Got dhol will travel

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | 7 Aug 2015 | Asia Samachar |

The star-studded International Indian Film Academy Awards (IIFA) Awards 2015 was in full swing. Top Bollywood stars were being beamed live globally from the programme in Malaysia early last month.

Actor Hritik Roshen was in his elements with the  song Tu Meri from the movie Bang Bang. Half-way through comes on stage the Dholiz, the Malaysian-made dhol group, adding zest to an already exciting performance for the closing item.

“We were right in front of all the top artists. You had Deepika Padukone, Anupam Kher, Anil Kapoor and Boman Irani. ’Is this for real?’ I began thinking,” Dholiz leader Sukhvinder Singh tells Asia Samachar.

“It all began with a phone call from the event general manager who got my contact details online,” he says. “This was our biggest show yet.”

Indeed. The IIFA Awards is a Bollywood extravaganza. Fans eagerly await for the telecast to catch glimpses of their favourite superstars performing on stage.

Aside from Hrithik, the star-studded event also saw performances by Shahid Kapoor, Shraddha Kapoor, Sonakshi Sinha and Parineeti Chopra. The hostrs were Ranveer Singh and Arjun Kapoor.

On stage with Sukhvinder were Pretti Dev Kaur, Hashpreet Kaur, Sanjeev Singh and Seqvaq Singh.

The beginning

Sukhvinder, known as Suki to friends, started providing dhol classes in 2010. In the same year, Dholiz got their brush with stardom when they performed in the Zee Nite 2010 show which was held in Malaysia.

He is still active in helping new talent to brush up their skills at the dhol with his weekly classes.

The group also does dhol performances at various functions like weddings, birthdays, corporate events, product launches, shows/melas and grand openings.

“We also take part in drumming ceremonies for cultural shows,” he said.

Among others, they have performed at events organised by corporations like the Oracle and Gardens Mid-Valley.

Today, there are more than two dozen dhol groups in Malaysia and less than a dozen in neighbouring Singapore.

On July 5, Dholiz came out runners-up in the Malaysia Dholis Got Talent 2015 competition in Kuala Lumpur. Dhol Riderz emerged as the best dhol group.

Dholiz member Preeti Dev once again vowed the crowd when she emerged as the champion in the junior category.

[Sukvinder can be contact at suki@thedholiz.com]

 

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