FUSION 2015: Bollywood Extravaganza at NRG Arena
Click here to view videos of the Fusion Concert
By Vanshika Vipin
HOUSTON: The NRG Arena was bustling with the enthusiasm of jam packed audience swaying to the stellar performances put together by the Bollywood Superstars in the biggest production of the year – FUSION 2015 on Friday, August 21. Organized by Rehan Siddiqi of Hum Tum fame, Fusion 2015, a mega block buster starring Akshay Kumar, Madhuri Dixit, Sonakshi Sinha, Chitrangada Singh, Prabhu Deva and Badshah kickstarted in USA with its first show in Houston. Not only was the audience spell bound to the glitz and glamour of the bollywood stars, but they were also tickled with slapstick humour doled out by the famous Gutti (Sunil Grover) and Bua (Upasana Singh) from Comedy Nights with Kapil.
A special VIP meet and greet was held a day prior to the show with the starts. All the stars were very friendly and interacted patiently with the media and answered all their questions. In spite of all the traveling and rehearsals the stars were kind enough to stay till the end of the event and happily clicked pictures with everyone in the room.
The biggest production of the year, FUSION 2015 began sharp on time as promised by Akshay Kumar at the press conference. The dramatic high rise entry of Singh is King famed Akshay Kumar, dressed in beard and turban while playing his character for his upcoming movie Singh is Bling, Akshay Kumar enthralled the audience as he rose up 30 feet from the centre of the audience playing the Dhol. The Khatron ke Khiladi could not have asked for a better synced stunt entry than this. His first performance, Singh is King, got the Houstonians revved up for the concert.
Then came in the Dhak Dhak girl, USA’s very own Marathi mulgi, Madhuri Dixit who danced on ‘humko aaj kal hai’ while the million hearts watched her with bated breath. Her iconic dance on ‘Ek do teen’ got many people in the nostalgia of the 90’s Bollywood and the bygone times. The cherry on the cake was a standoff between Madhuri Dixit and Prabhu Deva, the two dancing legends of Bollywood, on the very famous song ‘ K Sera Sera’. While no one can match the grace and finesse of Madhuri, it’s impossible to find an equal who matches Prabhu Deva’s agility and verve. He stunned his fans with his gripping dance performances.
The current protégé of Prabhu Deva and famed as the Dancing queen of South Asia, Sonakshi Sinha wowed the arena with her desi belle moves. Chitrangada Singh set the temperature soaring high with her sensuous item numbers, once again reaffirming that she is the reigning temptress of the Bollywood masala numbers. Badshah and his troupe entertained the jam-packed audience with his music and jugalbandhi with the Dhol Players. He engaged the crowd by coaxing everyone to turn on the flash lights of their mobiles creating an effect of gushing sea wave on a starry night.
Just like a Bollywood masala movie, this concert too had the right spices of dance, glamour, action, stunt, music and rib tickling comedy. Sunil Grover aka Gutti and Upasana Singh aka Bua from the ‘Comedy Nights with Kapil’ took the audience to the sets of the show and recreated the charm of Kapil’s extended family. ‘Comedy Nights with Kapil’ – a show widely appreciated across the globe became the laughter gas through the night.
Akshay Kumar while addressing the audience during the break told that he had never witnessed such a huge gathering for a concert. He was truly impressed with the energy and the vigour of Houston crowd. The show progressed to a nonstop dance sequence with all the stars including Akshay Kumar, Madhuri Dixit, Sonakshi Sinha, Prabhu Deva and Chitrangada singh shaking their legs to the groovy numbers. The evening finally came to a magical end with champagnes, confetti and teddies being showered on the audience.
Rehan Siddiqi, the back bone of this event, roped in various sponsors including Coca Cola to fund this mega project costing 1.2 million dollars. Known to host the best gigs in the city, Siddiqi outperformed himself with the flawless execution of Fusion 2015. The event management was seamlessly handled by Arif Memon from DMMS. The backdrop, stage, visual effects, sequence lighting, state of the art Audio and LED screens gave the audience a three Dimensional effect, a memory worth 1.2 million dollars, that would stay etched in their hearts forever.
After the successful completion of the event, Rehan shared in an exclusive interaction with IAN, “It was my first biggest star show ever. I am glad that I picked up this project as it turned out to be one of the most successful ones. The show had all the elements of a successful show including gigantic production, flawless timing, the endless energy of the Bollywood stars and the dances”.
He added, “An entire team of 200 people have given their heart and soul to the event. It would not have been successful without contribution from Flying Tiger, the team from India who put Fusion 2015 together. The venue – NRG Arena folks are thrilled with the show and the audience turnout. Last but not the least I would like to thank the Houston audience without whose support this show would never have been accomplished ’’.
Houston just got Bollywoodised that night, once again.
For upcoming shows, contact Rehan Siddiqi at 713-545-4115 or visit Hum Tum Shows at www.humtumradio.com