This year’s fundraising drive, the Serendipity Travel ABH Chatsworth Fair, is taking it up a notch with an exclusive gala dinner featuring special performances by international Bollywood stars Abhijeet Bhattacharya and Amit Kumar – a first-ever for Durban. This glamorous social event, which will be raising funds for NPO, the Aryan Benevolent Home (ABH), will be taking place at Durban City Hall on Friday, 27 July.
“We are thrilled to have two renowned artists of international standing visiting our shores to put on a magnificent concert as part of the Serendipity Travel ABH Chatsworth Fair,” said Jay Marrie, Fundraising/Donor Relations for ABH. “This is going to a be a truly memorable evening of fine dining and fantastic musical performances, all in support of the ABH. We encourage fans of Abhijeet Bhattacharya and Amit Kumar – and any admirers of quality entertainment – to take advantage of this unique experience by booking tickets early before they’re all sold out!”
Both stars have impressive careers spanning a few decades. Famed musician, Abhijeet Bhattacharya, is a winner of the Filmfare Award and Screen Award for his song ‘Main Koi Aisa Geet Gaoon’ in ‘Yes Boss’. He also won the MTV ASIA Award in 2004 and has gone on to perform in many big-title films alongside top composers.
However, Bhattacharya didn’t start out in music. In 1981 the Bengali-born star went to Mumbai to study Chartered Accountancy but eventually followed his heart into a career in music. He got his break when RD Burman called him to sing in Dev Anand’s son’s debut film alongside Kishore Kumar.
This recognition propelled him into many movie roles, singing hit songs from Baaghi of Anand-Milind, including ‘Ek chanchal shokh hasina’, ‘Chandni raat hai’ and ‘Har kasam se badi hai’. His name is now synonymous with the Bollywood music world, having performed in many films such as ‘Baaghi’, ‘Sadak’, ‘Khiladi’, ‘Raja Babu’, ‘Yeh Dillagi’, ‘Baadshah’, ‘Josh and Dhadkan’, and many more. He has also released a number of his own albums.
A fellow Indian film playback singer – as well as actor, director and music director – Amit Kumar also boasts an incredible history in entertainment. Kumar is the son of Indian singer and actor, Kishore Kumar, and Bengali singer and actress, Ruma Guha Thakurta.
His dad introduced him to the world of acting when he was just 11 years old, featuring in films ‘Door Ka Rahi’ – where he also made a singing debut – and ‘Door Gagan Ki Chhao Mein’. He garnered numerous accolades by singing RD Burman’s ‘Bade Achchhe Lagte Hain’ from the film ‘Balika Badhu’ in 1976 and has recorded some 170 Hindi songs with RD Burman.
Kumar was one of the main judges on the reality TV singing contest ‘K for Kishore’ where singers tried to recreate the magic of Kishore Kumar’s songs on Sony TV. He has also released a number of his own albums.
The fundraising dinner will be banquet-stylem four-course meal catering for vegetarian and non-vegetarian diners. The meals will be served and enjoyed between 6pm and 8pm with the concert starting thereafter. Tickets to this luxury event are R1 250 per person or R12 500 for a table of 10.
This special gala event forms part of the Serendipity Travel ABH Chatsworth Fair fundraising programme, running at the Chatsworth Circus site – adjacent to the Chatsworth Stadium – from 26 to 29 July, 2018. Visitors to this community event can browse more than 100 food and retail stalls with unending carnival rides and family-fun to be had.
On Saturday, 28 July, from 8pm to 11pm, Abhijeet Bhattacharya and Amit Kumar will perform at the ABH Fair Grounds. The cost of unreserved seating is R110, R130 and R160. Fair admission for Friday and Sunday is R20 for adults and R10 for children. The admission for Saturday is R35 for adults and R20 for children.
For more information and to book, email vanessa@abh.co.za or call 031 404 2668 or 031 404 9523.
