Fizz goes phut!

It was slotted to be the big lead-up to the World Cup. But when the Pepsi MTV World Cup Concert got underway at the Sports Ground of the University of Pune on the evening of April 20, all one could say was, “Thank God, Usha Uthup came in right at the end!” It made the whole thing bearable!The dust flew thick and fast as Kamaal Khan, Rajeshwari, Anaida and the Graaf Sisters got into their act – one liberally interspersed with “I love you, Pune,” “Yeh Dil Maange More” and “MTV Enjoy.” Even the Graaf sisters joined in with something that sounded foreign but actually turned out to be “India achha hain”.When Khan, in shimmering black jacket and black jeans, tried to woo the crowd with his Kya Khayal Hain Bol,” but he didn’t get far. He was driven to say, in his heavily accented English, “I haven’t come all the way from London to sing alone!” But all was not that bleak for him. When he got down to Hindustani and O O Jaane Jaana, he managed to whip up some enthusiasm, even a little patriotic fervour. One suggestion to him, though, if you must lip-sync, why not pretend a little harder? During Hindustani, with five men on stage, people were a little perplexed to hear a disembodied female voice singing along.

Then there were the Graaf sisters… let’s say that if their performance was a sample from their album he Graaf Sisters, it wouldn’t be on your list of music must-haves. These bosomy models-turned-singer sisters from Sweden were short on talent, short on lyrics and short on dress. Their songs had been pre-recorded with very short intervals so that they had barely drawn breath after one song before having to launch into the next!

So she does have an 18-inch waist, but does she have to sing about it? Anaida, wearing a shiny silver coat over black trousers a la Lauryn Hill, sang short snatches of Hindi film songs from Main Cheez Badi Hoon to Tujhe Dekha To, interspersed with songs from her own albums – Oonchi Neechi, Oova Oova and short high-pitched `oohs.’ But the lady can dance – a short athletic dance interlude took the audience by surprise.

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“Oorey Baba!” said the lady from Calcutta. In her trademark purple and gold sari, gajra in place, armful of bangles and enormous bindi, Usha Uthup really had the crowd going with a range of songs – from her version of Ricky Martin’s Maria, (Un Dos Tres, Ek Don Teen, Ik Dui Teen) and Ramba Ho to the earthy Kasa Kai Patil. Even a policeman on duty, Ramesh Jogdande, said, “I liked this lady the best – I understood what she was singing.” She sang Junoon’s Sayonee for Indo-Pak friendship but quipped, “We’ll still win the Cup.” Talking of the World Cup – it was there on display, unveiled to a spectacular display of laser lights.

All in all, a show that had most say: “Yeh Dil Maange No More”.