Dear MAX,
Turn back the clock- give us some more rock!

As the official broadcaster of the Rolling Stones Licks India Tour 2003, you will be the catalyst (or should we say time-machine) that will empower viewers to take a journey back in time - into the glorious 60s and 70s, relive a part of their growing years when they modelled themselves and emulated the members of what Indian crooner Remo Fernandes refers to as the "the world's greatest rock 'n' roll band".

Please make sure that you broadcast two unforgettable moments of the concert held in Mumbai yesterday (7 April 2003) at Mumbai's Brabourne stadium - a"live" again after being relegated these past years to a literal non-entity amongst the metropolitan's happening hotspots.

The first one was the breathtaking view of thousands of fans of the "Honky Tonky Men" courtesy a cleverly placed camera on Keith Richards' and Roonie Wood's guitar. The sea of humanity which braved all odds; celebrities and page three types who had no qualms about waiting in serpentine queues; a youthful brigade of adventurous rockers who devised new ways of breaking the ranks in an effort to get closer to the stage; older generation of rock fans who begged, borrrowed, stole event managers' badges/ID cards in an effort to go backstage and embrace their icons...

The second one was something which many fans would have missed. Riff mania at its peak when a fully charged Richards sat on the steps down below near the stage and gave us a taste of his genius cheered by a bunch of nubile "groupies".

Those were the standout shots of a standout performance! Who can forget the flaying arms and pelvic thrusts of the original MJ (Mick Jagger). At 7:45 pm, a roar went up when the lights dimmed and the mystical blue ethereal lights from the stage started criss-crossing the already "high" audiences. The man himself - Mick Jagger - came onto the stage in his blue coat - and greeted aamchi (our) Mumbai with "Kasa Kai Mumbai" (How are you, Mumbai)!

Queer usage of Marathi words - was it the presence of several state politicians which inspired him? Or was it a way to strike a rapport right at the very beginning as he knew that he (and his team) were going to indulge in some eyebrow raising activities. (such as clutching the groin; "winking suggestively" at the crowds and the camera; displaying the "skill of flickering tongues"; and smoking on stage right in the midst of a complex guitar routine.

The Stones started off with Brown Sugar - touted as the rock anthem for the rebels... the nomads... the wanderers. Within moments, Mick's blue coat came off and the band plunged into It's only rock 'n' roll. By the third song Start me up, the shirt had come off revealing blue sleeveless t-shirts. By then, the crowds were screaming Don't Stop as Jagger actually picked up the guitar!

Whenever, the crowd response slackened, Jagger and his cronies livened up the scene by walking to corners of the stage and down the centrally located steps. These antics had the crowds screaming for more. Equally memorable was the scenes of the guitarists and the lead vocalists coming together and indulging in on-stage bon-homie! When the granddaddies of rock finally ended the show with (I can't get no) Satisfaction and Jumpin' Jack Flash, it was an exhausted but statiated audience that they left behind.

Yes, we want you to show us the various sequences of the fashion show wherein Jagger and his gang changed into different costumes during the course of the two-hour session. We loved the blues, the whites, the purples and even te yellow coloured shirts, t-shirts, coats and pullovers.

Equally memorable was the way in which the extremely talented back-up vocalists supported the frontmen - especially the "supremely bestowed but highly talented" female artiste who crooned away even as Jagger stood on the sidelines and applauded her - and then she moved on to do a duet sequence with Jagger himself. Sheer chemistry man!

Do show the innumerable times that Ronnie Wood made eyes at the crowd and sportingly acknowledged the front-rows fans who had followed them from Bangalore to Mumbai like a pack of school boys.

Please also cast the camera on the off-stage groupies - nubile nymphets who were echoing the lyrics belted out by the stars on stage and dancing away to glory at the sidelines.

Did you get a shot of Radhika Bangar (or should we say Radhika head-banger?) who made it to the concert in a wheel-chair?

And what about the Argentinian groupie Ferredico (he refused to give his second name) and his gang who had flown in from Bangalore after attending the show there. Mr Know-it-all Ferredico warned all of us in the front row that we would not be able to see anything for the first few minutes as the press photographers would swarm around the Stones and the stage like bees. Throughout the entire show, Ferredico and his gang were shouting "Ole Ole" and "Locetto" in their inimitable style egging the Stones on to greater heights.

Yes, Mumbaikars were there and so was the TV/advertising industry. Did you see the mad scramble for Rolling Stones plectrums and their drum sticks?

We got a few reactions from a cross section of the rockers. Did you get them on camera?

Advertising Guru Alyque Padamsee: "Great energy!"

MTV VJ Aditya Hitkari: "Really got licked! Jumping Jack Flash and Sympathy for the devil are tracks we have been freaking out since eons!"

Actress Mita Vashisht: "Great to be here. Feel alive after a long time!"

The original Mick Jagger Mumbai-based clone and unabashed admirer Gary Lawyer when questioned whether he enjoyed it: "What a question! Unquestionably yes!"

Yes, we can't get no satisfaction. Yeh Dil Mange More!

Thanking you and hoping to see you (UB group's McDowells No 1 banners outnumbered your banners during the show in the stadium) when you telecast it again!

Thanking you.

Your's sincerely,

A die-hard Rolling Stones fan.