Bollywood stars thrill thousands at National Stadium

The melodious voices of renowned Bollywood singers, Alka Yagnik and Udit Narayan boomed through the speakers of the Fusion Sound Systems on Sunday evening at the Guyana National Stadium, captivating the hearts of thousands who were present.
The spectacular performances by the duo undoubtedly left the young hearts ticking and made the older folks feel as they were in love all over again. It was indeed a magical night with five hours of non-stop entertainment from the melody queen and the king of filmi music. The show started on time with Dr Vindhya Persaud welcoming all to the event, promising that it would be a night of pure magic and entertainment.

The Member of Parliament also reiterated that the event was hosted to commemorate the 175th anniversary of East Indian arrival in Guyana, while expressing wishes to the thousands who flocked the parking lot of the Guyana National Stadium to be a part of the electrifying event.
Dr Persaud introduced Derek Alexander and his musical band that travelled with the two artistes to perform in Guyana for the first time. Alexander stunned the audience when he belted out a few hit songs that set the mood for a wonderful evening of breathtaking music from yesteryear to present. After five minutes serenading the crowd, the beautiful Alka Yagnik was introduced to perform her first segment.
The melody queen started to sing “Kuch Kuch Hota Hai” from backstage before she actually made her appearance on stage. After a few lines into the song, the Bollywood playback singer made her grand appearance to load roars, claps and screams.
From there on, the melody queen erupted like a volcano as she performed several other hits, from some of the most popular Indian movies which she thought were most liked in this part of the hemisphere.
She was accompanied by members of the Sabha’s Dharmic Nritya Sangh, who performed gracefully.
Enter Udit Narayan
Within minutes after Alka Yagnik left the stage, the king of filmi music was introduced. Following the approach of Yagnik, he as well started to sing the title song of the movie “Tere Naam” from backstage. His manly and melodious voice sent the crowd into a silent mode, but they erupted when he appeared on stage.
After dishing out the first tune, he took time out to congratulate Guyana on its 175th anniversary of East Indian arrival in Guyana. He also acknowledged the presence of President Donald Ramotar.
From then on, he preformed tunes after tunes which were not enough for the audience.
After Udit Narayan and a performance by Alexander, Alka Yagnik took to the stage once again.
This time, she chose to mix her selection with some fast ones that had the audience clapping and dancing in their seats. Those who were standing were definitely having a grand time, especially the members of the Guyana Hindu Dharmic Sabha, who are well known for their dance moves.
After a while, Yagnik was joined by Narayan and the duo had the audience rocking.
They then went on to perform a popular song from “Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak” and tunes from other popular films including “Duplicate”; “Kaho Na Pyar Hai” and “Lagaan” among others. The magnificent night came to an end with Udit Narayan singing “Radha On The Dance Floor”, the hit number from the movie “Student of the Year”.
They thanked their fans for coming out in their numbers to be part of the occasion; one that will leave an embedded mark on their minds for a long time.  In attendance were former President Bharrat Jagdeo, government ministers, other senior government officials and members of the diplomatic corps.
The event was made possible through the support of a number of entities including Digicel, ICEE, NTN, E-Networks, Digicom, Rent-a-tent, Princess Hotel and Lens.
The event was planned by the Guyana Hindu Dharmic Sabha, in commemoration of the 175th anniversary of Indian Arrival in Guyana. All proceeds from the concert will be used toward the construction of the Sabha’s Children’s Shelter “BalNivas” in Ankerville, Berbice.