RAVYA NANWANI
Mesmerising, soulful, melodious. These words are not enough to explain the magic that Arijit Singh wove at the Singapore Indoor Stadium on Dec 2, when he regaled a capacity audience of 10,000 for four hours with his unique voice.
Bollywood’s foremost singer, who has sung for multiple hit movies in recent years and has a huge fan following, was passionate on stage. His high-energy performance included numbers from his wide repertoire – deep melodies, upbeat tunes and sultry ballads.
The 36-year-old, who has more than 600 songs to his name in various languages, was staging a concert in Singapore after seven years. And the audience was moved. Many observed that it was the most enthralling show by an Indian musician here in a long time.
The stage was like a movie set, with a giant LED screen allowing spectators to view the show from different angles. The lighting was top-notch, with special effects that included showers of colourful confetti to match some of his tracks.
The concert started at 6.40pm with his most popular number “Tum Hi Ho”, a romantic song from the 2013 Hindi movie Aashiqui 2, which has garnered more than 700 million views on YouTube.
It continued with his trademark soulful songs, party tracks and soothing ballads, the night ending with his latest hit “Satranga” from the film Animal.
In between, he also sang Bollywood hits from the 1970s and 80s, including “Lag Ja Gale” and “Kabhi Kabhi”.
Arijit’s control over the high notes was flawless, and the stadium erupted in cheers and dances when he sang hits such as “Jhoome Jo Pathaan”, “Kabira”, “Deva Deva”, “Kesariya” and “Chaleya”.
Fans even switched on the torches on their mobile phones, creating an enchanting organic light show.
Arijit, often referred to as the “King of Playback Singing”, has a voice that makes any song wonderful to listen to. He has a special ability to surprise with improvisations. He is also versatile, which makes him a perfect choice for almost any type of song.
And throughout the four-hour show, he kept smiling while singing, waving to fans and interacting with them in between songs.
Roshny Mahboobani, a fashion boutique owner from Jakarta who was in the audience, turned 40 that day. Her husband flashed his phone screen at Arijit mentioning her name.
He immediately acknowledged it and wished Roshny a happy birthday.
In between songs, Arijit signed autographs on papers, handbags, T-shirts and jerseys.
As a hardcore Arijit fan, I grabbed the opportunity to be a part of the organising team when Advaita Events’ Jinny Nevatia offered me a role.
I could see first-hand how much people love him. Tickets sold out within a few weeks of release as hundreds of fans flew in from cities such as Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong and Bangkok to catch the show.
Roshny, who had been to an Arijit concert in London before, found the Singapore experience way better.
Symone Budhrani, a lawyer from Hong Kong, was impressed with the singer, whom she found to be down to earth. After the show ended, Arijit went backstage and met the sponsors and organising team. He even posed for photos with the security guards and ground crew.
I took the chance to click a photo with him and talk to him for a few minutes. I shook his hand and told him how much I loved his performance.
He acknowledged my compliments with a smile.
I also asked him for an autograph. He obliged with two.
