It’s the first Proms Bollywood celebration for over a decade – all to commemorate Lata Mangeshkar’s passing in 2022, at the age of 92. The “Nightingale of India” recorded about 50,000 songs in 36 languages, with a legacy as the world’s greatest “playback” singer.

In homage to her idol, acclaimed Indian playback singer Palak Muchhal (Jai Ho!; Kick; Prem Ratan Dhan Payo) channels Mangeshkar’s inimitable tone that combines the technical virtuosity of Indian classical music with the sweetness of a pop princess. Muchhal effortlessly holds her own for the full two-hour programme: it’s her show. But it’s also great to see her duetting with her brother, Palash Muchhal, the youngest Bollywood composer in history (Dishkiyaoon; Bhoothnath Returns). He doesn’t have his sister’s technical chops, but he’s a charming, understated vocalist, and their medley of duets in the first half is a highlight.

Conducted by Michael Seal (also an arranger) in his Proms debut, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (CBSO) are on fine form, particularly when the timpani (Matthew Hardy) and drum kit (Sophie Hastings) are joined by guest performers on dholak (Guzby Singh Lackhanpal) and tabla (Parvinder Bharat). These full-pelt, fiery moments of intense percussion are matched by on-stage dancers (Hannah Nazareth; Saran Raja; Ankush Saigal; Saloni Saraf), with costume and choreography (Ankush Saigal; Saloni Saraf) straight out of Bollywood. The concert needs more of this!

The idea for an east-meets-west Prom as part of the “world’s greatest classical music festival” is a great one. But it’s undermined by somewhat unadventurous arrangements (Nathen Durasamy; Tim Pottier; Saurabh Shivakumar; Michael Seal; George Moore), which mostly stick to a tame, western sound, and don’t make enough use of Indian instruments – why is there no sitar?

Tickets for all 71 Proms are available from just £8 on the BBC Proms 2023 website.