Location: carl sagan's universe
Posted on: 14-10-09 21:44:05
Ramlila was good. So was Stereo Nation, Janice Miller, Mahalakshmi Iyer, Anuradha Paudwal and her daughter Kavita. Stereo Nation was damn good. Hearththrobs was good too.
But as many said, Sunidhi Chauhan was a no-show (not known beforehand). and Ehsaan Loy Shankar were also no shows but that was known before hand.
Zakir Hussain and Jay Sean were also mentioned as artists, but they were dropped as well.
All considered though I enjoyed myself!
The auditorium was 'khaali' though, so to speak.
Yeah stalls were few, some weren't even manned.- not 200.
The vibes were good though!
Always concentrate on the positive I say.I hope there are more such activities in the future and better organized. Always teething problems at the outset.
Location: carl sagan's universe
Posted on: 15-10-09 07:08:51
also nobody mentioned this but A-slam also did a number and gave out free CDs much appreciated by the party animals who danced non stop later to Stereo Nation.
Heartthrobs did a tribute to Patrick Swayze and Michael Jackson which was kinda cool.
They did a stint from Dirty Dancing
but the performance was more of a clean dance than a dirty dance.No hot body entwining!
The crotch grabbing moves by the guy who paid tribute to MJ was also "cleaner" than the original. Also his moves were not a patch on MJ's.But the whole idea was cool.
There was mention in the media that the production cost a million dollars. In another news item- the number was close to 2 million dollars. Personally I think that is balderdash.Also the post-release claims hundreds of booths- which even if you add the Roger's centre booths is hogwash.
It also claims that there were 50,000 people.All of Rogers Centre holds max of 60,000(acc to press reports there were 62,000 at the recent U2 concert), and seeing as how the auditorium was only say 1/4 full or max 1/3- that again is a tall claim.Even if you take the number of people who went on Friday and maybe were there all night, I think that number is a big stretch.Also since the number 50,000 is in the same press release claimimg there were hundreds of booths and those who were there know there weren't- then no credence can be given to the claim of 50,000 attendance.
Even at 50,000 attendance the take would not have been enough to cover the 2 million dollars that the show supposedly cost. So we have a very benevolent benefactor in Harpreet Sethi- spent over a million dollars to give Toronto a taste of Diwali and to give the hearththrobs a chance to play in front of such a large audience. Those who were there will know that many of the artists claimed they had never performed in front of such a big audience.
Not to forget the comedian Rajiv Nigam- kya chaand hai!
But like I said before- 50,000 or less there has never been such a large congregation of people at Diwali and for the first time in many years I really felt Diwali had finally come to the mighty TO.
Here's to more such better organized festivals. Personally I don't think that the organizers deliberately wanted to give 'Dhoka' to the public.It was the first such festival and there were glitches.
Even Luminato with 3 years behind them experiences many difficulties. This year their much touted Cirque de soleil deal was a big letdown.So were many other portions.
And what about the recent claim at TIFF that Neil Young was to perform for free? And then he didn't show up! Did TIFF pull a Desi?
The big Desi that was pulled even more recently than that was the Lady Gaga and Kanye West team up announced by Live Nation. Concert dates were announced and all then whammo- deal was off!Will Live Nation lose their credibility because of that? I doubt it.
Also because Amitabh Bachchan and his UNAFFORDABLE tour could not fill up Rogers Centre and also cancelled his Vancouver show, does that mean Amitabh has hit the skids?
I am sure Harpreet will do better next time.
Just in case any of you think I had anything to do with Mahautsav I did not- nor is Harpreet any 'khaas' pal of mine, nor is Ajaay Modi nor Roger Nair but may God bless them for what they have done and better luck and organization next time around!
Ajaay Modi is known for having brought in "Singh is King" and the Tarun Tahilani fashion show(fiasco) and he had in the past tried to bring in Ramlila but things didn't pan out.This time around he pulled it off.
Roger Nair is known for bringing in "Guru" and Abhi and Ash for the premier. He also holds TIFF parties.
Did anybody see the flick "Quick gun, Murugun" on Friday at Mahautsav
Quote:
Originally posted by investpro
Ramlila was good. So was Stereo Nation, Janice Miller, Mahalakshmi Iyer, Anuradha Paudwal and her daughter Kavita. Stereo Nation was damn good. Hearththrobs was good too.
But as many said, Sunidhi Chauhan was a no-show (not known beforehand). and Ehsaan Loy Shankar were also no shows but that was known before hand.
Zakir Hussain and Jay Sean were also mentioned as artists, but they were dropped as well.
All considered though I enjoyed myself!
The auditorium was 'khaali' though, so to speak.
Yeah stalls were few, some weren't even manned.- not 200.
The vibes were good though!
Always concentrate on the positive I say.I hope there are more such activities in the future and better organized. Always teething problems at the outset.
I agree with you. We were there both days and Stereo nation was really good. Infact 'Heartthrobs' were also simply amazing. What a class choreography by Javaid esp. the 'Jai Ho' number and the other one performed by Tina in Red Clothes. Me and my family enjoyed a lott!
Though the auditorium looked empty but I think people were in and out like many were there only for their favourite part e.g. garba or bhajans or ramlila etc. Harpreet Sethi and his team has definitely done a good job despite few problems. Infact there is an 'Apology Video' by Sunidhi Chauhan posted on mahautsav.com. Even if somebody bought a ticket for $5 and they were there on Oct. 10 evening, they got a chance to see Rogers Centre, performance by Heartthrobs, stereo nation, Rajeev Nigam......JUST IN $5.....Wow!!!What a deal!!! Abhi 5 dollar mein kya bache ki jaan loge??
There has never been such a big show in the history of Canada in terms of duration....30 hours. Organizing....even thinking and planning on such a grand level is not a joke. I don't know if the organizers lost money in this whole show or made money or reached the break even but I think we must thank Harpreet Sethi for his efforts and extend our moral support at least. I don't think any other community in Canada has ever shown that kind of courage (financially, mentally and physically) to book Rogers Centre for 30 Hours. Don't you think that gives us another reason to talk about the great presence of South Asians in Canada and our contribution to Canadian Economy? I think so. Look at the positive side guys.
Overall I would rate the show 'good' because me, my wife and kids enjoyed a lot.
Ek sher arz hai ki:
Akela hasne wala sadaa joker nahin hota
Loud bolne wala sada hawker nahin hota
'Maza' lene wala kahin bhi, kabhi bhi maza leta hai
Kyonki 'Maza' kisi ke baap ka naukar nahin hota.........
say 'wah...wah...'
PS: I have no direct/indirect realation with Harpreet Sethi and his team. Infact I saw him on the stage for the first time in my life
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And India media is saying - big show, big HIt etc. etc
What a joke !
Where are 50, 000 people in stadium ?
Those of you who are praising this fiasco are pretty much fools.
I bought my tickets @ $25 each for 5 people exclusively for Shankar Ehasaan Loy and Sunidhi Chauhan. Those were the only real headliners. The rest was just fluff. The secondary headliner Mahalakshmi Iyer only performed two songs after 5 hour delay. I gave up around 11:00 pm and left.
The show was completely amateurish. There was no telling what will be coming next. Just who gives a crap about some gori singing in Punjabi.
Why did they brought out Mahalakshmi only for two songs and then never brought her back until 11:00 pm.
As for this so called heartthrobs crap, who gives a damn about these people. They are a dime a dozen. If you want to see dancing and hot bodies go to a strip club and you can see all the dancing for the price of a beer.
But artists like Sunidhi and SEL are the real talent who only happen rarely. And those were the artists who were missing from the show. And there was no effort to inform the public about it. Which leads me to believe that there was an intent to mislead the public.
I intend to sue these organizers (or more appropriately disorganizers) in small claims court. If anyone wants to join me, please feel free. Post here if you are interested and I will provide my email address for contact.
I would like these people to understand that you can not advertise big names to sell tickets and then put crappy unknowns on the stage. Thats false advertising and its illegal in Canada.
Location: carl sagan's universe
Posted on: 16-10-09 04:40:00
http://www.southasianfocus.ca/community/article/78347
http://www.thestar.com/searchresults?AssetType=image&stype=genSearch&q=longest%20show%20on%20earth&r=all:1
Agreed with everything that was said before.
IMO this event was very poorly executed.
I am sick of these people who call themselves event organizers and try to do something like this that is waaay beyond their abilities. Just because someone has the money to pour down the drain does not mean the event will be a success.
Mahotsav was a fart... just like the gerrard st festival is every year in august. They have the crappiest entertainment in town (read cheap) because all the shopkeepers eatup the sponsorship money from TD and get second grade artists to perform.
Know this, there are professional artists, event planners and sound and light crew in toronto (yes...desi people). All you have to do is PAY THEM TO DO A GOOD JOB. and not cut corners coz ooh, he is my buddy and her and i go a long way back.
The desi community should be ashamed of putting up substandard events like this and should really hire proper professionals to do the job right.
