Bollywood Stars At NDA's India Gate Gala Today, Shillong Choir To Perform

New Delhi: Notwithstanding protests from Arvind Kejriwal and the Congress, a five-hour spectacle will begin airing tomorrow at 5 pm on national television to showcase the government's achievements in the last two years.

The program has been designed by the BJP's in-house creative head Vani Tripathi and censor board member; the producer is Roshan Abbas, a former television anchor, and his event management company Encompass.

The show will be broadcast live from India Gate in the heart of the capital on the state-run Doordarshan. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to attend; top cabinet ministers will participate in panel discussions with moderators like to explain the progress made in the sectors they handle.
 The production control room or PCR is already set up near India Gate, access to private media has been banned, both for security and to ensure that curiosity about the event is kept high. Tents have been set up as makeshift green rooms and lounges for union ministers and brand ambassadors from Bollywood, including Amitabh Bachchan and Vidya Balan.

There's a careful health warning being stressed. "The Bollywood stars are not singing and dancing," said one of the organisers, "they will be speaking about each theme that they are associated with."

So Vidya Balan will speak about Swachch Bharat, the Clean India campaign she has been promoting with the Rural and Urban Development Ministry. Anil Kapoor will speak about the power of youth, Raveena Tandon about Women's Rights and Development, and Juhi Chawla about infrastructure. Mr Bachchan, whose inclusion has been questioned by the Congress because his name had surfaced in Panama Papers scam, will host a section on the girl child.
 Actor Madhavan will anchor the event, along with five senior Doordarshan presenters.

Music? You got it. The Shillong Choir will perform and so will Kailash Kher and Indian Idol child star, Nahid.

And in keeping with the government's focus on inclusion, the program will cut live to the six cities of Vijaywada, Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Jaipur, Guwahati and Chandigarh. "All our Chief Ministers will be there at those centres. We will play out videos of real beneficiaries of our schemes, and they will also join us live," said an organiser.

But ask them how much all this cost and there's no answer - "We can tell you that none of the stars are charging anything" is the only information available.