'I for India' concert raises over ₹52 cr for COVID-19 relief

Mumbai: The home-to-home digital concert ‘I for India’ was held Sunday. It was done to raise funds for frontline warriors who are working round-the-clock to contain the coronavirus pandemic in India. The programme has raised an amount of over Rs 52 crore donations for relief.

Facebook collaborated with some of the biggest names in Indian entertainment industry. Among them were Shah Rukh Khan, Aamir Khan and Priyanka Chopra.  Hollywood names like Mick Jagger, Will Smith and Sophie Turner also participated in the fundraiser concert.

Taking to Twitter, filmmaker Karan Johar shared Monday an image. It said the concert had become world’s biggest live fundraiser on Facebook by raising Rs 4.3 crore online (and counting). Donations from corporate and philanthropists were to the tune of Rs 47.77 crore.

“From our hearts to yours. Thank you for watching. Thank you for responding. Thank you for donating. #IForIndia started out as a concert. But it can be a movement. Let’s continue to build a safe, healthy & strong India. I For India. Please donate,” wrote Karan Johar.

All the proceeds from the fundraiser concert will go to the India COVID Response Fund, managed by GiveIndia, to support on-ground relief.

The concert also featured Kareena Kapoor Khan, Vidya Balan,  Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Arjun Kapoor, Saif Ali Khan, Rani Mukerji, Katrina Kaif, Vicky Kaushal, Anushka Sharma and Ayushmann Khurrana.

The celebrities participated in singing and poetry reading. They also addressed plight of the migrant workers and daily wage earners. They spoke about hunger in times of COVID-19, child abuse and domestic violence.

The music fraternity 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 personalities from the field of sports such as Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Saina Mirza also took part in the event.