May 15, 2026 8:15pm IST
When Michael Jackson Came To Mumbai: Wizcraft Founders Recall Celeb Frenzy, ‘Anupam Kher Jumped Over a Fence, Sanjay Dutt Was Front-Row’ (EXCLUSIVE)
The Michael Jackson biopic, ‘Michael’, featuring Jaafar Jackson, is receiving much love and sending people on a nostalgia spree. For those who attended the King of Pop’s concert in Mumbai back in November 1996, few experiences compare. As the co-founders of Wizcraft, Viraf Sarkari, Andre Timmins and Sabbas Joseph, describe it, the craze amongst Indian fans—including celebrities like Anupam Kher, Prabhudeva and Sanjay Dutt—was unparalleled.
The trio responsible for bringing Michael Jackson to Mumbai for his one and only India concert in 1996 sat down for an exclusive chat with Variety India. They talked about being three young event organizers when a fax about India being a possible stop on MJ’s HIStory tour changed their lives.
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They go on to describe the frenzy when Michael Jackson landed in Mumbai and how the Western Express Highway had shut down on one side while the other was left open for MJ’s motorcade to pass. Schools, colleges and offices had shut down, and people were on the streets with posters to welcome the King of Pop to Mumbai, an impossible sight that had become possible. But the most unexpected reaction came from celebrities who waited for hours to see the icon.
“We landed at The Oberoi hotel, and Prabhu Deva was waiting there to meet Michael, along with a lot of other stars who had requested to meet him. He waited for 48 hours to get his photograph with Michael,” Andre Timmins revealed.
“In the evening, we brought Michael to the poolside for a press meet. I can never forget that, before he began speaking, Anupam Kher jumped over the fence to come and meet him. And the moment that happened, Michael’s security went for him and I said, “No, no, listen, he's a star!” To date, he has that photograph with Michael.”
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Timmins also recalls watching the concert with Sanjay Dutt and how the actor continues to consider the concert a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
“All these celebrities like Sanjay Dutt, Akshay Kumar, Sunil Gavaskar, everybody wanted tickets to come. Being stars, we gave them the ₹15,000 tickets for the top stand. I was talking to Sanjay Dutt recently about Michael Jackson’s biopic, and he said, ‘Andy, you remember, right? All of us from the top came down to watch it from up front. It was one of the best experiences that I had.”
The Michael Jackson concert of 1996 was a major milestone in India's concert and events history.
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