The global fundraiser ‘We For India’ has raised over $5 million for COVID-19 relief. This has been made possible with the support of the corporate partners, philanthropic foundations, and donors who came forward to support the India COVID Response Fund. The global fundraiser concert, which was held on 15th August in association with GiveIndia, The World We Want and Facebook, saw over 100 entertainers, influencers and artistes perform for the global audiences.
The fundraiser, featuring leading filmmakers Steven Spielberg, Rajkumar Hirani, Kabir Khan, Karan Johar, Imtiaz Ali and Farhan Akhtar, was hosted by Rajkumar Rao. Ajay Devgan, Hrithik Roshan, Nagarjuna, Chiranjeevi, R. Madhavan, Vidya Balan, Sidharth Malhotra, Kartik Aaryan, Sonakshi Sinha, Prosenjit Chatterjee and Arjun Kapoor made impactful appearances in the multi-star extravaganza.
The viewers were also left mesmerised by performances from global musical maestro A.R. Rahman, the legendary Annie Lennox, Ed Sheeran, Sister Sledge ft. Sledgendary, Nancy Ajram, Nile Rodgers and Shankar Mahadevan, among other music stalwarts. Several interesting interactions featuring stars and film icons Saif Ali Khan, Mick Jagger, TV personality Dina Shihabi, Sara Ali Khan, Farah Khan, Vikramaditya Motwane, Ini Dima-Okojie and Parineeti Chopra also motivated the donors to contribute to the noble cause.
A dance off between Remo D’Souza and Prabhudeva left everyone asking for more. Sports legends Mahesh Bhupathi and Sania Mirza made the concert a heartwarming and enriching experience.
Among the participants were A.R. Rahman, Adah Sharma, Aditi Rao Hydari, Ajay Devgan, Ajit Mohan, Akkineni Nagarjuna, Alaya F., Amit Mishra, Amit Tandon, Ananya Panday, Angira Dhar, Ankur Tewari, Annie Lennox, Arjun Kapoor, Arjun Mathur, Bickram Ghosh, Chiranjeevi, Dia Mirza, Divyendu Sharma, Ed Sheeran, Farah Khan, Farhan Akhtar, Guru Randhawa, Harmeet Singh, Hardy Sandhu, Hrishitaa Bhatt, Hrithik Roshan, Imtiaz Ali, Jaaved Jaaferi, Javed Akhtar, Johny Lever, Kabir Khan, Kalki Koechlin, Kanika Kapoor, Karan Johar, Karan Wahi, Karisma Kapoor, Kartik Aaryan, Kirti Kulhari, Mahesh Bhupathi, Malaika Arora, Manish Malhotra, Manjari Fadnis, Manmeet Singh, Meezaan, Mick Jagger, Mira Kapoor, Mithoon, Nakul Mehta, Nushrat Bharucha, Parampara Tandon, Parineeti Chopra, Prabhudeva, Pragya Jaiswal, Prakriti Kakar, Pratik Gandhi, Prosenjit Chatterjee, Purab Kohli, R. Madhavan, Rahul Bose, Rajkumar Hirani, Rajkumar Rao, Rakul Preet Singh, Rannvijay Singha, Remo D’Souza, Ribhu Dasgupta, Rohit Saraf, Sachet Tandon, Saif Ali Khan, Salim Merchant, Sania Mirza, Sanjana Sanghi, Sanya Malhotra, Saqib Saleem, Sara Ali Khan, Shankar Mahadevan, Shantanu Moitra, Sharad Kelkar, Shekhar Ravjiani, Shibasish Sarkar, Shilpa Rao, Shilpa Shetty, Shreyas Talpade, Siddhant Chaturvedi, Siddhanth Kapoor, Sidharth Malhotra, Sonakshi Sinha, Sonu Sood, Steven Spielberg, Sukriti Kakar, Sulaiman Merchant, Swanand Kirkire, Tisca Chopra, Tusshar Kapoor, Usha Uthup, Varun Sharma, Vidya Balan, Vikram Bhatt, Vikramaditya Motwane and Vishal Dadlani.
Shibasish Sarkar, Group CEO of Reliance Entertainment, said, “The honest and sincere efforts of our team and our partners is the reason behind the great success of this event. I would like to extend my gratitude to all the talent, artistes, philanthropists, and everyone who supported this fundraiser. It is our humble contribution to our nation’s ongoing battle against the invisible enemy.” Atul Satija, CEO of GiveIndia, said, “We are grateful for all the support we have received from each and everyone who donated and came together to make We For India such an impactful journey. Thank you for making it a success and contributing to our India COVID Response Fund. We all know that the pandemic and the suffering it has caused is far from over. We For India is a great, timely initiative to remind us of the need to continue to provide humanitarian aid and strengthen our health infrastructure.” Manish Chopra, Director and Head of Partnerships, Facebook India, said, “The great success of this initiative is the result of the collective efforts of so many people, and truly epitomises the power of communities. As Facebook, we are proud to have supported the voice of leading artistes from all over the world and partnered Give India and Reliance Entertainment in this laudable effort towards COVID relief.”
The funds will be utilised for medical infrastructure in India, to support lives and provide people with livelihoods.