Bollywood stars join hands for fundraiser concert to support vax drive

The concert, 'Vax.India.Now' is an initiative by the Anuradha Palakurthi Foundation to support India's urgent vaccination drive.

Mumbai: Bollywood biggies Katrina Kaif, A.R. Rahman, Anil Kapoor, Anupam Kher, Shabana Azmi, Shilpa Shetty Kundra and Sonakshi Sinha have come together for a virtual fundraiser concert, to be held on July 7.

The concert, ‘Vax.India.Now’ is an initiative by the Anuradha Palakurthi Foundation to support India’s urgent vaccination drive.

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It will also feature Gloria Estefan, Sting, Alicia Keys, Annie Lennox, Yoyo Ma, Josh Groban, Aasif Mandvi, Andrea Bocelli, Matteo Bocelli, David Foster, Norwegian DJ Alan Walker, Pia Toscano, Arati Ankalikar-Tikekar, Zubin Mehta, Nishat Khan, Ranjani Gayatri Sisters, Fareed Zakaria, Anuradha Juju Palakurthi and Liam Neeson. It will be hosted by American comedian Hasan Minhaj.

Speaking on the occasion, Anuradha Juju Palakurthi said: “Artists have catalyzed many social movements by driving participation and awareness. The Vax.India.Now team is honoured to count some of the biggest hearts for support. Scientists estimate that Indian herd immunity kicks in with 600m more adult vaccinations.

“India has already demonstrated that it has the capacity to vaccinate 10m people a day. Strictly theoretically, this problem can be solved in 60 days. With concerted global citizen-ownership we can compress the actual time. The event is one of the many steps being taken worldwide by many organisations and individuals.”

Bappa.B. Lahiri said: “The overall theme of the concert is typified by the anthem song — Hum Saath Hai, written by Neelesh Misra and composed by me. Anuradha Juju-ji’s soulful performance will highlight how small contributions can be amplified by Indian capacity and resilience. And why should the whole world support this global cause.”

Andre Timmins from Wizcraft, co-producer of the event, said: “India is currently going through one of the most devastating challenges of recent times. However, this year is not just about the huge numbers of people contracting the Covid-19 virus. The biggest challenge being faced is the vaccination requirement for a population of our size.

“We are very passionate and as people in a position to be able to do so, Wizcraft wanted to help do whatever it takes to help get more vaccines to our country and push out the vaccine drive across India as fast as possible. Therefore, we are so pleased to have come together with Juju Productions & The Giving Back Fund to help support their amazing initiative Vax.India.Now; to reach out across the world to help raise immediate funds and resources to bring vaccine equality in a place like India, where it is needed most. We need to fight this together, as one people, one world.”

All contributions will be directed to carefully vetted charities operating in mostly rural India. Vax.India.Now will be streamed globally by CNN Digital.