Mumbai, Aug. 8, 2013: Indian cinema's living legend Amitabh Bachchan and some of the greatest musical minds are coming together for the first time to make music and join Star India in wiping the tears of survivors of the Uttarakhand floods.
Amitabh will be joined by the talented composer trio Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy and versatile writer and poet Prasoon Joshi to enthral the audience at Star India's seven-hour marathon fund-raiser for Uttarakhand this Independence Day, August 15th at the NSCI Grounds, Worli, Mumbai.
The musical performance will be a part of a joint initiative by Star India , Wizcraft, the Film & TV Producers Guild and the Hindi film fraternity — ‘Saath Hain Hum Uttarakhand’ -- to raise funds for rehabilitation work in Uttarakhand, where flash floods in June claimed hundreds of lives and left thousands homeless.
Amitabh will lend his mesmerizing voice to recite couplets from Prasoon’s magical poetry that'll be set to Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy's music. The enthralling musical act will weave Prasoon’s event anthem – 'Mera Desh' – into an enchanting song performance by acclaimed classical singer Shankar Mahadevan and a spellbinding poetic rendition by Amitabh.
“Mera Desh is an invocation by India’s most revered artists with a simple and clear message to fellow citizens -- to look at tragedy squarely in the eye and overcome it by joining hands,” Mr Uday Shankar, CEO Star India, said. “Star India is humbled to receive support from Hindi cinema's biggest icons,” Shankar added.
Indian cinema’s biggest names and celebrities from top television shows of the Star network have pledged their unconditional support to Star’s initiative.
“The noble initiative is an opportunity for the entire Hindi film industry to stand by the very people who have showered us with unconditional love and have made us who we are,” Mr Bachchan said. “We have come together to ease the pain of fellow men who suffered the agonizing pain that this unprecedented calamity brought with itself.”
The entire advertising revenue generated through the event will be donated to not-for-profit organizations that are working diligently to restore normalcy in the hill-state.
“Mera Desh is about reinstilling lost faith in people which is fundamentally shaken after the uttarakhand tragedy. It is also an attempt to say that we are all in it together and we need to face it and just cannot keep feeling great about moving on with our life and that no challenge is big enough if we stand united,” writer, poet Mr. Joshi said.
“Music is a great healer and our effort is to alleviate the sufferings of people through this musical rendition of Mera Desh. Mr Bachchan’s reassuring and affirmative voice, coupled with Prasoon’s thought-provoking lyrics, have made this anthem even more potent. We hope that our humble tribute is successful in mustering mass support for Uttarakhand,” Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy said.
Film Producers Guild, Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE), TV Artists Forum, Corporate Charity Trusts and several independent industrialists and donors will partner Star India’s Independence Day marathon fund-raiser that will be attended by senior leaders from the state and central governments.
The gala event will be telecast live on key channels of the Star India network including flagship Star Plus, Life OK, Star Pravah, Star Utsav and Channel V. Viewers would also be encouraged to aid the mammoth task of rebuilding the hill-state.
About Star India:
STAR India has defined India's broadcast media for the last two decades and is today India’s leading media and entertainment company.
The STAR India network comprises of more than thirty channels in seven languages received by over 600 million viewers every week across India and 100 other countries. Its channel portfolio includes Star Gold, Channel [V], Star Jalsha, Star Pravah, Star World, Star Movies, Star Utsav, Life OK, Movies OK and Star Plus, India's No. 1 General Entertainment Channel. STAR India has a leading presence in regional broadcasting as well through a bouquet of joint venture channels i.e., Asianet channels and Star Vijay.
For further information, please contact:
Parul Sharma Assistant Vice President Corporate & Marketing Communication STAR India +91 98119 88996parul.sharma@startv.com
