A virtual concert featuring several well-known Indian and international artistes is being held on Thursday to raise funds for the combat against COVID-19 and encourage more people to get vaccinated against the disease.
The concert is part of the ‘Vax.India.Now’ initiative, which was organised by the Anuradha Palakurthi Foundation to ramp up vaccination in the country.
Some of the Indian musicians featured in the concert include music maestro AR Rahman, classical singer Arati Ankalikar-Tikekar, conductor Zubin Mehta, sitar player Nishat Khan, vocal and violin duo Ranjani and Gayatri, Indian-American journalist Fareed Zakaria, singer Anuradha Juju Palakurthi, singer Bappa B Lahiri, Bollywood actors Anil Kapoor, Anupam Kher, Shilpa Shetty Kundra, Katrina Kaif, and Sonakshi Sinha.
The line-up of international artistes includes Norwegian DJ Alan Walker, Hollywood actor Liam Neeson, Gloria Estefan, Sting, Alicia Keys, Annie Lennox, Yoyo Ma, Josh Groban, Aasif Mandvi, Andrea Bocelli, Matteo Bocelli, David Foster, and Pia Toscano.
Explaining the theme behind the concert, singer Bappa B Lahiri said, “The overall theme of the concert is typified by the anthem song — Hum Saath Hai, written by Neelesh Misra and composed by me. Anuradha Juju-ji’s soulful performance will highlight how small contributions can be amplified by Indian capacity and resilience, and why the whole world should support this global cause (sic).”
Talking about the initiative, actress Katrina Kaif said, “During these testing times, it is our duty to lend a helping hand because only together we can defeat the virus.”
Anil Kapoor said, “I believe this initiative (by Vax.India) is the need of the hour, and shall help ramp up the vaccination drive in the coming weeks. During times like these, I urge one and all to extend their support towards this noble initiative (sic).”
Singer Anuradha Juju Palakurthi said, “Artists have catalyzed many social movements by driving participation and awareness. Scientists estimate that Indian herd immunity kicks in with 600 million more adult vaccinations. India has already demonstrated that it has the capacity to vaccinate 10 million people a day. Strictly theoretically, this problem can be solved in 60 days. With concerted global citizen-ownership, we can compress the actual time. The event is one of the many steps being taken worldwide by many organizations and individuals (sic).”
When: Thursday, 5.30 am
Where: Facebook page - Bollywood on Facebook