BHUBANESWAR: The concluding day of .FEST (Bhubaneswar City Festival) drew a huge number of people who enjoyed a musical nite orchestrated by Shankar-Ehsaan-Roy, a famed musical trio of Hindi film industry, at Exhibition Ground here Sunday.
30,000 fans gathered on the last day of .FEST that saw 500,000 visitors over the course of the 16-day festival. The venue was bursting with music and infectious energy of the award-winning trio.
The evening was spellbinding from the get-go. Mahadevan with his amiable self brought his playful side to the stage. Beginning his act with a soulful rendition of Ganesh Vandana, the prolific singer then delighted his fans with several of his smash hits beginning with Dil Chatah Hai. He often combined Bollywood music with classical tunes, which drew loud applause and standing ovations.
Mahadevan continued the momentum, switching between high-tempo songs like Where’s The Party Tonight and numbers like Kal Ho Na Ho. The singer was overwhelmed with all the love and accolades coming his way right from the beginning of the show. Ehsaan on the guitar and Loy on the keyboard, both of whom have been composing music with Mahadevan for the last 22 years, effortlessly synched with Shankar, proving to be the best trio in the business. Mahadevan also went on to perform his iconic Breathless which left the crowd awestruck.
Another key highlight of the evening was the felicitation of the winners of Bhubaneswar Bandwidth competition by Shankar, Ehsaan & Loy. It was a first of its kind battle of bands put together by BDA to provide a platform for the young and emerging talents of the city. The winners DPS Kalinga from Group A and One Week’s Notice from Group B received trophies and cash prizes of 1 lakh & 1.5 Lakhs respectively.
The first and second runners-up Sai International School from Group A & Chimera Band from Group B also received cash prizes of 50,000 and certificates. The second runners-up DAV Pokhariput & Outdoor Band also received cash prize of 25,000 each.
The 16-day festival kept the whole city of Bhubaneswar on its toes for a fortnight. With Vishal and Shekhar captivating the revellers on the first day, .Fest came to a fitting end with the talented musical trio enchanting one and all present on the occasion.