Saif, guitar in hand, Bebo in tow

Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor: Weekend rock

Two years ago, he had taken the Mittal Gardens stage in Delhi, jammed to his heart’s content and even dedicated a song to then-flame Rosa.

Next weekend, he will take the Big Lawn stage at Nicco Park, in Calcutta, sing and jam to his heart’s content and (maybe) even blow a kiss to now-flame Kareena.

Saif Ali Khan is set to rock the city, guitar in hand — and hopefully, the girl on his arm — next Friday evening.

The Chhote Nawab will be coming to town as part of the Royal Stag Mega Music Concert, presenting Saif, Delhi band Parikrama and Pakistani band Strings, in a four-city concert tour that kicked off in Bangalore on Friday evening. Next stops: Mumbai on January 20, Calcutta on January 25 and, finally, Delhi on January 27.

The buzz about Bebo is that “there is a strong chance” of her being at the Nicco Park concert with her beau.

Kareena or no Kareena, the “minimum-of-two-hours show” at Nicco Park will open with Strings. Saif will then jam with Parikrama “for 40 minutes at least”.

Bikram Basu, the vice-president of marketing, Pernod Ricard India, the parent company of Seagram’s Royal Stag, says: “Saif’s repertoire will include three or four vocals and six or seven numbers on the guitar.”

Saif puts his play-and-sing part down to his “passion for rock music”. “I look forward to sharing that passion with my fans across the country, hopefully blowing their minds with some classics.... Performing live on stage is so unlike being a movie star. There are no retakes; you have to get it right the first time. That is the challenge,” announced the son of ‘Tiger’ Pataudi and Sharmila Tagore.

The Big Lawn at Nicco Park is expected to pack in 800-plus rock enthusiasts and Saif fans. “The Calcutta crowd is evolved,” says Basu, but also very “price sensitive”. If the tickets for Rs 450 and Rs 600 are sold out, the city could justify the visit of a Roger Waters or a Sting next winter.

Riff tip: Watch out for Saif in his rockstar ganji flashing the tattoo on his forearm spelling out Kareena’s name.