Apna Bharat Society Kuwait and Eternity Int’l Travels and Tourism at the Abbas Al-Ostad Hall located in the Al-Arabi Stadium, Mansouriya on Friday May 10 from 7.30 pm onwards and supported by Creative Indians Association.
Sukhwinder Singh is one of the most popular singers of India, with admirers all over the world. His popularity reached greater heights with his song ‘Jai Ho!’ (composed by A R Rahman for ‘Slumdog Millionaire),’ which won the Academy (Oscar) Award for the ‘Best Original Song’ and a Grammy Award for the ‘Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or other Visual Media’ in 2010.
The programme started with national anthem of Kuwait and India followed by an introduction video of NGO “Apnalaya” in India. The organizer of the event informed that the proceeds of the show will be to support Apnalaya. The NGO was founded in 1973 to help children living in slums towards a better life. It strives to achieve this through urban community development projects in Mumbai. Apnalaya's programmes are carried out by over 60 trained and dedicated community based staff, who work hand-in-hand with 7 professional social workers and 3 doctors, under the guidance of the CEO, Dhun Davar. Apnalaya is a member of Credibility Alliance, and adheres to the desirable norms for good governance of voluntary organizations.
Akash Panwar, the president of Apna Bharat Society Kuwait and Shareef Rangrej of Eternity Int’l Travels at and Tourism honored the sponsors and supporters with bouquets and mementoes. After an introduction from the comperes of the evening Merwin Pereira and Nita Bhatkar, foot-tapping group dances were performed by Kuwait’s well known ‘The Dancing Divas’.
A souvenir was released by Bawa Sahani, Japdeep Sahani, Nuna Goel and Nael Mouser in presence of Akash Panwar and Shareef Rangrej. Nuna Goel and Bawa Sahani spoke few words wishing the organizers and show. Lucky prizes on entry ticket were given by event partners Al Mulla Exchange and Zain. Zain also introduced a special promotion to Indian community which includes monthly free international calls and sms to India.
Bollywood singer Manoj Mishra started the concert with old and new hits such as ‘Darde Dil’, ‘Tere Mast mast do Nain’, ‘Bachna Ye Hasino’ etc which were enjoyed by the audience. Sudekshana Dixit entertained audience with Hindi solos such as ‘Tujme Rab dikta hai’, ‘Pyar Karnewale’ originally sung by Asha Bosle, ‘wada raha pyar se pyar ka’, ‘Pehla Nasha’ etc. Jasleen Matharu rocked the stage with her tremendous performance of fast tracks such as ‘Sheela’, ‘You are mind blowing Mahiya’ etc. She also sung some duets with Manoj Mishra. Jasleen Matharu is a singer, actor, performer and a trained Bharata Natyam dancer. She is also adept in Hip-Hop, Salsa, Belly Dancing and Bollywood Jhatkas and is a brown belt in kickboxing.
After a long wait the crowd cheered with joy when Sukhwinder Sing made his entry with the song ‘Marjani’. He entertained the audience with his super hit songs such as ‘Banjara’, 'Chaiya Chaiya', 'Hole Hole Ho Jaata Hai Pyaar', 'Beedi Jalailay' etc. He also sang some duets with Jasleen. Responding to the huge applause from the audience, he got down from the stage and went to meet the fans at the end of the hall. He welcomed some of the fans and kids from the audience to the stage to perform with him. The ending came with his super hit song 'Jai Ho' from the Hollywood movie 'Slumdog Millionaire'. The background vocals were given by Kuwait’s up-and-coming singers Jaya Dhiraj, Sumita Nayar, Riva Varghese, Aleen Rehan, Mohammed Saleh, Vineeth Joseph and Kabir Ahmed.
Born in Punjab in 1971, Sukhwinder Singh started singing professionally as a child, and then took a break during the mid-1990s to travel the world, exposing himself to various musical styles. Upon his return to the music industry, Sukhwinder Singh paired with A R Rahman to record “Chaiyya Chaiyya.” He quickly became a household name in India, with hit songs for movies like “Taal,” “Om Shanti Om,” “Dabangg” and “Housefull 2.” But it was the song “Jai Ho!” that introduced Sukhwinder Singh to a large international audience. The song, written by A.R. Rahman, was used in the 2008 movie “Slumdog Millionaire”. The song won an Academy Award and a Grammy Award.
The event was sponsored by Zain Telecom, Al Mullah Exchange, AL Mutawa and Sahni Co., City Bus Group, Nuna Counselling, AL Zayani Group –Jaguar, OSN – HD Entertainment, WWICS, Honest Canter, 3 Horses, AL Yasra Group, AL Mailem Group, Jet Airways, Crowne Plaza and German Printing Press.
Apna Bharat Society – Kuwait (ABS-Kuwait) is a non-political, non profitable and non commercial organization established in the year 2010 by a group of professionals with purpose to serve community in Kuwait and India. Its mission is to develop and help community with a message of humanity and hardworking to build a strong nation and peaceful and prosperous world.