Sonu Nigam took the stage on Sunday in New Town to sing. But he had to first play usher cum security guard before he could focus on his singing.

The melody king was back in town after more than a year but this time, instead of Netaji Indoor Stadium, where his 2022 and 2023 shows were held, the venue for his concert was Aquatica on the fringes of Action Area III.

By the time, the singer appeared on stage at 7.45pm, it was almost a full house. “This is a seated crowd of about 12,000, similar to the Diljit Dosanjh show (on November 30). Only Bryan Adams had a standing crowd of 15,000 (on December 8),” said an officer of the Kolkata Leather Complex police station, under the jurisdiction of which the area falls.

Sonu appeared singing the soulful Laal Singh Chaddha number Ho raha hai jo ho raha hai kyun, little knowing that he would soon be left wondering the same in a different context.

He carried on with the second song (the title track of Kartik Aaryan’s Shehzada) and then powered through Aisa pehli baar hua hai. As the dance number got more people pushing towards the stage with as much vigour as Salman Khan had put into the steps of the song 25 years ago in Har Dil Jo Pyar Karega, Sonu paused, urging the crowd “Aap log thoda settle ho jaiye”, before starting Deewana tera.

But the chartbusting number from his 1999 album Deewana only fuelled the urge in some to get closer to the stage. With the area at the base of the stage milling with standing figures, Sonu called out: “Look at me. Stop. Aisa nahin ho payega.” Pulling out his earpiece and addressing the unruly bunch, he said: “Aap ko malum pad raha hai na aap unko block kar rahe hai? The people who are sitting deserve to see the concert. They are not supposed to just see your back,” he said, chastising those who had surged into the premium ticket area.

The comment was greeted with cheers of approval from the suffering spectators. Searching for officials to get a grip on the situation, Sonu then acidly asked: “Koi authority hai yahan pe, ya nahin hai? Ya main hi ootroon niche?”

Sonu Nigam tries to control the crowd blocking the view of seated spectators as cops step in

His irritation was clearly rising but keeping the tone level, he added: “Agar aap ko khade hona hi hai, election mein khade ho jao, yaar.” That lightened the situation. Some cops were finally seen amid the melee.

Dispersal was still taking time, so he gave an ultimatum. “There is a cut-off time to end the concert. This means I will have to cut my songs,” he threatened, mouthing the lyrics of his own song bitterly: Aisa pehli baar hua hai 17-18 saalon mein. Hardly a good advertisement for the city’s reputation!

Still playing crowd-controller from the stage, Sonu said: “This side can see me now. That side also needs to. Just make this space empty,” asking even the posse of policemen to move away. Finally he suggested that the hangers-on sit down wherever they were. “Yeh idea bhi mujh hi ko dena pada!” he wondered aloud.

The seasoned performer did not let the disruption dampen the mood. As soon as things were under control, he gave the cue to his musicians to play the opening bars of his Om Shanti Om hit, raising cheers, but only to playfully veer into the evergreen romantic number from Raj Kapoor’s Bobby, Main shayar toh nahin. He paused at the words tujhko mujhko, repeating them like the pin of a vinyl record getting stuck at a point, and then suddenly launched into Main agar kahoon, filling the audience with rapture.

After the next song, You are my Sonia, in which he got the listeners to sing along with him, the son-in-law of Bengal paid a rich tribute to his sasurbari. “Pura Bangal kala ka khazana hai. Yahan sunnewale khud hi kalakaar hai,” he said. The next song was a Bengali one too — Balo piya balo na, from the Jeet-Koel Mullick-starrer Saat Pake Bnadha.

The audience’s sing-along skills again came in for praise once he finished the soulful Tum ko jo pal bhar mein from Dabangg. “Bangal aur Maharashtra mein sab sur mein gaate hai. Baki jagah...” he paused, mimicking a tuneless audience, much to the crowd’s mirth.

But Sonu was not done with his share of disapprovals for the evening. Addressing the stage designer, he pointed out how one side of the audience could see him straight but the other side had to turn to a side to face him. “I am unable to connect with those people. It is the one job you are supposed to do. Please do it right the next time,” he complained.

Performing for 47 years

Looking as youthful as he did 10 years ago, the 51-year-old took most of his listeners aback by announcing that he was completing 47 years of performing on stage. But his die-hard fans, like Agasthya and Sonal Agarwal of Bangur Avenue, knew that he had been accompanying his father on stage since the age of four, singing mostly songs of Mohd. Rafi, the legend whom he has time and again referred to as his second father.

Indeed, the evening’s offerings included many a tribute. If he had touched the Shailendra Singh song earlier from Bobby, he would nod to S.P Balasubramaniam (Mere rang mein rangnewali) to more elaborate tributes to Kishore Kumar (Mere sapnon ki rani, Pyar manga hai tum hi se, Chalte chalte mere yeh geet) and Asha Bhosle-Mohd. Rafi (Aja aja main hoon pyar tera).

Traveling down memory lane, he thanked the audience for their continued support. “Calcutta has seen the growth of my career – in TV shows, as live show host, in music videos...” he said, before referring to a turning point of his career — his 1999 album Deewana. “So many people have told me ki yeh album ke vastey un logon ka pyar hua, shaadi hui...”

There was no intermission but he seemed to get even more energised as the show progressed, staying as tuneful as the first note he hit. Getting rid of his green jacket, he tied his hair in a ponytail and started with another lilting hit, Sooraj hua madhyam. There was no way to tell that he had suffered severe back pain before his Pune concert less than a week ago.

While fans had come from as far as Bansdroni and Behala, Moumita Sarkar knew that, unlike them, she would return home in a jiffy. “Sonu Nigam is an emotion. This is the first time I am watching him live. Such luck that he is singing at our doorstep,” smiled the resident of New Town Heights.

Soon everyone got busy clapping along or jiving. Sonu was belting out Yeh dil deewana. The clock had inched past 9pm. The venue was hardly in a well-connected part of the city. Yet no one left. “Abhi toh party shuru huyi hai,” someone yelled over phone, shutting out the caller.

Did you attend the Sonu Nigam show? Write to saltlake@abp.in