The show that went on for more than three hours saw Arijit in his element, belting out chartbusters, classics, covers, medleys, and the artist took some time out addressing the recent “Gerua” debate.
The controversy and tributesFor those who came in late, it all started at the Kolkata International Film Festival (KIFF) last year, when Arijit, when requested by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to sing at the inaugural ceremony, hummed a few lines from the song Gerua, pictured on Shah Rukh Khan in Dilwale, who was the star guest at the ceremonies. What began as a mild social media tiff between two political outfits escalated into a full-blown war of words, when the government denied permission for Arijit’s concert to be held at the designated venue, citing security concerns, and suggested that both the venue and date be changed.
Arijit, who was silent at that time, spoke up finally, noting that the colour “gerua”, or saffron, “was worn by monks like Swami Vivekananda.” He quipped, if the colour in question was white, it wouldn’t be that much of a debate. “Needless controversy,” he added with a smile and sang Gerua to a rapturous crowd.
Singh also spoke about singing in Kolkata after his mother’s sudden demise in 2021, and performed a Shyama Sangeet, “Mon re Krishi Kaaj Janona” – an emotional experience for the crowd. He also paid musical tributes to legendary singers Manna Dey, Lata Mangeshkar, Hemanta Mukherjee, Kishore Kumar, Moheener Ghoraguli, and sang from films like Hemlock Society and several others.
The Rupam Islam factorThe surprise and powerful moment in the gig was when rock legend Rupam Islam, who was sitting in the audience, joined Singh for a duet after Singh sang Aro Ekbar. Ecstatic fans of both Fossils and Arijit almost broke through the barricades as Rupam joined Arijit on Ekla Ghor and nearly brought the house down.
“Rupam Islam and Arijit’s surprise duet was a real treat for us! We were not expecting it at all!”, said entrepreneur Sandip Burman, who was delighted to witness the two Bengali musical stalwarts together. Later, Rupam took to his official page to thank Arijit for the experience, especially since their “first meeting also turned out to be a musical one.”
Some fans however were hoping to hear Arijit sing more of his own songs. Debalina Chatterjee, a professor, said, “I was hoping for him to sing his own songs more during the course of the event, but he left most of it for the last hour rather than spreading it out more evenly throughout the evening.”
During the course of the night, Arijit did sing many of his own hits, including Khairiyat, Raabta, Hawayein, Phir Le Aaya Dil, Kesariya, Channa Mereya, as well as Parbona, Mon Majhi Re, Aajke Raatey Chole Jeo Na and Bojhena Se Bojhena from his Bengali repertoire, the last being the one he thanked Raj Chakraborty for having him in his mind from the very beginning for that song.
Shiladitya Sarkar, sound engineer, said, “It is always ecstatic to see him perform live with such energy on stage. It was also a ‘goosebump moment’ when the crowd sang along with Fossils, Cactus, Moheener Ghoraguli tracks. Kolkata will wait keenly for the next such event with the one and only musical maestro for his gala homecoming again.”
Rupam Islam and Arijit’s surprise duet was a real treat for us! We were not expecting it at all!
— An audience member
This is for the second time I witnessed the magician, Arijit, live. Kudos to the man and his musical team who performed for four hours without a single break. I am a big fan of his music, but then again, who isn’t?
— Subhashree GangulyPoorna Banerjee Pics: Kanish Bhattacharya
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