Show Far Pretty Good

Nearly 15 years after the first of the big shows hit American, English and Canadian suburbia, the trend continues.

Thanks to a dozen or so entertainment companies, Bollywood goes where the diaspora is8212;from Muscat to Brisbane to Birmingham to Durban. And the people behind it say they8217;ve never had it so good.

At their tastefully decorated office in Juhu, Mumbai, the Morani brothers Aly, Karim and Mohomed, with more than 500 shows in their 20-year-old firm Cineyug8217;s kitty, are planning yet another show8212;Temptations 2004.

8216;8216;It will tour 14 cities in the US, Europe and Canada, and feature everyone from Shah Rukh Khan and Rani Mukerji to Arjun Rampal,8217;8217;says 45-year-old Aly, the eldest of the trio.

The Moranis expect the audience to throng the venues as it did with Cineyug8217;s last, the Hrithik Roshan-headed Breathless in April-May this year.

Among the first relatively professional set-ups, the Moranis claim that before their first event with Aamir Khan in London in 1989, 8216;8216;the shows were like an extended orchestra8221;.

What started out as the occasional flashy routine is now a significant component of the event management industry. 8216;8216;International shows account for about 35 per cent of the Rs 550-crore event management industry,8217;8217; says Tanaz Basrur of the National Institute of Event Management, Mumbai.

And they like to term their shows a 8216;service to the nation8217;. 8216;8216;We brand India and popularise Bollywood internationally,8221; claims Sabbas Joseph, 40, director of Wizcraft International Entertainment, which organises several high-profile shows, including the recent International Indian Film Academy Awards in Singapore.

The actors, be they stars like Shah Rukh Khan and Bachchan, or medium-draws like Fardeen Khan and Mahima Chaudhry, have it good, too. There8217;s always a source of income during a lean patch and in between films. According to sources, the money offered for a package tour say, 15 US cities is as much as they would get for a movie. Moreover, most of them supposedly take their families along. And apparently, the bigger stars also time their international publicity assignments to coincide with the tours.

While actors and event managers are both tight-lipped, sources say the tab for a Hrithik Roshan or Shah Rukh Khan is around Rs 2.5 crore. The likes of Aishwarya Rai, Kareena Kapoor and Preity Zinta command about Rs 1.75 crore.

Tickets for these shows range from US 30 to 150, and the turnout is from 4,000 to 17,000, depending on the location of the event.

If it8217;s as high profile as the Morani show in December last year with Bachchan, Shah Rukh, Zinta and Mukerji in Durban, the audience could number 60,000.

Often packaged around themes such as Summer Dreams, Jalwa etc, most shows are based on the season8217;s fads. 8216;8216;Since Main Hoon Na is a hit with multiplexes globally, our Temptations 2004 will feature stars from it,8217;8217; explains Karim, who liaisons with the stars.

Other main draws this season? Kal Ho Na Ho, Murder and Hum Tum.

But some attractions are timeless, according to Basrur. 8216;8216;People go crazy over Shah Rukh8217;s Baazigar even today.8217;8217; Item number pioneer Shilpa Shetty has to jive to Shool8217;s Dilwalon Ke Dil Ka Karar at most shows. 8216;8216;Another favourite everywhere is Aila Re from Jung,8217;8217; says Shetty.

With Bachchan these days, it is mostly the Shava Shava number from Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham. Having an awards function at Mumbai8217;s Bandra Kurla Complex is one thing. Taking a crew of more than 100 and tons of equipment lights, props, sound, music, pyrotechnics to a venue such as Wembley Arena in London is another.

There are glitches galore, be it a logistical lapse such as the 8216;wrong8217; seating position for Bachchan remember Amar Singh8217;s tantrums? at this year8217;s Zee Awards in Dubai, customs delays, or as happened with Guneet Singh aka Bunty Walia, a 9/11.

8216;8216;The 16-hour journey from Atlanta to Houston on 9/11 would have been depressing but for the company of Aamir, Aishwarya and Anil Kapoor,8217;8217; recalls Apurva Shah, director of Fortune Entertainment, who then liasoned with Cineyug and Walia8217;s GS Entertainment.

Stars, especially female actors, have to endure more than male voyeurism. Mahima Chaudhry gets goosebumps when she recalls a US show some years ago where she was almost molested.

8216;8216;While returning to the green room, I saw a couple of men leaping towards me,8217;8217; recounts Chaudhry, 8216;8216;One fellow menacingly grabbed my hand. I freed myself immediately, but got scratches all over my arms.8217;8217;

But despite security lapses and hectic touring, the money keeps Bollywood8217;s finest extremely committed.

Fardeen Khan was injured while rehearsing for a show, but still danced on one leg at a US show.

Walia, a childhood friend of Salman Khan, who tried modelling in the 1990s before forming GS with Sohail Khan in 1995 they separated in August last year, says, 8216;8216;It8217;s a fast growing industry. We only have to look ahead.8217;8217;

Basrur is looking at international shows garnering a 50 per cent share of the event management industry within the next few years.

Plus, like all smart entrepreneurs, these show people have also hit upon an alternate, if occasional, revenue stream. Cineyug scripted and directed the entertainment part of the much hyped Mittal wedding in Paris, while Walia8217;s GS organised the entertainment at diamond king and film financier Bharat Shah8217;s nephew8217;s marriage in Belgium in 2002.

The show goes on.