When I was given an option to pen an experience of the big fat Sonu Nigam show (Sonu Nigam Live in Concert with The Telegraph) at the Netaji Indoor Stadium with full capacity, I did not spare a thought and agreed promptly. After all, Sonu Nigam has been such a prolific singer for over 44 years apart from being a terrific anchor, celebrity judge, composer and an actor. So basically he does not want to be put in a bracket and personally I am intrigued by these kind of people. A couple of more factors made me take this up:
1. An interview of his where he rated Mika Singh at 1 out of 10, AR Rahman 2, Arijit Singh 7 and himself 5 (as singers).
2. I had never attended any of his live concerts till date, barring one solo small unplugged performance at the Victoria Memorial on the 50th anniversary of the Vijay Diwas organised by the Indian Army last December.
I wanted to figure out whether he still had the same versatility and pitch-perfect voice and whether he could entertain what was to be a 10K plus full-house audience.
Boy, I was pleasantly surprised at the end of a good two-and-a-half hours of high-octane energy from a man who did not look a day more than 40.
After a felicitation ceremony, the stage was all set at about 7pm for the man to enter and he did it in style with his vast repertoire of work playing on the LED screen at the back.
Entry — with whirring sound emulating that of a helicopter and Sonu Nigam wearing a three-piece suit and sunglass. I kept wondering how he would manage to keep wearing the suit in the sweltering 40 degrees (it was the hottest day in Calcutta after 2106) as the air-conditioning inside the stadium was found wanting.
Crazy dil mera was the first song and he addressed the audience expressing his gratitude for what he has been doing for so many decades.
Next up was Deewana where the audience joined in and Sonu said, “Khub bhalo” and then went into a mimicry session as he is known to be also famous for.
Hans mat pagli was the subsequent song where the audience joined in again and Sonu talked about the Bengal audience being melodious always. Maana ke hum yaar nahin was the song which was my takeaway from the show (without taking anything away from Kal ho na ho and Abhi mujh mein kahin) because I felt he was hitting it out of the park with his rendition. Mere hath mein had a haunting chant of Yaa maula, which I think nobody could have done better than him such is his mastery over his voice.
Usha Uthup arrived and was immediately acknowledged by Sonu. Maria Maria lead to the iconic Saathiya. Mujhse shaadi karogi broke into a repartee about Bengali being a sweet language but how the wives shout on their “husbands wala tone”.
Just chill was sung with much gusto and the audience went into a tizzy.
“One of the best voices in the world is here and I am so very honoured to be singing in front of him,” said Sonu as he greeted Ajoy Chakraborty. He broke into an alaap and Ajoyda joined in and sang Aan milon sajna, which was a definite highlight. Ajoyda heaped compliments on Sonu stating that not only is he a versatile singer but that he is an intelligent one who is a master of his craft and an entertainer par excellence, the likes of whom are born rarely. Then Usha Uthup accompanied Sonu to sing songs like Hari om hari and Ramba ho.
“Ushadi, I am going to dance to Bijuria,” said Sonu. Ushadi whispered into his ear, which I presumed would have been a wish to perform a duet and poof, Prem jegeche amar mone was sung.
The much-requested Bijuria was sung and he moonwalked to a suddenly transitioned beat played by the band from an MJ classic. It was very high on energy, which pleased the crowd no end.
Tanhayee calmed things down a bit and the cellphone torches were lit and remained lit till he ended the show with songs like Tumse milke dil, Aaj ki raat, Kal ho na ho.
He sang Tumse milke dil both in the male and female voices without batting an eyelid. Amazing! Yeah!
What did stand out throughout the show was the number of times everyone in the audience sang. Almost with every song.
Takeaway: Training, Discipline. Talent and hard work with a dose of intelligent application of the mind can keep the audience engrossed for as long as the performer wants to. Also, one has to really respect Sonu for belting out hit after hit for more than 44 years! It is remarkable! Take a bow Sonu Nigam, the one who never needs an auto tuner and may he never do so till he sings.
Concert pictures: Rashbehari Das
Satrajit is a film-maker and a music buff
What they loved
Watching Sonu Nigam live is an experience in itself, not just another concert. He’s a musical prodigy. He’ll keep you glued to your seats till the very last minute. He was, is and will always be my favourite singer. — Anweshaa Bhattacharya
I have been performing with Sonu Nigam since last year... it has been a dream run, playing in Delhi, Dubai, London and now Kolkata — Chayan Chakraborty
The show was a big hit and it brought a smile on everyone’s face. Sonuji was all praises for the crowd of Kolkata. The way he engaged with the audience and mesmerised them was amazing — Saptarshi Basu
