India By Night

How do you package India for a vibrant display of its entertainment,without leaving out its cultural offerings,its indigenous sights,sounds and diverse foods as well as its nightlife? DJ and television celebrity Nikhil Chinappa has his job cut out,as within the next eight-weeks,he will compile a series of performances,sounds and gastronomic ideas,for a novel nightlife exchange programme. “It is a daunting task and I do not know where to start,” he admits,somewhat anxiously. “Night clubs are not the only component that contribute to a city’s night life. I will be looking to put together the best ideas that represent our culture on a global platform,” continues Chinappa,who is the India curator for the Smirnoff Nightlife Exchange Project.

As part of this project,14 countries that include USA,Great Britain,Argentina,Australia,Brazil,Canada,Germany,Ireland,Lebanon,Poland,Thailand,South Africa,Thailand and Venezuela,will participate in a global competition to see who best represents their country’s nightlife. The various ideas will be curated by a nightlife expert from the respective countries. After that,the ‘ideas’ (musicians,food,video installations) will be physically transported to a chosen venue of the host country,on November 27. “I am a big fan of Broadway style musicals,its grandeur and production standards. I want to duplicate that same spirit in the Indian performance. For the five minute presentation I am thinking of including Bollywood style weddings celebrations,the kind we see in Karan Johar films. This will blend seamlessly with other cultural elements from our society,” muses Chinappa.

Each country will swap the night life experiences with a partner nation,thereby creating a culture and tourism campaign of sorts for the home country. “We do not know our partner country yet. It will be revealed to us shortly before the November 27 deadline. What I am hoping to achieve is an advertising snapshot of what India is all about. I want the audience to want to visit the country if he is a foreigner,and feel proud of his roots if he is an expatriate Indian,” says Chinappa,who also hosts India’s Got Talent and will be hoping to rope in a few cultural performers in the ‘exchange programme’. “I am hoping to use video projections and audio mediums for the project. I plan to depict the Pushkar festival on 3D projections,” he says.