The four-day Nagpur Mahotsav 2016 organised by Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) and Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) ended on a high note. The Mahotsav not only brought celebrities to perform and regale Nagpurians, it was also well attended by several high profile Nagpurians including Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, Nagpur Mayor Pravin Datke, NMC Commissioner Shravan Hardikar, MLA Sudhakar Kohale, MLA Vikas Kumbhare, MLC Anil Sole along with others.

Artists and entertainment galore

On the first day of the the Mahotsav renowned theatre artist Ashok Handa performed in the play –  Aazadi 70-  Yaad Karo Kurbani? a musical based on the Indian independence struggle. Needless to say, it struck a patriotic chord with everybody present. On the second day, a comedy Marathi play –  Chala hawa yeu Dya? was staged wherein  singers Juli Joglekar and Jitendra Tupe performed a duet song Mala Ved Lalge? and Kushal Badrike and Bhau Kadam performed a skit titled ?Wagh. The second day saw Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis as the chief guest of the Nagpur Mahotsav. Fadnavis announced that he intends to make entire Nagpur city Wi-Fi friendly. He also appreciated Nagpur Municipal Corporation for being known as the best municipal corporation. Well-known voice-over artist Meghna Erande too performed on the second day as she mimicked Madhuri Dixit, Karishma Kapoor and Kareena Kapoor Khan. Bollywood actress Mughda Godse also made a special appearance on the second day.

Shankar Mahadevan magic!

The third day of Nagpur Mahotsav brought singing sensation Shankar Mahadevan to perform in the city. Such was the rush to see him perform live that the Nagpur police force had control the mob.  Mahadevan’s show titled  ?Katyaar to Kajrare‘ also included Nagpur singer Shrinidhi Ghatate who now regularly performs with the Shankar Mahadevan team across the world.

As Mahadevan sang hit songs one after the other, the evening turned special for his fans present. He also sung the song Pretty women? from the movie Kal Ho Naa Ho and dedicated it to all the ladies at the stadium.

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari was also present along with his wife Kanchan Gadkari at Shankar’s concert. In a warm gesture Shankar expressed on the stage, that he was really happy to be a part of the Nagpur Mahotsav and grateful to Nitin Gadkari for inviting him to Nagpur!’

Shankar Mahadevan left the audience in splits when he sang and dedicated a few lines to Nagpurians. These line were: Mann karta hai do din aur rukh jau, Mann karta hai chicken Saoji khau!’

Farhan Akhtar live!

The last day of the mahotsav brought the energetic singer Farhan Akhtar and his band to perform live in Nagpur. It was probably the first time Farhan was performing in the city and he sure got a grand welcome as thousands of youngsters rushed to the stadium to perform him live! Ahead of his performance, students of Bhonsala Military School students performed on the tunes of Vande Mataram.’

Before Farhan’s performance participants and winners of wall art competition (organised by NMC to beautify public walls of Nagpur under the Swachh Bharat Mission and Smart city project) were given the cash prices and awarded for their work. Nagpur NGO Green Vigil Foundation was also awarded and felicitated for their hard work for the Nagpur Mahaotsav 2016. Special awards were also given to to Rotary Club of Ishanya, Tejinder Singh Renu and Shagufta Mehdi.

Once Farhan Akhtar took to the stage, the audience went into a musical frenzy. One by one, as Farhan along with his band churned out songs like Sindbad the sailor,’ Tum ho toh, ‘Hawan kund, ‘Senorita’ and others, the audience sung along with him. The energetic performer left everybody cheering for him as he did more than 50 push-ups on the stage before singing a song!

Farhan reciprocated the love from Nagpurians when he said that he loved performing in front of Nagpurians and how he wished he could spend more time in Nagpur! Well, how much we wish too Farhan!

Here’s a glimpse of Farhan Akhtar performing during the Nagpur Mahotsav 2016 at Yeshwant Stadium, Nagpur! To see more of his performances, follow Nation Next’s YouTube channel.

Photos by: Suyash Sethiya and Juhi Sethi