By: Surjit Singh Flora
Tens of thousands braved the summer heat to enjoy Canada’s biggest South Asian festival earlier this month during the Bollywood Monster Mashup, held in Mississauga at Celebration Square.
The 10-day festival, which featured virtual events and a two-day live festival on Aug. 5 and 6, brought concerts, food and family activities to Mississauga’s city centre, with organizers noting that it was the largest festival hosted at the site in 2022.
“The festival was a huge success, and I had the time of my life singing and dancing with (our guests),” said MonstrARTity executive director Vikas Kohli. “I love experiencing so many glorious moments from your perspective.”
One of the highest-anticipated stars of the festival, Sunny Leone, made a surprise stage appearance on the first night of the festival. She spoke about her decision to take photo-ops with proceeds going towards the non-profit #MonsterArts for Youth program, iterating the importance of supporting children with culturally relevant arts education. Then, she left the stage waving to tens of thousands of adoring fans before returning for two hours of photo-ops with fans the following day.
The #BollywoodMonster Main Stage was full of memorable moments. On Aug. 5, Aaman Trikha sang his massive Bollywood hit “Hookah Bar” and came off the stage to dance with an elderly auntie while singing “Go Go Govinda”. There was also a Gujarati segment with Team NRITYA Garba dancing in dazzling traditional wear and Rushi Purohit mesmerizing audiences with his singing. DDA Canada and Reign Yash Dance Academy brought South Indian Tollywood dancing to both nights.
Beach balls, trumpets, stilt walkers and thousands of people doing the YMCA were just a few of the sights to be seen during #BollywoodMonster Orchestra’s original Bollywood x Disco music and dance production on Aug. 6. Sufi Tunes delighted audiences with a soulful traditional set. Bengali Canadian SHIRSHA delivered soothing mashups like “Ye Barish Ka Paani” x “Take” by Wens and Punjabi-Canadian Nachdi Jawani also delivered high-energy Bhangra and Giddha.
The event concluded with Bollywood star Aakanksha Sharma effortlessly switching from Rajasthani folk songs to inspiring a Garba dance circle forming at the front of the crowd and a young child dancing atop a table to “Khaike Paan”.