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 <<CityNews Main Send Flowers to India!

 We invite associations, organizations and clubs from cities around the US to send in press releases accompanied with high resolution photos for publication in City News. Contributions may be sent to editor@NRIPulse.com.

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Atlanta

Salman Khan, John Abraham, and co to rock Atlanta on May 12th

BY KAVITA CHHIBBER

It is a coup of sorts-to get the hottest and most happening celebrities in Bollywood together and bring them to Atlanta, but Klassic Promotions has managed to do just that.

On May 12th Atlanta will see not one, not two, but seven sizzling stars at the Arena at Gwinnet Center setting the stage on fire. Yes Atlanta, Salman Khan, John Abraham, Zayed Khan, Shahid Kapoor, Kareena Kapoor, Mallika Sherawat and Esha Deol, are all going to be here, along with some great dancers and a bag full of tricks to entertain you. 

And not just that, 77 lucky ticket holders will get to dine with the actors at an exclusive dinner on the 11th May.

The show, being called the concert of the millennium is expected to go beyond anything done before on stage by the Moranis and revolves around the evolution of each star who begins as a mere mortal and then morphs into a rock star. The Moranis have created a unique persona to go with the personality of each star. This is the first time super star Salman Khan and brother, actor and director Sohail have joined hands with the Moranis. They have been there from the very beginning in conceiving the theme of the concert. Mohammed Morani says, “ Salman has been the first one to shoot the promos, and other stars are sitting at his house working out details of their performances with Salman. “ The star who has been a heart throb and a youth icon for years has been guiding the others, since many of them are touring the USA for the first time.

After the initial hiccup and uncertainty due to his sentencing, and rumors to the contrary, Salman Khan who is out on bail has been given permission to go abroad for his concerts. “ I don’t know who is spreading these rumors, but I am coming for the concerts and I will be there soon, ‘ said Salman in an exclusive interview that can be heard on premji.com, Klub Klassics and Mark Premji promotions’ official website. In fact Salman has been working several hours daily, since his release from jail to make sure he performs his best. Salman supposedly has a special act for each city according to an interview Mohammed Morani gave to the media. What is he doing for Atlanta? You’ll just have to come to the show and see for yourselves.

After the trial and tribulations of the last few days, Salman’s popularity seems to have risen even more as his latest movie is commanding a mind boggling price from distributors, and getting it.

John Abraham is perhaps the hottest star on the Bollywood horizon right now-he beat out the likes of Shahrukh Khan and Abhishek Bachchan, many sports personalities and other prominent celebs, to win the coveted, Zoom's Red Hot Countdown’s “ Most Desirable Indian male alive”. It was a public poll combined with top minds from India times and Zoom chipping in their votes. Not just that John has proved his mettle as an actor with a variety of films, each taking him further up the ladder of success. Having met him, I can say he is also one of the nicest people you can come across. He wears his success very lightly on his shoulders. The first time he visited Atlanta a few years ago, it was to be with his lady Bipasha Basu who had come here for a show. This time John is all set to create some “Dhoom” on stage himself.

John loves his fans and says, “Stars are either built by the industry with the weight of institutional marketing. Others are made by their audiences. I haven’t been the industry’s fortunate son and I am glad that that my audiences have helped me get to where I am today. 

I am well aware of the considerable debt I owe to my audience. And I try my best to give my all, to every performance. Whenever possible, I try to stay in touch with my audience, because they are my greatest gift.” I hear that both Salman and John are going to get very very close and personal with their fans, during the show.

Zayed Khan is the son of famous actor Sanjay Khan. He became an instant heart throb with his charming performance in Main Hoon Na and has not looked back. In an exclusive interview he did with me a few days ago, Zayed said ,” The rehearsals have been long and tiring, it’s a huge show with seven artists and there is a lot to put together, but there is a lot of nervous energy, the adrenalin is flowing and we are all really excited about the show.” When asked what his fans should expect from his act, Zayed said, “ Well most people perceive me as an action oriented guy which I am and I also love to dance, so we have incorporated martial arts into some of my dances. Each star has his or her own persona, one is a biker, another is a salsa dancer , another a drummer.” As to who is who, you will have to just come to the show and see for your self. Till then keep guessing.

Shahid Kapoor, made it to the top 20 along with Zayed in the Zoom competition that John won and said in an exclusive interview when I asked him if he was nervous. “ This is my first tour abroad but I have heard that the people are very warm, supportive and welcoming and while I’m nervous I’m very excited and working very hard, and can do with all the good wishes and support of everyone out there in Atlanta and the US.”

When asked what was he going to do for his fans, Shahid said he is perceived as a good dancer and he loves dancing to any kind of good music, so he gets to show a lot of his talent in that area. There are also a lot of other fun things in the show, that he will be doing apart from rocking the stage with his moves.

Kareena Kapoor, Mallika Sherawat and Esha Deol round up the rest of the rock stars. Kareena has been to Atlanta a few years ago and while she was nervous she did pretty well. She is perhaps more confident now and will be doing a lot of fun stuff with boy friend Shahid. Mallika Sherawat, has catapulted to international fame having done a movie with Jackie Chan and being voted a youth icon by Riz Khan of CNN International is on her first tour but a lot is expected from her. Esha Deol, a trained exponent of classical dance thanks to her mother dream girl Hema Malini’s tutelage, is going to add a classic and classical touch to her performance on stage.

In fact Salman Khan and Mohammed both say that the actresses are going to wow every one with mind blowing performances. Salman said he was very impressed by the professionalism and talent of the three women and that each one of them will take your breath away. “Usually we start rehearsing a few days before a tour-this is truly going to be the concert of the millennium because we have spent more than a month and a half preparing and rehearsing for this tour.’

Salman had a special message for his fans. He said he wanted to thank them for the support and wanted to pay his respects and love and hopes that they will all come to the concert in large numbers. Zayed Khan sent a very loving message for his fans in Atlanta saying he will be there soon to see them all in person and put up a rocking show.

Shahid Kapoor added that he knows things were a bit confusing but on behalf of all the stars he wants to reassure every one that the show is on as planned and the temporary delay has worked in their favor because it has helped them perfect and further polish their acts. “ The show is a great mix of everything and a complete package. This is our promise to all of you who have waited and wondered that we will be there and will give you a rocking night.”

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