The home-to-home digital concert “I for India” organized to raise funds for the frontliners working day-and-night to curb the coronavirus pandemic in the nation, has upraised a sum of over Rs 52 crore donations for relief. Facebook collaborated with some of the biggest names in the Indian entertainment industry, including Shah Rukh Khan, Aamir Khan, Priyanka Chopra and Hollywood names like Mick Jagger, Will Smith and Sophie Turner for the fundraiser concert on Sunday.
On Monday, taking to Twitter, filmmaker Karan Johar shared an image as per which the concert had become the world’s principal live fundraiser on Facebook by raising Rs 4.3 crore online (and counting) “From our hearts to yours. Thank you for watching it. Thank you for replying. Thank you for donating. #IForIndia began out as a concert. But it can be a drive. Let’s endure to build a safe, healthy & strong India. I For India. Please donate,” he wrote. Donations from corporate and philanthropists amounted to Rs 47.77 crore and are still calculating.
All the earnings from the fundraiser concert will go to the India COVID Response Fund, managed by GiveIndia, to support on-ground relief. The concert also highlighted Kareena Kapoor Khan, Vidya Balan, Shabana Azmi, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Saif Ali Khan, Arjun Kapoor, Rani Mukerji, Diljit Dosanjh, Dulquer Salmaan, Katrina Kaif, Vicky Kaushal, Anushka Sharma, Ayushmann Khurrana, Mindy Kaling, Jack Black, amongst others. Besides singing and poetry reading, the superstars addressed predicament of migrant workforces, daily wage earners and hunger in times of COVID-19, child abuse and domestic violence, both of which have been going up since the lockdown started in India from March 25. They also cheered the audience to treat stray animals tenderly and develop ecological habits going forward.
The music community saw the presence of Bryan Adams, AR Rahman, Gulzar, Javed Akhtar, Jay Sean, Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, Jonas Brothers, Amaan Ali, Ayaan Ali, Shankar Ehsaan Loy, Sonu Nigam, Arijit Singh, Badshah, Rekha Bhardwaj and others. Filmmakers such Farah Khan, Vishal Bhardwaj and characters from the arena of sports such as Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Saina Mirza also participated in the event.