In a world fertilized by increased sponsorship spends, a mixed crop of festivals has been mushrooming across the country, attempting to yield the best consumer experiences. These events are generally multiday format so as to give the sponsor more bang for the buck and also to get a wider window for ticket sales. They are mostly differentiated by the artists on offer or the concept. Sunburn and Supersonic, for instance, have a similar concept of a dance music festival where the artists are the key differentiators. NH7 Weekender is a different concept altogether, positioned as a ‘happy place’ with a relaxed vibe, featuring mostly indie music and homegrown talent. The Grub Fest has the concept of a food festival where music takes a back seat; its novel concept has brought it immense success since its launch in 2015. Bollywood Music Project differentiates through its offering of Bollywood style music. When it debuted in Mumbai in 2016, two similar music properties launched by the biggest two event organizers in the country had already bombed terribly. Launching BMP was a gamble considering how capital intensive it is to kick off an event of such scale. Two editions down, it surely seems to have been a risk worth taking.
Held at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium across 25- 26 March 2017, Bollywood Music Project featured three stages with parallel performances beginning at 2pm on both days. Ample counters at the box-office ensured short queues and easy access to the venue. Making best use of the space available, the three stages- Experimental, Alternative and Mainstream, had been strategically built to avoid sounds from conflicting. The production and staging partner was Scoop Brand Holdings. Decor and art direction was by Studio Neelabh. Day one saw performances by Vishal & Shekhar, Neeti Mohan, Harshdeep Kaur, Raftaar, Faridkot among others.
Close to twenty multi-cuisine food counters had been set-up where one could seek refuge between performances. There was a large bar at the center of the venue and a ‘women only’ bar exclusive to the ladies. There were two elevated zones dedicated for VIP ticket holders, but both were surprisingly far from the stages, in a way defeating the purpose. A unique addition was the ‘Rooh-afza’ counter serving the unfailing taste of rosy goodness mixed with some classic throwback.
This year BMP managed to secure some heavy weight sponsors including real estate company Bhutani Group as title sponsor and Hungama Music as 'powered by' sponsor. Honda, Jabong, and Cox & Kings were the other sponsors. Micromax was also announced among the main sponsors earlier this month but they pulled out last moment due to undisclosed reasons.
Day two of the festival being a Sunday saw a larger turn out with close to 5000 people at 8pm when the event was peaking. Full-power performances by Hardy Sandhu, Kanika Kapoor and Mame Khan made way for the highlight of the evening- Badshaah. As the energetic singer belted some of his popular tunes with Gurvinder Rai and Astha Gill, the area around the stage overflowed with crazed youngsters and giddy fans. The day ended with performances by Amit Trivedi and Sajid Wajid and a surprise gig by Vishal Dadlani.
Bollywood Music Project caters to a large and thus far untapped market of Bollywood fans, the enthusiasm displayed by the audience in Delhi being far more than that seen in Mumbai last year. With another edition down, safe to say that not only has BMP arrived but it has also secured a head start against organizers who are sure to follow suit.
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