By Latoya Newman
THE organizers of this past weekend’s Bollywood concert in Durban have denied trying to dupe the public into attending a semi-ANC mouth-off as opposed to a the promised Pro20 cricket match-cum-Ntini-send-off-cum-Bolly extravaganza.
There has been a mass public outcry following the event with Durbanites seemingly hot under the collar at what they view to have been a politically ambushed show.
Some of the comments that were SMS’d to the Daily News Backchat line, a facility for the paper’s readers to share their views on issues, included:
*Why was the Bollywood show after the Pro20 match used as a political platform on Sunday? My family of four paid a total of R1 800 to listen to politicians making inane speeches! To boot, one politician referred to the main star, Shah Rukh Khan, as Farouk Khan!
*New Age promotions duped 50 000 people who paid enormous money for the Bollywood concert to further their own political ambitions!
*… The two compères were amateurish, almost childish. Not as much dancing and singing as was expected… with Kapoor doing his best to promote a certain political party. With municipal elections around the bend, maybe this was what it was really about.
*The concert after the cricket was shocking, absolute s***. Too much talking. The presenters did not know how to interact with the audience. Not a professional show.
In the Daily News Letters column, Ashnee Jacobs from Phoenix wrote: “… To tag it as a 150 years Indian arrival celebration was an insult… Up to the Pro20 cricket match, the ANC earned the wrath of the crowd when they started dishing out political awards. I could hear the people asking ‘What about Monty Naicker, JN Singh and Mr. A Rajbansi?’… there were preliminaries lasting about one and a half hours, tinged with party politics and the most lackluster Bollywood concert ever… At one stage the MC asked the crowd “are you enjoying the show?”and the crowd responded, “No”…
Tsholo Moraba, Event Media and PR Spokesperson, said the concert was not a political attempt to win votes, adding that “government and not any party” was represented. In response to comments that New Age had duped people to advance a political agenda, he said New Age was the title sponsor for the event, “as part of their commitment to further the sport of Cricket…”.
Responding to comments that there was too much talking, too little music, Moraba said the event was a themed celebration of sport, culture and history between two nations. “The public was made aware of this and it was communicated throughout the night that is what this was about and not just a vain concert of no consequence.”
Here are the questions put to Moraba and his related answers:
Q: What response can you offer people who feel they were duped into attending an event largely aimed at promoting the ANC? Do you feel this is a fair comment on the concert? Was there a need for so many political speeches on the programme?
Moraba: “The inaugural T20 Friendship Cup between South Africa and India forms part of the multinational celebrations celebrating the arrival of Indians to South Africa 150 years ago. Many such commemorations were held during the course of 2010 by various bodies in KwaZulu-Natal. This one, The New Age Friendship Celebration was a celebration through Cricket and Bollywood entertainment.
“The celebration not only looks at the past relations between South Africa and India, but serves as a platform and catalyst to build deeper and wider relations between South Africa and India. In light of this, we see I as a good thing that “government” endorsed the event from a diplomatic perspective by the president of the country, an ‘Arts and Culture’ perspective by Minister of ‘Arts and Culture’.
“By no means was this a political attempt to win votes for any elections on the part of government. It is very important to note that “Government’ was present and represented, and ‘not’ any party.
“From our understanding, in the president’s address he commended the efforts of the organisers and encouraged deeper relations between India and South Africa and the sharing of cultures.
“Therefore, it is not a fair statement at all to call this a political concert, as it was not. As too in the 2010 World Cup Opening was not considered a Party Political affair, but as a State affair.
“Mentions of any party by the ‘Indian First Decedents’ speakers, whom we allowed room to share their experience as Indians in South Africa over the past 150 years, in their own words, are certainly not the views and values of the organisers. As organisers, we did not influence them or have any part in what they wanted to say. They spoke as members of the Indian community and in their own private capacity.”
Q: In your opinion, did people get their money's worth in terms of the money paid for tickets versus the quality of the comperes and the amount of entertainment that was on offer?
Moraba: “The tickets ranged from R100 to R350 for a full day of Cricket and Bollywood entertainment on the same ticket. The entertainment included some of Bollywood’s leading performers: Shahrukh Khan, Anil Kapoor, Malaika Aroura, Priyanka and Shahid Kapoor to name but a few, as well the South African performers: Locnville, Drum Café and First Project. We would call that good value for money.
“The programme was holistic and covered what sports lovers may have wanted to know about their favourite cricket stars and the best Bollywood could offer. Anil Kapoor’s narrations gave context to the celebrations and told the story of two nations coming together to commemorate such an import day for both nations.
“The two compares for the evening, are well-known personalities and presenters in the country, former Miss South Africa, Claudia Henkel and Bollywood and SA TV personality, Tarina Patel. It is unfortunate to think that the audience did not enjoy the service they rendered on the night as they are professionals, and this is part of what they are famous for. We will certainly look into this.”