Temptation Reloaded overwhelms Sydney

By Neeru Saluja

Never before has Sydney witnessed such a musical extravaganza. It’s been more than a week since the stars dazzled down under but the magical spell has still captivated Sydneysiders. On October 7, Temptation Reloaded brought superstars Shahrukh Khan, Madhuri Dixit, Rani Mukherjee, Jacqueline Fernandez, Yo Yo Honey Singh and Meiyang Chang to perform at a sold out show at the Allphones Arena.

Since Barry O’Farrell had announced that Shahrukh Khan will headline a two hour Indian concert, his fans couldn’t resist the temptation to see him. This was quite evident as people from various communities crowded the venue much before the show started. While some were still lining up for their tickets, others were seen clicking photos, checking in on Facebook, catching up with friends and anticipating about how the concert will be.

The show started two hours late, yes two hours late! But it was worth the wait. The concert kicked off with the chairman of Parramasala welcoming the audience. This was followed by 10-15 minute performances by Bollywood beauties Jacqueline Fernandez, Rani Mukherjee and Madhuri Dixit on a medley of their hit songs like Do you want me, shava shava, chalka chalka, nach baliye, ore piya, badi mushkil, choli ki peeche and dola dola. While the actresses impressed the audience with their elegant dance moves, the background of the stage kept changing to match the character of the song.

After the beauty queens, all expected the arrival of the King Khan. But the audience had to wait more. MC, singer and actor Meiyang Chang arrived on the stage belting out a few numbers and even did an impromptu dance with the girls in the audience.

Amidst fireworks, dancers, King Khan banners and a screaming audience, the King of Khan finally made his grand entry. Thanking the organisers and dignitaries, Khan greeted the audience “Good evening, namaste, sat sri akal, good day mate, kem cho” The audience could’t hold its excitement and Shahrukh sensed it. “Thanks to Jacqueline, Madhuri, Rani, Chang and our choreographer Geeta ”“ and now let’s shut up and dance!”

Shahrukh danced on a medley of his popular chartbusters like Main hoon na, chaiya chaiya, chamak chhallo, yeh kali kali aankhen but the one that stood out was ”˜kuch kuch hota hai’. With hearts in the background and dropping balloons, I’m sure he got many a hearts flutter. Constantly engaging with the audience, SRK also talked about his last visit to Australia. “I came here years ago for the shooting of Chak De. People told me to visit Harris Park but could not find it on the map. How could I as it has been renamed Harish Park”.

The night also made two ladies go home with a big smile on their face. The ladies’ man Shahrukh invited two ladies (Poonam Gidwani and Lucky Singh accompanied by her husband Balbir Singh) to the stage and sang, danced and romanced with them typical Bollywood style. As they shared some hilarious and cheeky moments with the superstar on the stage, Shahrukh was at his best of wits. He also gifted them his signed photo and DKNY sunglasses. He also invited a guy (Abhishek Chopra) to perform with him on the famous song ”˜loongi dance’ from the box office hit ”˜Chennai Express’, which left the audience in splits.

The other surprise of the night was rap singer Yo Yo Honey Singh who was a main attraction amongst the younger audience. Belting out his chartbusters like Angrezi beat and loongi dance, he made the audience dance to his songs and even mingled with the crowd. Chang was also another delight as he beautiful sang ”˜Pani da rang, desi boys, subah hone na de, badmateez dil, disco deewane to perfection.

The ”˜Magic of Love’ saw charismatic Shahrukh dancing with all the heroines on his romantic songs. It was a visual delight to see all of them dressed elegantly in white. The ”˜Dhak Dhak’ girl Madhuri also interacted with the audience before all the stars performed to the finale song ”˜Om shanti Om’.

With catchy music, dazzling costumes, synchronised choreography and fireworks, the three-hour extravaganza brought Bollywood live on the stage. The star performers and 100 dancers entertained more than 11,000 fans as they delivered an energetic performance.

And if you think the spell has only been cast on SRK fans, you are wrong as King Khan is equally besotted with Sydney. Check out his tweet after the concert ”“ “Sydney thanx for the madness. U were all so gracious…will have to take a place in Harris Park. Such beauty!!”

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