Bollyboom, a percept property that has indulged itself into many youth festival IPs and is widely known to provide a platform for upcoming DJs is truly an amalgamation of Bollywood fused electro music. The festival that promises to give music like never before has largely grown over the years witnessing music biggies performing at the event.

To get a closer look at how Bollyboom has progressed and what they plan on doing in the future, we at Radioandmusic get you an exclusive interview with Percept Live CEO Manuj Agarwal.

Check below

What is Bollyboom all about?

Percept having been in the Entertainment, Media and Communications space since three decades and creating iconic youth festival IPs like Sunburn our learning curve was that the youth enjoy and dance ardently to Bollywood music at clubs and private functions. But large format Bollywood concerts were yet not perceived as fashionable and hip as Bollywood cuts across all demographics and economic segments. Hence large format shows were seeing an assorted crowd mix of various age group and socio-economic strata, therein making it difficult to position Bollywood music events as an aspirational ‘must-visit’ show.

We, therefore, had to re-invent and package an innovative format inclusive of Talent, Technicals, SFX and Venue keeping in mind that Bollyboom would only target the youth and focus on a fluid standing/dancing live crowd. We chose the most popular Punjabi Bollywood / Pop Artists like Guru Randhwa, Diljit Dosanjh, Honey Singh, Badshah, Amyway and many more who are immensely popular and trending amongst the youth. The production would be at par with international standards with top of the line Technicals, AVs, SFX, Visuals, Pyrotechnics and more.

Growth of Bollyboom.

Bollyboom was successfully launched in 2013 and grew from strength to strength from thereon. Bollywood music infused with the beats of Electronica is a phenomenon that's only going to keep growing and getting more popular. The EDM genre, with its revolutionary cutting edge digital sounds and melody, has grown massively in popularity and become the prime music choice of the youth today. And Indians have always been hooked to the melodies of Bollywood music. Combining the two in our IP 'Bollyboom', along with a larger than life dramatic on-ground experience is a win-win combination. The proof of that is witnessed in the increasing numbers of audience attendance at all Bollyboom shows since 2013.

The growing popularity and demand for Bollyboom saw it evolve into multiple formats over the past 7 years. We launched Bollyboom Arenas, Mini Arenas and also innovative Club formats which ensured a national reach and also gave us an ability to introduce and promote young upcoming Bollywood DJ talent across the country.

Tell us something about Bollyboom sub-variants and formats?

Bollyboom offers a blend of Trance, House, Hip Hop, Electro Funk, Synthetic, Pop, Club Music, Techno, Trance, Hardstyle, Sufi and Dubstep music. The concerts belt out trending Bollywood numbers with the best of Artists combined with visually mesmerizing SFX and state-of-the-art technology, thereby enhancing the overall musical experience for audiences.

A pioneering initiative saw us take over popular traditional Indian festivals under the Bollyboom banner and create a brand new revived experience for the youngsters who were already used to celebrating festivals such as Holi, Valentines Day, Baisakhi, Friendship Day, Diwali, Christmas and New Years Eve with the latest trending Bollywood music. ‘Bollyboom’ is the ONLY all India and even International brand in this space.

How is Bollyboom different from the other concerts relating to Bollywood Dance Music?

Having the ‘first mover’ advantage with Bollyboom certainly gave us an edge compared to many other ‘me-too’ Bollywood live event shows that popped up after Bollyboom’s launch in 2013. While the popularity of Bollywood music talent is unquestionable, the many live concerts never come close to the scale of a Sunburn or any of the international artists. The reason being scale and packaging, not Talent. And that is where Bollyboom offered an edge - the indomitable talent of the biggest and trending stars in the Bollywood music space including Guru Randhwa and Diljit Dosanjh with an intrinsic mix of the best of live entertainment elements spanning live percussionists, exotic performers and a jaw-dropping experience combined with visually mesmerizing SFX and state of art Technology curated F&B and a a safe, secure, seamless experience for all attendees making the overall show a big success time and again.

What has really worked for the brand?

Our brand name and credibility has also certainly helped - Percept Live has been instrumental in blazing trends in the music and entertainment industry since decades and fans knew that any Live Event IP from the Percept stable offered a unique, state-of-the-art, guaranteed VFM experience. We already had a huge fan following with the youth across India and overseas courtesy Sunburn, and another IP from our stable in the live music space carried the advantageous stamp of credibility and authenticity for our fans.

What do you keep in mind while working on this project?

We undertake a lot of research, given the dynamic pulse of the millennials. Over the past seven years, we have continuously innovated, tested, experimented, and introduced newer and multiple variants recognizing the potential of Bollyboom across India. Breaking the mould and reinventing the event while keeping its core intact to deliver what the audience wants is our primary goal. Our focused dedication towards delivering the very best to our TG is how we remain successful and atop our game versus the sea of impressionist Live Entertainment options available in the market today.

What are you currently working on?

We are already working with top talent and in future we will add many more prestigious names to this roster. Plans are also afoot to create a curated Bollyboom show which will travel globally like ‘Sensation’.

We are also planning to roll out many more Arena, Club Night and Pop Up formats, as also incorporate many more diverse Indian festivals under the Bollyboom banner across a wider geographical territory. Our calendar will expand to have at least 200 events pan India and overseas annually.

What is the future plan for this festival?

Over the past decade the Live Music Festival domain has grown massively and is today the one-stop music destination of millennials. With a massive youth population and promising economic growth, India offers a promising destination for the Live Events space. Social Media and Live Streaming has further increased audience awareness, growth and reach in this space. Our core audience, the youth, have a high disposable income, are rearing to experience the very best that life has to offer, are keen to step out of their homes and enjoy the dynamic world of live entertainment. We in turn via Bollyboom offer our TA a fun, open, collaborative, engaging platform for them to connect, let loose and just be themselves. Music is a great unifier and events like Bollyboom encourage this ‘healthy social’ experience.

I foresee Bollyboom growing massively to tap many more markets across India as also overseas. We need to stay on top of our R&D, connect proactively with our audiences, see what’s trending, and reinvent our offerings across all parameters basis what’s popular and in demand by our TA. As long as we stay focused on every element of the customer experience inclusive of content, technicals, SFX, F&B, safety, security and value-add can we stay ahead of the curve and grow Bollyboom into a cult organic IP that stretches beyond our borders to entertain overseas audiences craving for a slice of India via Bollywood and everything that comes with it.