from daijiworld's special correspondent

Panaji, Nov 20: The Goan western music admirers expect this International Film Festival of India (IFFI) to be a different affair. Many people, who find Bollywood an alien field, have something which will surely interest them - the Boney M concert.

This band, a heart-throb of millions during mid-70s, is returning to Goa after 21 years. Goans still remember their mind-blowing performance in 1985 at Bandodkar ground in the heart of the city. Bandodkar ground, this year, will host IFFI's inaugural ceremony while Boney M will be performing at Caranzalem beach, four kms away from the ground.

The IFFI 2006 is scheduled to be held in Goa between November 23 to December 3 and Boney M would perform on November 30.

"The concert will certainly be a crowd-puller as Boney M is evergreen band," says Fransisco Martins, an event manager, who was instrumental in bringing Boney M to Goa in 1985 during their India tour.

Martins remembers how the 1985 show was a big hit. "Nearly 18,000 people attended the show which was ticketed at the price of Rs 100, Rs 200, and Rs 300," he says.

What made this show vibrant was the 50,000 Watts music played by the band and special effects displayed by them which until then were not known to the Goan crowd.

"People still love Boney M and their compositions," says Martins.

For local music composers like Laury Pires, Boney M performance in 1985 was a feast to eyes and ears. "For IFFI it's a free show and the current generation who have heard about this iconic band would love to see them," says Pires, who himself will not miss the concert.