Sunidhi, Mahadevan will bring Bollywood to closing ceremony

NEW DELHI: The closing ceremony of Commonwealth Games will have a healthy dose of Bollywood -- missing in the opening gala -- with top performers like singer Sunidhi Chauhan and music composer-singer Shankar Mahadevan expected to get a packed house at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium on its feet.
The October 3 ceremony got the Games to a lively start, partly offsetting glitches and bloomers that preceded it but the absence of India's most recognised and saleable cultural mascot had been a bit of a letdown.Now, the most potent symbol of Indian soft power will be back with a bang.
The audience will be welcomed by DJ-run music interspering martial tunes to pump up the mood. The sequences planned include a rendition of the national anthem. It is understood that the telecast will not be delayed as was the case with the opening ceremony.
The details of the closing ceremony were discussed on Friday with the event promising to be less formal than the start of the Games. There will not be a large central stage and the oversized balloon or aerostat will not be as dominant either, with lights and laser shows looking to wow the audience with their dazzle and multiple stages being put to good effect.
While the opening show went on for more than a couple of hours, the closing ceremony is expected to last a little over an hour. It will contain segments like "moments of glory", "Vande Mataram", "Shera's song" and the theme music as well. Like the missing Bollywood sequence, Shera will be more adequately represented as Delhi bids goodbye to the Games.
Apart from Chauhan and Mahadevan, some other Bollywood figures are expected to be present at the show though organisers are not being very forthcoming. They do, however, stress that there will be no stinting on the glitz unlike the opening ceremony where creative managers like Bharat Bala, Prasoon Joshi and Shyam Benegal were not keen on a Bollywood element. The GoM on the Games was given a presentation on the show on Thursday.
Prince Edward will officially close the Delhi Games with the last segment staged by Glasgow where the sporting event will be staged next. There will be no baton on display as the hosts of the next Games present a show just as India had at Melbourne in 2006 followed by what is hoped to be an eye-catching fireworks show.