Plenty to pick from yet again in our list of Indian community events in March, despite some stellar cancellations in the entertainment scene.
On offer are some pretty good acts coming to us from India, events from the local community arts scene, and continuing Holi events.
Check out our What’s On listings for details of these and other events this month.
Oh, and if we’ve missed your event, drop us a line on editor@indianlink.com.au – we’ll be happy to add it here.
Bollywood acts in Australia this March
It’s been a bit of a let-down.
Guru Randhawa cancelled. Farhan Akhtar cancelled. Neha Kakkar cancelled.
More than a few eyebrows are being raised at the number of stage shows being called off. In what began as a lush calendar of shows for 2023, we hope these no-shows early in the year are not a sign of things to come.
Still on this month, as far as we can tell, is crooner Sukhwinder Singh (Oscar and Grammy winner). Will he open his show, or close it, with Jai Ho? We’ll just have to be at his Brisbane, Sydney or Melbourne events to find out.
TV music show winner Aishwarya Majmudar will also take to the stage this month in Sydney and Melbourne.
In Perth, current southern rage Andrea Jeremiah brings a bunch of talented friends for the fusion music show BEATZ.
Just for laughs
Meanwhile, the stand-up comics continue to deliver, bless them. With sold-out events thanks to some very niche marketing, India’s new-age comedians are winning hearts in Australia’s Indian community like never before, reaching out to the 20-30 demographic (which is proving to be a different breed of animal altogether). Doing the honours this month are the cross-dressing Sunil Grover, and the controversial Kunal Kamra.
For the Gujju community, the YouTube channel The Comedy Factory brings its stars Manan Desai and Chirayu Mistry down under.
Rang Barse… around the country
Oooh yes, Amitabh Bachchan has been heard a few times these past two weekends, as Australia’s Indian community nationwide marks (a typically extended!) Holi.
In Sydney alone, we’ve showered gulal at Castle Hill, Claremont Meadows, Kogarah, Harris Park and Ryde. We’re now keeping those water pistols packed for upcoming events at Shanes Park, Stanwell Park, Paramatta and Campbelltown.
In Melbourne, there were ‘smear’ campaigns galore at Holi events at East Melbourne, St.Kilda and Knoxfield. If you missed out on these, you can bring out your plain white t-shirts next weekend for Holi celebrations at Docklands, Hawthorn, North Melbourne, West Footscray and Dandenong.
Perth-wallahs and Brisbane-wallahs have also seen rang already, with more to look forward to on the weekend of 18-19 March.
Don’t know about you, but we’ve still got Balam pichkari stuck in our heads… and Lahu muh lag gaya… and Holi khele raghuveera…
Indian-Australian events: In your community
The local LGBTQI+ sector has been repping our community well at Sydney WorldPride.  Trikone Australia has just finished staging Sunderella, its version of that quintessential fairy tale Cinderella. Meanwhile Nicholas Brown’s Sex Magick continues its season till later this month, with its version of queerness and masculinity in South Asian-Australian identity. (Not to be missed here, a Kathakali cameo.)
Sydney is also set to host SAFFA, a South Asian film festival in Sydney featuring short films, documentary films and Australian films.
At the Adelaide Fringe, we’ve seen Tamil rapper Manasvi, and Paramita Roy’s play Mums Behind The Masks is on shortly.
In the local performing arts scene, Sydney will see Utsav, folk dances of India, presented by Hamsa Venkat and her Samskriti School of Dance.
Melbourne will get to see and hear some wonderful Hindustani musicians, from India as well as local, in the Melbourne International Festival of Hindustani Classical Music.
If these events aren’t your cup of chai, check out more Indian events in March on our What’s On page.
