There are two unique things that always stand out in any event hosted by the Raina Foundation. The hard work that the volunteers put in, and the way the audience gets into the skin of things to show support for the foundation’s charitable work and the stars it brings for its charity shows.
Sonu Nigam came to Atlanta more than 5 years ago. That night there was a huge storm, and yet he performed to a sold out audience. He was funny, endearing, and full of fun as he belted out one number after the other. However that time he was part of an entourage that comprised of not just his dad Agam Kumar, but the powerhouse voice of Jaspinder Narula and her brother Micky, a surprisingly good singer.
This time at the gorgeous Fox Theater, which seems to have become the domain of the stylish Robin Raina, it was an older, more mature Sonu Nigam who dominated the stage at the sold out show hosted on August 19th by the Robin Raina Foundation. In the past five years Sonu has had to go through a lot of negative stuff that has hurt him but in turn also made him more deeply spiritual. He has also decided to cut himself off from singing songs just to add to his fortune. In an interview Sonu admitted that of the 300 odd songs he sang in the past couple of years for films, there may be a dozen that fulfilled him as a singer. He is now going to focus more on private albums and sing only those film songs that challenge him as a singer.
The show began at 8.15 p.m. as queues of people were still trying to get their tickets from the Will Call booth. Many who thought they could buy at the show as Indians are prone to do may have gone home disappointed.
The show began with a few songs from petite singer Soumya Rao. Perhaps what most people in the audience didn’t know was that Soumya has hundreds of songs to her credit. She began her career in singing by belting out songs for the legendary music Ilyaraja, who mentored A.R. Rahman. Her first big hit was the song Greekuveerudu from the Telugu film Ninne Pelladatha that had the lead pair of top notch stars like Nagarjuna and Tabu. The song was the number 1 hit for more than 20 consecutive weeks, and Soumya became the new singing sensation in the South Indian film industry. She moved to Bombay at the request of music director Sandeep Chowta and has sung for many top notch Bollywood films. She began her segment with Ankhon me raho from the film Company and went on to sing Nach Baliye from Bunty aur Babli among other numbers. She has a pleasing voice which is well trained and powerful, a surprise for someone as petite as her.
Then came the moment that everyone was waiting for. If anyone had forgotten what a nectar sweet velvety voice Sonu Nigam has and what a huge range, it was reinforced several times over throughout the performance. Sonu’s voice serenaded the crowd with the classical notes behind the blockbuster song Kal Ho na Ho before he went on to sing the song. This was followed by Suraj Hua Madham. Sonu then spoke to the audience thanking them for coming out in such large numbers to support the good work done by Robin Raina and his foundation. In return he was going to go all out in making August 19th a memorable night for everyone.
Sonu sang Mera Rang de basanti from Shaheed Bhagat Singh, to other block busters, Chanda ki Doli mein from his private album of the same name, Sun zara soniye sun zara, from Lucky and mere haath main from the film Fanaa and had the crowd rocking to gumshuda and chalte chalte, mujh se shaadi karogi, and the old Kajra Mohabbat wala.
The concert in Atlanta was only the second one of the tour and Sonu said everyone was still suffering from jetlag and not just that, 21 of their suitcases didn’t come from India when they stepped on stage to perform in Raleigh North Carolina for their first concert, but coming to Atlanta and seeing such positive energy and an audience that was being so supportive had taken him to a new high. He also said he was really happy to be performing with his very talented live band, breaking the norm of lipsyncing and singing on pre-recorded tracks as many performers are doing these days.
He recalled the time when in 1991 he was only 19 years old and had struggled and struggled to make a foothold in the music industry and finally got to sing the sorrowful acha sila diya tune mere pyar ka from Sanam Bewafa. “The next thing I knew I started getting all these sad songs, where I sang about death and dying and crying. So while all the uncles were singing sexy, romantic numbers I was singing about when I die you’ll cry on my grave, kind of songs.” Sonu said he decided then to go for a total style change and gave a hilarious demonstration of how he went from classical to the cacophonic-but it worked and the singer hasn’t looked back since then. He went on to sing Just chill chill, to show what his stylistic change brought him.
Sonu went on to bring the house down with Kiska hai yeh tumko intezar main hoon na. Sonu also did several variations and linked several songs based on the same notes, like tu jahan jahan chalega mera saya saath hoga, maine tere liye hi saath rang ke sapne chune, phoolon ke rang se and then back to kiska hai yeh tumko intezar main hoon na.
He then invited two hysterical female fans of his and sang Bijuria for them after getting them to croon the song they wanted to hear which they did sportingly.
The second half started with Soumya singing Do lafzon ki hai dil ki Kahani and the big hit of last year Kajra re from Bunty aur Bubbly.
After that it was the turn of Sonu Nigam’s father Agam Kumar who has been on stage since the 1970s and has performed all over the world. The influence of Mohammed Rafi is evident in the voices of both father and son and more so in the father who can sing Rafi to perfection. That night which also happened to be Agam Kumar’s birthday, the youthful father of the singing star wowed the audiences with a pitch perfect rendition of three Rafi numbers-O door ke Musafir, Yeh Mera prem patra padh kar and Muhabbat Zinda rehti hai. Unlike last time when he was not accorded the respect he deserved, Agam Kumar was lustily cheered by a dazzled audience. The senior Nigam is riding high these days as his latest album with T-Series,” Bewafaai”, has sold over 2 million copies.
Sonu came back to sing several other hits- Kabhi Alvida na Kehna, and tum se milke dil ka hai jo haal kya kahen..from the block buster Main hoon na..his variation on the romantic, “Hai” that Shahrukh Khan lipsynced on celluloid had the crowd going crazy with girls screaming “ We love you Sonu,”. He also took requests from the audience and sang as many songs as he could when he was able to hear the requests through the screams and chaos of the excited audience. Sonu showed his range when he chose to sing Bole chudiyan from Yaadein and sang the female and the male segments as Soumya Rao who had arrived on stage to do some duets with him started laughing. The chart toppers, Mahi Ve, Yeh dil diwana, Tera rang balle balle followed and finally he re-serenaded the audience with Kal ho na ho again.
Robin Raina with Sonu Nigam backstage.
Sonu was visibly moved by a fantastic audience response and said he deeply appreciated the fact that the audience clapped, laughed, and screamed at all the right places. Robin Raina thanked his sponsors and his friend Talat Aziz, the ghazal maestro who is also donning a business cap these days and was the man behind this tour. For Robin, every concert that inspires people to sponsor an under-privileged child is worth doing. His focus is also to bring uniquely different events each time and not repeat himself. After the concert Robin said he was really relaxed during the preparation of this show.” I think more than me it’s my volunteers who really have got the hang of everything. When I went to the venue around 3 p.m. I saw everything had already been put in place and the atmosphere was very relaxed. I also knew that because of Talat Aziz who is a dear friend, things will go smoothly. I was very touched by Sonu as a person. He is a straight shooter, but his warmth came across both on stage and off it when I spoke with him. I think the audience saw why Sonu is at the top of his game. He is truly talented.”
Perhaps the only discordant notes in the show were the shabbily dressed dancers many of whom were over weight and spilled out of their clothes – and the emcee Manasi Verma who was an eyesore and an ear-sore. It should be understood by those who conceptualize these concerts that a person like Sonu Nigam is a complete package in himself. His talent and his personality, his ability to interact with people is enthralling in itself and a high caliber artist like him doesn’t need these unnecessary props. I also wish that we would do away with bringing horribly inept emcees into these shows. In fact we need to delete the concept of emcees totally, most of whom don’t deserve to be there because they don’t add to the show at all. Most of the actors and singers today are very media and public savvy and very well educated. They don’t need frumpy, shrieky voiced female emcees to introduce them to an audience that already knows who they are.
At the end of the show the audience streamed out absolutely thrilled with Sonu Nigam and his father. Many liked Soumya’s low-keyed charm and warmth as she gracefully got the audience involved by getting them to clap along with her songs as did Sonu. The biggest kudos must go to the audience for making it such a thrilling experience for the performers. Their enthusiasm and affection for Sonu and Robin’s passion for charitable work, was the ultimate icing on the cake.