Thaindian News

Mumbai, April 14 (IANS) What is on Akon’s wish list? On his first concert tour in India the Senegalese-American singer has made a very special request to his organisers - he wants to meet his pal Shah Rukh Khan and taste the special cuisine in every city that he visits.

The concert is being brought to the country by Netsurf Entertainment, B.M. Group and IVNO Events and Productions in association with Thrive Entertainment and S. Raj Entertainment. Akon, who is arriving 12.30 a.m. Friday, will perform in Bangalore and Gurgaon.

“Of couse, Akon will meet Shah Rukh. We’ve worked the meeting into Akon’s schedule after he hands over a cheque to needy children in Mumbai,” said Sujit Jain, MD, Netsurf Entertainment.

Not only that. On the rapper’s insistence, the venue for his birthday party Friday has been shifted from Mumbai to Pune to avoid a bottleneck of guests.

After his meeting with the Bollywood superstar, Akon will head for Pune for his very private birthday bash and an intimate 45-minute concert will be attended by no more than 1200 people.

“That again is a massive problem. As soon as it became known in Pune that Akon would be performing, we had requests for tickets that ran into unbelievable numbers. But we can only accommodate 1000-1200 people at the Pune concert,” said Jain.

In fact, Akon has come to India earlier but never did public concerts.

After his performance in Pune Friday followed by his birthday bash, Akon will perform in Gurgaon Saturday where the organisers want to celebrate his birthday on stage.

There is only one problem. No changes or additions in the Akon’s schedule are allowed.

“No birthday surprises. Otherwise, they’ll backfire in our faces. We have planned a birthday celebration on stage in Gurgaon. But we’ve to run it through his people. Every step in his itinerary is inked and monitored. And the slighest change or addition has to be notified,” said Jain.

The Gurgaon concert Saturday will be opened by two amateur musicians chosen through a contest on Akon’s website Hit Lab.

On Sunday, Akon performs in Bangalore and then returns to the US Monday morning. But not before watching his co-host Suniel Shetty’s latest release “Thank You”.

“Akon wants to watch at least one film of Suniel. He has heard good things about Suniel in ‘Thank You’. Akon’s hosts will show him at least portions of the film,” said a source.

But it’s the food that’s causing the organisers major heartburn. Since Akon and his wife are major foodies, his request to arrange the special food in each town has Suniel and Jain running from pillar to post getting the right items from the menu in place.

Burp re burp.