Sonu's soul-stirring show | The singing sensation held the audience spell-bound with his magical voice giving new twists and turns to familiar songs, writes Nivedita Ganguly |
After my first hit song 'Achha Sila Diya...', I used to get to sing only sad songs in films. People thought that I was a depressed old man ! Sonu Nigam
ON A GRAND MUSICAL JOURNEY Singing sensation Sonu Nigam performing at the concert. The crowd enjoying every moment of the show (below) PHOTOS: K.R.DEEPAK He kept the audience captivated with his rocking performance as he breathed new life into songs that you have heard a million times before. The venue was packed as thousands of fans gathered at the Andhra University Engineering College grounds to listen to the high-energy singer. Sonu Nigam, who was in the city for the first time for a concert organised by Idea Cellular Ltd., held the audience spell-bound with his magical voice giving new twists and turns to familiar songs. The tickets got sold out a day before the event and the seats got filled an hour before the show. At 7.30 p.m., a dashing Sonu came on stage with his soul-stirring 'Kal Ho Na Ho...' as his brilliant band added the grand musical effect giving the melody, a slow emotional touch. And there was the singing sensation at his best. "Thank you everyone for the wonderful welcome," he greeted the crowd as they screamed and waved at him and then added, "this evening will be the most memorable one for you all!" It started off with the romantic numbers like 'Suraj Hua Madham...'adding a nostalgic effect to the mood of the evening. Then came the first gear shift of the evening. 'Rafta rafta...' he went and the crowd sprang to its feet. They hummed with the rocking Rehman track of 'Saathiya...' and to the melodious 'Chanda Ki Doli Mein...' that followed.
As he sang, Sonu went back to the memories of his struggling days. "After my first hit song 'Achha Sila Diya...', I used to get to sing only sad songs in films with tragic scenes. People thought that I was a depressed old man," he chuckled. Indeed, for this talented singer, it was a tough and patient climb to the top of the charts. With stars in his eyes, he moved from Delhi to the city of dreams, Bombay, where he was to be hailed as the voice of the immortal Rafi Saheb. "I worship Mohd. Rafi. But with the changing times, I had to bring some improvisation in my voice," he said. As he moved on with the musical evening, he involved the audience into dialogues, taking them with him in every moment of the trip.
Sometimes he just paused in between the song, prompting the audience to complete the song, always making sure that the audience remained captivated with his tasteful improvisations. Keeping the crowd thoroughly entertained for two hours, he took them to an extraordinary musical journey sandwiching the modern fast numbers with an old melody or by announcing that he was going to sing a bhajan and breaking into the rocking 'Ghum Shuda...'. Girls turned into cheerleaders as he sang 'Just chill...'. And in between, he entertained everyone with his jokes and amusing narration of incidents of his life. Giving him company was Indian Idol finalist Meenal who belted out a few fast numbers providing some break to Sonu.
The showman singer won many a heart as he ended the memorable musical evening with 'Kal Ho Na Ho...' leaving the audience asking for more
Anupamaa
Health and Fitness
