IN2IT Embrace Bollywood During their Mumbai Concert

K-pop band IN2IT, who marked their first sojourn in India with the Korea Fest in Mumbai last weekend, have long found resonance in the country. The band’s six members Hyunuk, Inho, Inpyo, Isaac, Jiahn and Yeontae embarked on their IN2ITxION tour with K-pop sensation AleXa on April 15th to impassioned fans who made up a full house at Prabhadevi’s Ravindra Natya Mandir.

For the uninitiated, K-pop concerts are an experience reminiscent of indelible conversion–there’s no going back once you’ve experienced it. The opening night of the IN2ITxION tour saw the band perform their iconic tracks “Paradise,” “Geronimo,” “Be Bop Baby,” “2U” and more, with stunning covers of songs such as BTS’ “Idol,” GOT7’s “Lullaby,” EXO’s “Love Shot,” Shawn Mendes’ “There’s Nothing Holding Me Back” and “I’ll Never Love Again” by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper.  

The ultimate highlight, however, was when AleXa and the band delivered their cover dance rendition of the Bollywood song “Bole Chudiyan” from the iconic Hindi film Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham. AleXa was dressed in an emerald and rose-colored lehenga while the boys donned gold dupattas/scarves over their black suits to deliver an ode to their Indian fans. Complete with pirouettes, thumkas and shoulder shimmies, the energetic performance was a sight to behold as K-pop’s signature synchronization and fluidity met Bollywood’s color and beats. The concert was cemented as a deeply personal experience for attending fans.

In a time when the words ‘culture’ and ‘appropriation’ often follow each other in quick succession, IN2IT and AleXa’s presentation was a true celebration of the essence of classic Bollywood and popular Indian culture. It couldn’t have been easy to practise for the segment and the group delivered a flawless set. The performance was the Indo-Korean meeting of worlds we never knew we needed.