'Dubai accepts me for who I am’ says Sunidhi Chauhan as she returns for a live UAE concert with no lip-sync

Dubai: Halfway through our Zoom conversation, a small face pops up on screen. It’s iconic Bollywood singer Sunidhi Chauhan’s young son, just back from school, eager to share his day with his mother.

Sunidhi, known for her inimitable brassy voice, doesn’t brush him aside or hurry him off; instead, she breaks into a smile, greeting him with the same warmth she shows her audience.

It’s a fleeting interruption, but it says everything about her—here is a woman who can command stadiums one night and still be a doting, slightly helicoptering mum the next morning. There’s something so organically real and raw about her that it instantly disarms you.

And yet, when she talks about stepping onto a stage in Dubai, her tone shifts from maternal to plainly matter-of-fact.

“Dubai is like home, away from home,” she says.

“I visit for concerts, for vacations… I’ve taken my kid and his cousins to have a great time. But when I perform there, it’s exceptional. The love Dubai has shown me is incredible—it makes me want to come again and again.”

She returns to the city on September 13 at Coca-Cola Arena, for a night that promises to be unforgettable. The gig is organised by Vivrit Entertainment, Marquee Global Events and Milestone Entertainment.

Dubai’s audience is unlike any other, she insists.

“They’re so diverse—Arabs, Pakistanis, Southeast Asians, Indians. They’re welcoming, receptive. If I want to try something experimental, Dubai is the last place I’d doubt myself. Whatever I do from my heart, they accept it.”

In a city that regularly hosts global acts such as AP Dhillon, Teddy Swims, and Arijit Singh, Sunidhi is one of among the few Indian artists who can fill arenas and make the crowd feel like they’re part of something intimate. Her shows aren’t about spectacle for the sake of it—they’re about connection.

“My audience has paid, they’ve taken the time to be there. I owe them respect. My goal is to give them a version of the music they’ll remember long after the night ends.”

Her career, now spanning decades, began with a risk.

“When I entered the industry, I was not really needed,” she laughs. “There were already amazing voices doing well. But sometimes in a crowd, one person stands up and says, ‘This is different.’ For me, it was people like the late Aadesh Shrivastavaji, who gave me my first break at 11. He told me, ‘Your voice doesn’t sound like a child’s voice, so I’m going to give you this chance.’”

That commanding, powerful tone—so different from the syrupy voices Bollywood was used to—quickly became her calling card. Songs like Beedi Jalaile and Sheila Ki Jawani became anthems, staples at weddings, clubs, and bachelorettes across the world.

“When I perform my older songs, I see people’s reactions—it’s nostalgia. Some songs you just don’t outgrow.”

In an era where lip-syncing and heavy auto-tune are commonplace, Sunidhi is blunt: “If you’re a singer, you better sing. As simple as that.” She admits that very rarely, for television broadcasts with technical constraints, she’s had to compromise—but never for her audience.

“Even then, I try to sing live at least 99.9% of the time. Otherwise, it feels like betraying my fans.”

That integrity comes with discipline.

“It’s all live and it’s dance and singing together. There’s a lot of breath control, mental strength, physical strength. But because it comes from passion, not obligation, it never feels like work. It’s like yoga or meditation.”

The same intensity spills into her personal life. She laughs when I tease her about being a helicopter mom.

“I am very careful. I have OCD. I get bothered even more. I envy those mothers who can just say, ‘This is my thing, my child will learn on his own.’ But I hover.”

Her son has grown up in recording studios and backstage corridors.

“He was 28 days old when I first took him to a recording. I couldn’t leave him. That went on until he was four-and-a-half, and then I realised he needed his own friends and his own life. That’s when I stopped taking him everywhere with me.”

It’s not easy, she admits. “I am all over the place, honestly, in my head.” But her honesty about the juggle—no sugarcoating, no pretending she has it all—makes her instantly relatable.

What keeps her going, she says, is excitement. “Every time I sing a new song, I get excited like a child. I don’t take it for granted.”

Even when she performs older numbers, she tweaks and improvises.

“Each time, it sounds a little different. It’s the exchange with the audience—their energy shapes my performance.”

That curiosity extends to how she views the next generation.

“We were lucky we didn’t have so much exposure. Today, access is at your fingertips. Times change, and they have their own zone.”

As she prepares to perform in Dubai once again this weekend, Sunidhi embodies the best of both worlds: the unfiltered star and the grounded mother, the rebel voice and the seasoned performer. She’s lived her life on her own terms, refusing to conform, refusing to compromise on stagecraft, and refusing to hide the messy, human parts of her journey.

“At the end of the day, it’s the emotion and the connect with the audience that matters, whether there are 500 people or 50,000,” she says.

And in Dubai, she knows that connection will always be there, waiting for her.

Sunidhi Chauhan: I Am Home - Live in Dubai

When: September 13

Where: Coca-Cola Arena, Dubai

Tickets: Dh150 and above

Available on: https://coca-cola-arena.com/music