Vishal-Shekhar, Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy To Play The NCPA

Ehsaan, Loy and Shankar.

Bollywood comes to the NCPA this weekend. On Friday, March 23, music directors Vishal and Shekhar will perform a concert organised by the Mayo College Alumni Charity Trust at the Tata Theatre, and on Sunday, March 25, their counterparts, Shankar, Ehsaan and Loy will perform the Mumbai leg of their Seagram’s 100 Pipers-bankrolled four-city tour of the country at the Jamshed Bhabha Theatre. Though donor passes for the Vishal-Shekhar gig are priced steeply at Rs2,500, the amount also entitles you to cocktails and dinner after the show (you can also buy one for Rs1,250 for just the concert). Given that the audience is likely to be older than the average gig going crowd, along with dance-friendly hits such as “Chammak Challo” from Ra.One and “Sheila Ki Jawani” from Tees Maar Khan, the set list is likely to include the duo’s more mellow material, such as the perennially popular “Allah Ke Bandhe” from Waisa Bhi Hota Hai Part II, Vishal Dadlani, aka the Vishal of Vishal-Shekhar, told us. Shekhar Ravjiani and he will be accompanied by keyboardist Abhijit Nalani, guitarist Warren Mendonsa, bassist (and Dadlani’s bandmate in Pentagram) Papal Mane, drummer Atur Soni, and percussionists Raju and Iqbal, who comprise the band that backs them at all their concerts.

The Shankar, Ehsaan and Loy gig, tickets for which range between Rs1,000 and Rs3,000, come with the opportunity to hear the Hindi film music composers’ hits like you have never heard them before, said Shankar Mahadevan. The title track of Dil Chahta Hai, for instance, will be “jazzed up”, and we can expect to hear “on-the-spot improvisations” on a number of songs, including “Rock On!!”, which will feature an extended guitar solo by Ehsaan Noorani, and “Kal Ho Naa Ho”, which will see Loy Mendonsa showing off his Western classical chops on the piano. The trio will be aided by playback singers Anusha Mani and Raman Mahadevan and a band featuring drummer Manoj Thapliyal, bassist Rushad Mistry and guitarist Sean Pinto. Ghatam player Udupa will be one of the guest performers of the evening during which Shankar, Ehsaan and Loy promise to make the audience “laugh, cry, sing, and clap”.

National Centre for the Performing Arts

LocationTata Theatre (Vishal-Shekhar), Jamshed Bhabha Theatre (Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy)
NCPA Marg
Nariman Point

Phone6622 3737

Relevant DatesVishal and Shekhar: Friday, March 23; Shankar, Ehsaan and Loy: Sunday, March 25

HoursVishal and Shekhar: 7.30pm; Shankar, Ehsaan and Loy: 7pm

Ticketing & Price InfoVishal and Shekhar: Rs1,250 (entry fee) and Rs2,500 (includes dinner and cocktails); Shankar, Ehsaan and Loy: Rs1,000, Rs1,500, Rs2,000, Rs3,000

Websitewww.ncpamumbai.com