Eastward Ho

“Music transcends all barriers and I had no problems learning the Chinese song that talks about peace and harmony. The diplomatic relations between the two countries may not be great,but people love Raj Kapoor there and even a cabbie has Aawara Hoon on his music player,” says Tripathi.

Ctang met Tripathi almost two years back when the Indian Idol 2 contestant was visiting there for a show. “He was in the audience and came backstage to say that he loved my voice and wanted me to perform at a Countdown to the Asian Games show,” says Tripathi. What he didn’t know was that the Countdown show,which took place last year,would also include actor Jackie Chan at the Guangzhou stadium.

It’s a moment etched in Tripathi’s memory,“It was nothing like I had ever experienced before. There were more than 50,000 people. And I was sharing the stage with none other than Jackie Chan,” says Tripathi.

For the closing,he will be accompanied by Jammu-based singer Tanya Gupta for female parts of Jai Ho. “ Jai Ho is recognised globally and people love it everywhere. We’re waiting for the crowd to shout and sing through the lyrics with us,” says Gupta. Both singers have trained under Suresh Wadekar,a singer based in Mumbai.

Meanwhile,Tripathi has a couple of untitled film projects in the pipeline. After Guangzhou,he might just strike gold too.