Bollywood
Backstreet Boys land in Mumbai for sold-out concert amidst scalping rumours
All roads lead to BKC Jio Gardens tonight as fans of 90s boyband Backstreet Boys prep to watch their teen idols onstage. In their rollercoaster three-decade career, AJ McLean, Brian Littrell, Nick Carter, Howie Dorough, and Kevin Richardson have thrilled fans around the world with their impeccable choreography, heavenly harmonies, and over a dozen chart-topping hits.
Due to overwhelming popular demand, they have expanded their massive DNA World Tour to Mumbai and Delhi. This tour is a celebration of the then-boyband’s rich legacy, featuring megawatt hits such as ‘I Want It That Way’, ‘Everybody’ (Backstreet’s Back), ‘Quit Playing Games With My Heart’ and ‘As Long As You Love Me’, along with the latest offerings from their recent album DNA, including ‘Don’t Go Breaking My Heart’, ‘Chances’, and ‘No Place’, among others.
The quintet has already landed in Mumbai to a roaring welcome from fans at the airport. Their hotel staff treated BSB to a Bollywood-style dance performance of their hit songs which Nick Carter posted on his Instagram page. In the video, he remarked with an ear-to-ear grin on his face.
“This is the first time I have seen something like this in my entire career.” In the caption, Carter wrote, “What cool surprise arriving at the hotel here in Mumbai India. The hotel staff had a full-out Bollywood-style dance prepared remixing all our songs. I guess we really do have fans all over the world.”
Sold-out shows
There has been a mad scramble for tickets ever since the concert was announced in February 2023. BSB fans are a passionate and mixed bunch. Everyone from the portly neighbourhood housewife with four kids in tow, the suave businessmen in their Armani suits to the navel-baring crop top brigade are followers. So, it’s not surprising that tickets were sold out weeks ago.
Official ticketing partner Bookmyshow’s website had no tickets available across tiers: Everybody Zone (general access for INR 3500 to INR 5000), I Want It That Way (closer to the stage for INR 8000 to INR 10000) and All I Have To Give (VIP passes with lounge access for INR 15000 to INR 20000).
Prices varied according to the subdivision in each tier for Mumbai and Delhi. However, as the concert date inched closer, tickets mysteriously started resurfacing. Suddenly, concertgoers are selling off their tickets via social media since they weren’t going “due to unavoidable circumstances”. Of course, they are selling them at a much higher price than the original cost.
General access tickets are going for VIP prices. The truth behind the matter is hidden in plain sight: scalping.
Trend of scalping
Scalping of concert tickets is when someone buys tickets to a concert or event and then resells them for a higher price. The person who bought the tickets originally is usually a fan who wants to attend the event, but the scalper buys the tickets with the intention of making a profit by reselling them at a higher price.
Scalpers use bots and loopholes on the ticketing site to do this. This is possible because demand for the tickets is often higher than the supply, and scalpers take advantage of this by charging fans more than the original price.
The practice of scalping can be controversial because it often means fans have to pay more than they should.
Wrote Twitter user Piyush: “There is suddenly a surplus of Backstreet Boys tickets for Mumbai:
One ardent fan tweeted: “The millennial in me wants to attend the BackStreet Boys DNA World tour in Mumbai, but ticket bohot mehenga hai. Kuch jugaad hai kya?
The scalping of concert tickets for BSB is a fascinating example of the dynamics of supply and demand. The popularity of the boy band is such that demand for tickets is far outstripping supply, creating a lucrative opportunity for scalpers who are able to obtain tickets through various means.
Scalpers are using sophisticated technology and strategies to capitalize on the imbalance between supply and demand and adjust their selling price accordingly. While some may see scalping as a nefarious practice that takes advantage of fans, it can also be seen as a natural outcome of a market where demand exceeds supply. It’s clear that the practice of scalping can have negative consequences, however, particularly when it creates a sense of unfairness among fans who are unable to obtain tickets at face value.
Surge in streaming
The band has seen close to a 2x surge in daily searches on Spotify in India since the Mumbai and Delhi of their world tour were announced in February.
Spotify playlist- ‘This Is Backstreet Boys’; which includes some of the band’s biggest hits, also witnessed an 88% increase in streams during this period. Released over 20 years ago; ‘I Want It That Way’ continues to be a fan favourite and is the band’s top-streamed track in India since the tour announcement. This is followed by ‘As Long as You Love Me’, ‘Everybody (Backstreet’s Back) – Radio Edit’, ‘Show Me the Meaning of Being Lonely’, and ‘Quit Playing Games With My Heart’, which complete the list of the top 5 most streamed Backstreet Boys songs on Spotify in India right now.
New documentary
BSB has also gifted their loyal fans with the first episode of their slick new documentary series, ‘Making Of The DNA Tour’, offering an exclusive behind-the-scenes glimpse into the preparation for this world tour. Five episodes are out on their Youtube channel. Rick+Tone will be recording more footage for the documentary during the Mumbai and Delhi shows.
Bollywood
Allu Arjun welcomes sister-in-law Nayanika to the family after engagement with brother Allu Sirish

Mumbai, Nov 1: Allu Arjun welcomed his sister-in-law Nayanika to the family after her engagement with his brother Allu Sirish on Friday.
Uploading a couple of photos of the lovebirds from the engagement ceremony, the ‘Pushpa’ actor penned on his X (Previously known as Twitter), “Grand celebrations at home begin! A new addition to the family! We’ve been waiting for this joyful moment for a while…(sic).”
Congratulating his brother on his new journey, AA added, “Congratulations to my sweetest brother, @AlluSirish, and a warm welcome to the family, #Nayanika! Wishing you both a beautiful new beginning filled with love and happiness! (black heart emoji).”
On Friday, Allu Sirish used social media to share the happiest news of his life – his engagement with Nayanika with the netizens.
He posted some dreamy photographs from the engagement ceremony and penned, “I am finally & happily engaged to the love of my life, Nayanika (sic).”
The post immediately went viral, garnering a lot of love from the cybercitizens.
The engagement – an intimate yet elegant family affair was attended by the various members of the Allu and Konidela families.
The festivities were graced by Allu Arjun with his family, Megastar Chiranjeevi and his family, Ram Charan and his wife Upasana, and Varun Tej with Lavanya, along with others.
Both Sirish and Nayanika made for a beautiful couple on the occasion. While Sirish wore a customised Manish Malhotra outfit for his special day, Nayanika was all elegant in a Sabyasachi lehenga.
On October 1, Allu Sirish announced his engagement to Nayanika on the birth anniversary of his grandfather, the legendary actor and comedian Allu Ramalingaiah.
He took to social media and dropped a picture of himself holding Nayanika’s hand during their romantic getaway in Paris.
Sharing the personal update, Allu Sirish penned a heartfelt note that read, “Today on the birth anniversary of my grandfather, Allu Ramalingaiah garu, I feel blessed to share something very close to my heart- my engagement to Nayanika. (sic)”
Bollywood
Vivek Oberoi to play Aurangzeb in Rishab Shetty’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, say reports

Mumbai Oct 31: Bollywood actor Vivek Oberoi has been roped in to play Aurangzeb opposite Rishab Shetty’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in Sandeep Singh’s upcoming historical epic, ‘The Pride of Bharat: Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’, according to reports on Friday.
While there is no official confirmation as of yet.
The film will depict the journey of history’s greatest warrior king, highlighting the courage, strategy, and devotion that shaped the foundation of Swarajya.
With Rishab Shetty as Shivaji Maharaj, Shefali Shah as Jijamata, and now Vivek Oberoi stepping into the role of Aurangzeb, the stage is set for a compelling narrative that explores both conflict and conviction at an epic scale.
Vivek Oberoi’s inclusion will add another remarkable chapter to his strong slate of upcoming projects, which includes Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s ‘Spirit’ with Prabhas and Nitesh Tiwari’s ‘Ramayana’.
Helmed by Sandeep Singh, ‘The Pride of Bharat: Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’ is shaping up to be one of Indian cinema’s most ambitious historical productions, with a team comprising multiple National and Academy Award-winning technicians.
The magnum opus is slated for a never-seen-before mega global release in more than 40 countries worldwide on January 21, 2027, in Hindi, Marathi, Kannada, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Bengali and English.
Talking about Vivek, the actor is all set for his upcoming movie ‘Mastiii 4’. The movie also stars Aftab Shivdasani and Ritesh Deshmukh in the lead.
Talking about Rishab Shetty, the actor is currently riding high with the humongous success of his recently released movie, ‘Kantara: Chapter 1’. The movie also stars Rukmini Vasanth.
‘Kantara: Chapter 1’ released last month on October 2.
It competed with Janhvi Kapoor-starrer ‘Sunny Sanskari Ki Tulsi Kumari’ at the box office.
Bollywood
Bollywood actor Mukesh Rishi watches J&K Assembly proceedings from Speaker’s Gallery

Srinagar, Oct 29: Bollywood actor Mukesh Rishi on Wednesday watched the proceedings of J&K Assembly from the Speaker’s Gallery as members cutting across party lines welcomed his presence.
The Assembly warmly welcomed Rishi, who was present in the Speaker’s Gallery during the ongoing session.
Members across party lines greeted the actor with applause as Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather announced his presence in the House.
Rishi belongs to J&K and was born on April 19, 1956, in a Gujjar Chaudhary family in Kathua district.
Growing up in Jammu, graduating from Government College, Sector 11, Chandigarh, and working for two years in Mumbai, Rishi moved to Fiji for work, where he met his future wife, who is of Indo-Fijian ancestry. Her family ran a traditional departmental store. He has a lucrative investment portfolio, including warehouse investments.
He later worked as a model in New Zealand before beginning his acting career in India.
An actor known for playing villainous and supporting roles and a film producer, he has worked in Hindi, Telugu, and other films. Among his better-known Bollywood movies are “Gunda” (1998), “Sarfarosh” (1999), and “Koi… Mil Gaya” (2003).
The Autumn Session of the J&K Assembly will end on October 31. With its conclusion, all the top offices of government, including those of the Chief Minister, his cabinet colleagues, the Chief Secretary, administrative secretaries and the Director General of Police (DGP) will move to the winter capital Jammu.
The move is called the “Dabar Move” and will see the offices functioning for six months from the winter capital, Jammu.
The over one and a half century old practice of shuttling offices between Srinagar and Jammu was stopped by the Lt Governor in 2021, but has been restored by the elected government headed by Omar Abdullah.
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