Bachchans to shine in 2008 Bollywood world tour

NEW YORK: The Bachchans, Bollywood's new power family, are putting their weight behind The Unforgettable Tour, a series of stage shows next year in 18 cities across the world that will feature the star family as well as other top actors.

The three Bachchans, while speaking at a press conference in Manhattan on Saturday,
promised that the show's content, production values and technology used would match the best anywhere while they take the magic of Indian cinema to the world stage.

Making the series of shows an unforgettable experience for the audiences will also be the fact that both Abhishek and Aishwarya will make their stage debut as a couple.

The trio will be accompanied by film stars Akshay Kumar, Lara Dutta, Bipasha Basu, Riteish Deshmukh and choreographer Shiamak Davar.

The ambitious travelling show will be produced by Wizcraft International Entertainment, a Mumbai-based event management firm.

"The Unforgettable tour is Mr. Bachchan's idea," said Wizcraft director Viraf Sarkari. 

The Big B said he was going on stage after a long gap and has fond memories of appreciative audiences in his earlier tours. "At my age I am apprehensive, but the younger generation wants to outdo what we did, so I have agreed to shake a leg with them," he said.

Illustrating the sea change in the image of Indian cinema abroad, he said: "The first time we approached Madison Square Garden in New York to do a show, they did not grant us an audience for six months." Now, all 'Unforgettable' venues will be mainstream, he said.

"The earlier cynicism about Indian cinema is gone. It is now an accepted form of entertainment." Indian films are buoyed by everything Indian - food, culture or dress - becoming high profile in the world, he pointed out.   

"I look forward to experience the magic created by Pa (Amitabh Bachchan) at his stage shows earlier, which I have heard so much about," said Aishwarya, who was dressed in a grey shirt and trousers.

The tour will be in two phases: July-August 2008, and November-December 2008 and it will kick off from Toronto. The cities include New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington, London, Birmingham, Cologne, Sydney, Melbourne, Singapore, Dubai and Cairo.

The Unforgettable Tour promises to showcase the most memorable moments from Indian cinema combined with a hit parade of performances by the most celebrated Bollywood stars.  

Mentioning that he was acting in Mira Nair's "Shantaram" and Rituparno Ghosh's English offering "The Last Lear" - premiering next month at the Toronto film festival - Amitabh said he foresees many more crossover films with Indian actors.

"The isolation of Indian cinema in the world is disappearing," he remarked.

However, the reverse traffic can be detrimental to us, Amitabh cautioned. "Hollywood, which has power and strength, has destroyed local film industry in Europe and Britain. Now they are coming to India. But we welcome competition."

He said he was not qualified to do one-man shows, which would be a "frightening experience".

Abhishek noted that it was an exciting time to be a film star when Bollywood's global audience was growing by the day.

Asked why Indian films haven't been able to woo non-Indian audiences in the US, he replied: "Nothing is wrong with our cinema's sensibility or the fact that we have song-and-dance. Language is a barrier. It is the same with English films having a limited audience in India." 

Aishwarya said she was proud as an Indian to be a brand ambassador for global brands and acting in international film projects such as "The Pink Panther".