Special Show on Saturday, August 24 at Victory Convention Centre at 6.30 pm
Venkat Raman
Auckland, August 23, 2024
Annu Kapoor, a popular producer and director of the Hindi film industry, better known all over the world for Antakshari, will present the programme tomorrow (Saturday, August 224, 2024) at Victory Convention Centre, located at 98 Beaumont Street, Freemans Bay in Auckland.
There are a handful of tickets left.
Please visit https://www.trybooking.com/nz/events/11889/sessions/46727/sections
With this visit, Annu debuts in New Zealand, appearing in an event curated by Ashish Ramakrishnan, one of the finest singers in the community.
Ashish said that the programme, called, ‘Antakshari, Ab New Zealand Khelega (Now New Zealand will play) is the first of its kind to be held in New Zealand for the Indian Diaspora.
“It will showcase unity and community participation with Annu Kapoor as the host. This is an exciting event at which participants and members of the audience will play along in a fun-filled, thrilling musical game. Exceptionally talented musicians from India and New Zealand will perform and accompany the participants,” he said.
He is presenting the Antakshari finale with Annu Kapoor in association with Tabla maestro Basant Madhur and show organiser Dinesh Raniga.
Ashish has been conducting auditions for the past several months and we learn that following many rounds, 18 teams have been selected to compete with each other at the finale with Annu in Auckland.
Ashish was nominated for recognition by his colleagues and admirers and was presented with a Culture Award at the Tenth Annual Indian Newslink Sports, Community, Arts and Culture Awards held at Swaminarayan Complex in Papatoetoe (South Auckland) on June 17.
About Antakshari
Antakshari, also known as Antyakshari, is a game of the ending letter and a spoken parlour game played in India. Each contestant sings the first verse of a song (often Classical Hindustani or from Hindi films) that begins with the consonant of the Hindi alphabet on which the previous contestant’s song ended.
While it became popular after Annu started hosting the show on television, its origin dates back to the 1950s when it was played as a game in private parties.
Annu is best remembered for hosting the singing show Close-Up Antakshari, produced by Zee TV. He judged and hosted the programme from 1993 to 2005 and Golden Era with Annu Kapoor (2011). He also appeared in other TV series such as Param Vir Chakra (1988), Ajnabi (1194), Kabeer (1995) and Gubbare (1999).
About Annu Kapoor
Annu Kapoor (born Anil Kapoor is an Indian Actor, Singer, Director, Radio Disc Jockey, and Television Presenter with more than 100 films to his credit, in addition to television series in a brilliant career that has spanned 45 years.
He has won numerous awards in his career, including two National Film Awards, one Filmfare Award and two Indian Television Academy Awards.
Born in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh and raised in a family of modest economic background (his father was in Theatre and his mother was a classical singer), he joined the National School of Drama in 1976, on the advice of his brother Ranjit Kapoor, director and screenwriter.
His younger brother Nikhil is a writer and lyricist, and his son Seema (once married to Om Puri) is a producer and actor.
Annu began his career as a stage actor in 1979 and made his screen debut with an uncredited role in Amitabh Bachchan starrer Kaala Patthar in the same year. His performance as a 70-year-old man in the play, Ek Ruka Hua Faisla earned him a good name.
Shyam Benegal offered him a role in his film Mandi (1983) and Basu Chatterjee cast him in Ek Ruka Hua Faisla the following year. Other notable films are Aadharshila, Betaab, Khandar, Utsav, Mr India, Tezaab, Lakhan, Ghayal, Hum, Darr, Sardar, Jai Jagadish, Aitraaz and 7 Khoon Maaf.
Utsav earned him a Filmfare nomination for Best Performance in a Comic Role.
His performance as an obsessive-compulsive Dr Baldev Chadha in Vicky Donor (2012) met with critical and popular acclaim. He worked in the horror TV serial Kile ka Rahasya (1989) as a cop who was fond of singing. His other successful films include Shaukeen (2014), Saat Uchakkey (2016), Jolly LLB 2 (2017), Missing (2018), Dream Girl (2019), Khuda Hafiz (2020) and Suraj Pe Mangal Bhari (2020).
Currently, he produced a radio programme on 92.7 Big FM called Suhaana Safar with Annu Kapoor. A daily show that features nationally on the networks covering all Hindi-speaking radio stations across the country, it recreates the magic of the Golden Era with unforgettable melodies with untold stories of the stars and films. The show comes with the tagline ‘Filmy Duniya Ki Kahi Anokhi Kahaniya.’
Kapoor has directed several plays, including Abhay starring Nana Patekar, Moon Sen and Benjamin Gilani for the Children’s Film Society, India. The film won the 1995 National Film Award for Best Children’s Film. He produced a musical talent contest for children (Aao Jhoomein Gaayen for SAB TV) and a Bengali musical talent-hunt show, Gaan Gaao Taaka Naao on Rupashi Bangla TV in Kolkata. He also produced a musical in Mathura entitled Ek Sunhari Shyam.
