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Return of a showman

Sonu Niigaam in town

Nusrat Jahan Pritom
Last Friday evening at Bangabandhu International Conference Centre (B1CC), Sonu Niigaam's magnetic presence marvelled the crowd. This young artist had received wide recognition not only in India but also in other South Asian countries. With his amazing voice that has a pure classical touch, Sonu can belt out virtually any song — be it pop. jazz or rock. The singer has fans of all sorts and all ages. He was in Dhaka last year.
“This is the beauty of our profession. We get to meet a lot of people and experience a variety of cultures. Bangladesh has a rich, diverse culture and it is great to see the appreciation of kala' (arts) here. Last time I was taken cared of so well that I was inspired to experience Dhaka s warmth and hospitality again,” said Sonu. He further added. “There are some places, some people who radiate incredible energy. Dhaka is one of them."
The show began around 7:30pm. After a few moments of silence, the electrifying beats of "Rock on" filled the podium. Singer Gunjan performed with her track from Jab We Met*. Finally after a few more moments of silence and darkness, the showman himself appeared blazing in the spotlight and welcomed by furious music.
Sonu didn't just sing. He danced, screamed, laughed, joked, and what not' His undeniable energy got the whole house moving and shaking with him.
“A lot of people wonder where do songs really come from? Well, it s like this: first come the lyrics, then the rhythm, and then a singer performs that." As a demonstration, he proceeded by asking around the audience to come up with names of vegetables. He then made a jingle out of the "AJoo-gobi-gajar-bengan" and delivered that in classical style, Anu Malik style,
pop style and even Himesh Reshammiya style. He even made a beat-to-beat remix of that. Soon the bass guitarist caught up, next was the lead guitarist. Even the drums and finally the whole house were singing the Aloo-gobi” song with him.
Sonu Niigaam stands out from the rest for his ever youthful and vibrant presence. The hour-long first act did not seem to wear him out. Even at the end of act one, he was still laughing, playing with his mic and doing his dance which if anyone else did, would have looked corny, but Sonu somehow made that dance seem charming and trendy.
He sang a number of his hits, from Bijuria" to softer ones like "Om shanti om". “I try to have a medley of the wild and the subtle so that it goes out to the entire crowd.”
During the song "Chak de saare gham", Sonu sang the first line of the number and paused. But there were no silence because the audience sang along the second line without a need of queue. "This is Dhaka," said Sonu. On various occasions, the fans went wild with the songs and their voices were heard alongside Sonu's.
“A lot of you are smiling, a lot of you are laughing, yelling, screaming. But a lot of you are also wondering with a hand on their cheeks what is this mayhem about?' People who are wondering when will they go home and sleep and get up for work the next day... and so on. Well for those of you who are laughing and screaming..." With that the vocalist finished the song. Shenanigans like this made him connect with the crowd completely.
There were many celebrity guests present at the show like Shakila Zafar, Mila, Nobel and Kumar Bishwajit.
Nokia Presents Sonu Niigaam Back in Dhaka' was organised by Fireworks Events. Its co-sponsor was Europecar.
The writer is a freelance contnbutor