The annual Telstra Bollywood Dance Competition, one of the highlights of the Indian Film Festival, attracted thousands to Federation Square in Melbourne on 4 May.
Over 20 talented contestants from all over Australia competed for the winning titles with Bollywood’s brightest stars Malaika Arora Khan from India’s Got Talent, Dhoom 3 director Vijay Acharya and producer Avtar Panesar there to judge the competition.
All the judges were very impressed with the event. “It takes a lot of courage to come up on the stage and perform in front of so many people, but what I saw here in terms of dancing, technique, costume and selection of music was all fantastic,” said Malaika, who was clearly impressed with the performances. The contestants belonged to all age groups and showcased various Indian dance forms from the traditional Indian bharatnatyam to the more contemporary hip-hop.
The crowd entered the Telstra ‘VIP’ SMS draw to win access to Telstra’s VIP area. The lucky winners enjoyed red-carpet treatment with refreshments, VIP seating near the stage and a Telstra gift bag. Telstra SMS voting also gave the audience a chance to vote for their favourite dancers.
Alister Park, Telstra Marketing General Manager, said, “We’re thrilled to host a bigger and better Telstra Bollywood Dance Competition this year after a highly successful 2013 competition. At Telstra we’re very proud of our connection to the South Asian community and we look forward to bringing even more signature experiences like this together for everyone to enjoy.”
Mr Park said that it was great to know that people not only got to see their friends and families perform but also had the opportunity to get close to some of their favourite Bollywood stars.
All through the day visitors made their way to the Telstra stand where they could capture their own Bollywood photo moment with a life-size cutout of Malaika or enter questions for their favourite Bollywood judges at the drop-box.
The judges were excited to see their fan following in Melbourne and readily answered questions from an ecstatic crowd. While everyone quizzed Malaika about her diva status and her exciting life, the Dhoom 3 director- producer team gave the crowd the inside scoop that a Dhoom 4 might be in the making!
The event was attended by the who’s who of the South Asian community in Melbourne including media and community leaders. Telstra awarded each winning group a prize of $1000.
Sanjana Jaiswal won the Telstra Bollywood Dance competition in the under-12 category while both Shiamak Davar and Sapphire group won the adult category in a tie. Over 350,000 SMS votes were received from the audience on the day for the People’s Choice Award, which went to Bollywood Dimensions.
The Telstra Bollywood Dance competition was a wonderful Bollywood experience for the entire community, showcasing plenty of colour and talent.
Indian Entertainment, Indian Films, Indian Community In Melbourne
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