If you thought the mass hysteria for Michael Jackson in Bombay was great, well, Madhuri Dixit created just the same, in Calcutta. Yes, Madhuri shook the city of joy, just as Michael Jackson woke up the entire country!

The Salt Lake Stadium was packed to full capacity, with an audience of over 1,35,000. Compered by Arjun of 'Mahabharat' fame and Madhu, the local TV presenter, the show was a hit from the word go!

Anuradha Paudwal,sensing the public's impatience for Madhuri's entry, sang her two hot numbers, 'Tama tama loge' and 'Dhak dhak karne laga'. Incidentally, Arjun is a great singer himself and his rendition of 'Pukarta, chala hoon main', was a flawless attempt.

Jeetendra, also present, was mobbed and Shobha had to leave his side because she was hassled by the crowds. Usha Uthup singing, was a great hit as she always is, especially in West Bengal. This heavily accentuated woman, really knows how to play to the gallery. And when she sang a recent sexy number for the Bengali men, they actually threw coins. She really turned them on!

After Usha Di (as she is fondly referred to in Bengal), one thought that Sukhbir, that hot, sexy MTV guy from Dubai and a Dolphin discovery, would have a tough time with the audience. But! This pony-tailed Sardar actually got the kids and the oldies coming on to the stage, to dance to his bhangra pop! And the crowd had to be stopped from picking up chairs and dancing in a frenzy! Present on behalf of the Dolphin Group were Ketan and Alka Somaia. Representing CINE BLITZ were Editor Mrs. Rita K. Mehta and Ms Pammi Somal, Assistant Editor, Cine Blitz TV channel.

Backstage, Madhuri was waiting for Chief Minister Jyoti Basu, as she had to present him the cheque on behalf of CINE BLITZ. So Jeetu was busy entertaining her and Rikku with his jokes. He recalled his first show (after 23 years of his career) at the same open air stadium. "There was dew on the stage and as Sreedevi and I stepped on, I just slipped and entered the stage on my back, while Madam came in on her high heels!"

Meenakshi gave her finest performance of Bharat Natyam. The girl is a professional, no doubts about that ! Mithun Chakraborty, known as the Tiger of Bengal, sang a number and later warmed the Bengali hearts with his dance and dialogues. Kumar Sanu, another Bengali, was truly at home.

As Madhuri presented the cheque to Jyoti Basu, she broke into Bengali and drove the crowds into a further frenzy!

Here, I must add, that all the efforts towards the presentation would not have been possible without one person - Swapna Sadhan Bose, franchisee of The Asian Age, Calcutta, affectionately referred to as Tutu Bose by everybody. The award goes to him for making it a one man show. Right from the teething problems to the hospitality and controlling the crowds, Tutu did a great job. He even danced to Usha Uthup's songs and took over the mike from the compere in between!

Madhuri stole a few moments to visit Mother Teresa and that is one experience she cannot ever get over!