For the four-hour show Mirchi Bollywood Rocks on Friday, which marks Radio Mirchi's first anniversary in the UAE, the Bollywood songstress Sunidhi Chauhan will take the stage with the musical trio Shankar Ehsan Loy, supported by a live band. It's the first time these musicians have come together to perform live in the UAE.
The Show
For the concert, the musical powerhouses will perform some of the Bollywood numbers they have become famous for, including recent and not-so-recent hits. In Chauhan's case, this means songs like Be-inteha from this year's Race 2 all the way back to Sheila Ki Jawani and Ainvay Ainvay. For Shankar Ehsaan Loy, this could be songs from Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara and My Name is Khan, all the way back to Dil Chahta Hai and Kal Ho Naa Ho.
Chauhan, who frequently visits Dubai, says she can't wait to be back in the city to perform for her UAE-based fans: "The UAE has always been a fabulous place for me to perform and I'm back again for Mirchi Bollywood Rocks. It looks set to be one of my biggest shows in the Middle East and I am set to belt out all my hit numbers."
In a joint statement, the members of Shankar Ehsaan Loy spoke about their forthcoming return: "We are excited for the show and have fond memories of performing in the UAE. This is going to be a fantastic concert."
The artists
Chauhan first performed in front of an audience at the age of 4, and went on to become one of the most respected playback singers in India. She has sung for Hindi, Tamil and Kannada films for many years, but her work for Bollywood films has brought her the most fame. Her first Bollywood collaboration was in 1996 for the film Shastra when she was 13. Her first major hit came three years later with Ruki Ruki Si Zindagi from Ram Gopal Varma's film Mast in 1999. By the time she turned 19, she had racked up a count of more than 350 songs.
Chauhan has won numerous awards and been nominated for many more: she has two Star Screen Awards, two IIFA Awards, one Zee Cine Award, two Filmfare wins and a whopping 14 Filmfare Award nominations.
Lending his voice to Shankar Ehsaan Loy's work most often is Shankar Mahadevan, who started his musical training as a child under a popular Marathi composer, learning classical Hindustani and Carnatic music and playing the veena from the age of 5.
Mahadevan started his professional singing career playback singing for Tamil movies before moving into mainstream Bollywood. In 1998, he released his album Breathless, which garnered nationwide success.
The Shankar Ehsaan Loy guitarist Ehsaan Noorani studied music at the Musicians Institute in Los Angeles and lends an electric energy to the group's performances and work.
Loy Medonsa, who mainly studied Western classical music, contributes with the keyboard. As a team, the trio has won more than 20 awards.
Mirchi Bollywood Rocks begins at 10pm at the Dubai World Trade Centre on Friday. Tickets start at Dh200 and are available through www.timeouttickets.com, Virgin Megastores and Spinneys outlets. For more information, contact the promoters Purple Vogue Events at 056 136 4954
