India plans grand show in Melbourne closing ceremony

New Delhi, Mar 9 (UNI) Host of the 2010 edition of the event, India plans to woo the Melbourne crowd in the closing ceremony of the Commonwealth Games with an 11-minute musical extravaganza which includes a fusion ballet by Aishwarya Rai, bhangra by the ''Hum Tum'' pair Saif Ali Khan and Rani Mukherjee, spectacular pyrotechnique and presence of a host of sports legends.

After launching the mascot for the 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games -- christened Shera, the friendly tiger -- and the title song here today, Chairman of the Organising Committee Suresh Kalmadi said India would received the flag during the March 26 closing ceremony as the next host and have been allotted 15 minutes slot to showcase the country on the occasion.

'More than two billion people will watch the ceremony worldwide and we will install 10 screens in different parts of the city to enable the people witness the occasion,'' he said.

The 11-minute musical extravaganza, conceived and organised by Wizcraft International Entertainment, will see more than 1000 artistes, including some from the Indian community in Victoria, displaying their skills at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

After 'India Showcase', a short audio-visual conceived by Ken Ghosh, Isha Sharwani will combine the science of yoga with the art of dance, which will be followed by Aishwarya Rai's ballet.

'It was so nice of her that Aishwarya agreed to do her bit and she will be coming from Brazil, the other part of the planet,' Mr Kalmadi said.

Saif Ali Khan and Rani Mukherjee will take the centrestage then, shaking their legs to 'Delhi Dhamaal' with Sukhwinder and Gayatri rendering the bhangra to the lyrics of Javed Akhtar.

Shera, the mascot of the 2010 Delhi Games, will make his entry then, accompanied by master percussionists Taufiq Querishi and drummer Shivamani. The grand procession will also include former Miss Universe Lara Dutta and ex Miss World Priyanka Chopra.

''I'm glad that Kapil Dev has also agreed to join the list of sports legends who would be present on the occasion,'' Mr Kalmadi said.

Other sportspersons to be present on the occasion include Sunil Gavaskar, Milkha Singh, Vijay Amritraj, P T Usha, Prakash Padukone, Ajit Pal Singh, Michael Ferreira, Khazan Singh and Satpal.

Choreographer Shiamak Davar's troupe will then enthrall the crowd in sync with the tune of the 2010 Games theme song, penned by Gulzar, composed by Shankar-Ehsan-Loy and rendered by Sonu Nigam, Sunidhi Chauhan, Shreya Ghoshal and Blaaze.

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