Indian actor Salman Khan among stars lined up for Hong Kong’s biggest ever Bollywood event

More than 10,000 people are expected to flock to Hong Kong’s showpiece harbourfront on Sunday as the city hosts its biggest ever Bollywood event.

Bollywood megastar Salman Khan will headline Da-Bangg, a HK$15 million song and dance extravaganza.

A troupe of 135 performers, including 10 Indian stars and 50 dancers, will put on a six-hour show at Central Harbourfront as part of the first leg of the Da-Bangg tour, which will later head to Australia, New Zealand and Malaysia.

“It’ll be lots of music, dances, costumes and lights,” organiser Kishore Samtani said. “Salman Khan has not performed for the past 10 years anywhere in the world, so everyone’s very excited to see his performance.”

Organisers have sold more than 10,000 tickets so far and Samtani said there were few left to spare, with the show’s capacity at 12,000 people.

Khan is one of India’s biggest stars, having been in more than 100 films and television shows. The Da-Bangg tour is named after the 2010 film, one of Bollywood’s all-time highest-grossing, in which Khan starred as a fearless policeman.

Samtani said the concert would not only be a showcase of diverse Indian culture, but also a nod to the Indian community who have lived in Hong Kong for decades.

“We’re trying to show the colours and culture of India, but we also want to get Chinese culture and community involved. As a matter of fact, we’re opening the event with a dance performance by a group of Chinese people singing to Bollywood tunes,” he said.

Indians are one of the largest ethnic minority groups in Hong Kong, with deep historical roots in the city.

More than 36,000 Indians live in Hong Kong, the fourth largest ethnic group, according to official statistics.

Samtani, who has organised similar but smaller Bollywood events for the past decade in the city, said the show was only made possible with the cooperation of the entire Indian community, which funded the show.

“We’ve got all the big Indian associations in Hong Kong together to make this one Bollywood show with us. That’s the reason why this show is possible,” he said.

The show, which will start on Sunday at 4.30pm, will also feature performances by Bollywood actress Bipasha Basu and famous dance choreographer Prabhu Deva. Tickets cost between HK$519 and HK$4,076.