Bollywood stars descended here to celebrate 100 years of Indian cinema and help raise nearly 150,000 pounds in aid of the Tata Medical Centre in Kolkata.
Actresses Waheeda Rehman, Shabana Azmi and lyricist Javed Akhtar came together for a musical evening in aid of the not-for-profit cancer hospital based in West Bengal.
"What drew me to this particular cause was that 50 per cent of the care at the Tata Medical Centre is intended for the under-privileged and those who can't afford the high costs of treatment. And, most importantly, this is not less care in any sense. It is the same for all classes," said Azmi.
"I am always ready to be part of a good cause, especially cancer. It is important that there is greater awareness about it and maybe it is time to make films which reflect survivors as heroes," added Rehman.
The event, branded 'Uff Yoo Maa!' in reference to a classic 1960s Bollywood song, included an exhibition of vintage film posters and medleys dating backing to the early years of Indian cinema performed by Zee Saregama singers.
"This is our cultural heritage. The contribution of cinema has been huge and Indian films and music are a glue, a binding force for our nation. We have some major icons in the Indian film industry. They get paid to work in films but the love and affection they receive is over and above that.
"And, that must be reciprocated in some way and this is a way of showing the Tatas that we appreciate their contributions towards civil society," said Akhtar.
The event helped raise funds through tickets sales of 500 pounds per head as well as an auction by Sotheby's. A film-based painting especially created for the fundraiser by celebrated Indian painter, Paresh Maity, was the highlight of the evening and sold for a whopping 35,000 pounds.
The Tata Medical Centre, which has already treated 13,000 patients since its launch in 2011, has been envisioned by the Tata Group as a leading cancer care and research institution in India. It has also tied up with Duke University in the US for cutting-edge research in the field.
"The idea of setting up the state-of-the-art hospital in Kolkata was born out of increasing statistics pointing to the fact that eastern India had a growing number of cancer cases. The figures were fed back to Mr Ratan Tata who kick-started this project, which has been a complete labour of love," said Geeta Gopalakrishnan, donor relationships director of the centre and the creator of the show which she plans to take across Kolkata, Mumbai and Bangalore.
