It's going to be a Bollywood song and dance weekend in Dubai as three of the industry's biggest singers prepare to wow their fans in a one-off concert. Part of the Dubai Shopping Festival attractions, organisers have promised a night you will remember. Plus, there's more B-town music next month to look forward to. Here is who's coming.
Sunidhi Chauhan
She's the archetypal Bollywood diva. Playback singers, or singers whose voices actresses lipsync to in movies, hardly get their due in the industry. But Chauhan, just 27, has successfully broken through, becoming an artist and performer in her own right. From winning a reality singing show on TV to becoming one of the most in-demand voices in Bollywood with more than 2,500 songs behind her, Chauhan is undoubtedly the songstress to reckon with.
Sharing the stage with her colleague KK for the first time, organisers of Dubai Rocks, Oberoi Events, say the performance will be one of the biggest Bollywood musical nights the city has ever seen.
The voice behind last year's biggest hit song Sheila ki Jawani tells tabloid! she can't wait to perform in the emirate again.
"This is one of my favourite cities in the world. I have been here a number of times and performed last year also during DSF for Salaam Dubai," she says. "I am excited to come again. My fans in Dubai have always been amazing and supportive. Also this time, I'll be with KK, who usually sets the stage on fire.
"Dubai is always so alive," she adds. "I feel like I'm home when I come here and don't feel like going back. Then there is the shopping, the food and the beaches. I still haven't done a desert safari, though, and looking forward to doing it this time."
Chauhan, who began singing at an early age, got her first break in television show Mere Awaz Suno which she won in 1996. Bollywood came calling soon after, with the Ram Gopal Verma film Mast in 1999 for which she sang the hit song Ruki Ruki Si Zindagi. She was only 16. The offers then came thick and fast.
Today, her voice is used for some of biggest actors in India including Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Preity Zinta, Rani Mukerji, Kareena Kapoor, Bipasha Basu, Priyanka Chopra and Kajol. Her hit songs include Chhaliya (Tashan), Rock Mahi (One Two Three), Lucky Boy (Bachne Ae Haseeno), Desi Girl (Dostana), Dance Pe Chance (Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi), and Race Saanson Ki (Race), which she will perform along with her current biggest hit Sheila ki Jawani from Tees Maar Khan.
Another highlight of her career came in 2006 when she performed at the opening ceremony of the 2006 Asian Games in Doha. Chauhan has also been a judge on reality singing show Indian Idol and appeared on a number of television shows establishing herself as a class performer.
Counting Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson and Mariah Carey as her role models, Chauhan says she's received a number of acting offers but wants to wait until she is ready. "I'm happy with what I'm doing right now. There is a lot to do in singing and perhaps I will get into acting when I feel I've done quite a bit.
"For now, there are all these albums I want to do. I want to do ghazals, Sufi and classical songs. Maybe when I've done all of these and I feel like I want to be new again and need to do something else, acting will be a plan."
Global stardom, however, is what she wants now. "I'm craving for an English album... I'm ready for that," she says. "But then again, you need the right people, the right opportunity. It has to be perfect. I don't want to go half-way."
Fans can look forward to an "amazing night", she says: "There will be a lot of new hit songs which they love, including Sheila ki Jawani and just some amazing vibe on stage.
"It's all for my fans. I want to thank them for their unconditional love and affection and want them to know I am here because of them."
KK
Sharing the stage with Sunidhi Chauhan at Dubai Rocks will be Krishnakumar Kunnath, now more popularly known as KK.
An alumnus of the advertising industry, with a few thousand jingles behind him, KK became a household name after his soulful rendition of the song Tadap tadap ke from the 1999 film Him Dil De Chuke Sanam starring Salman Khan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. He soon followed it up with a solo album, Pal in 2000, whose title song became one of the biggest hits of the year. Quite a feat, considering non-film music in India has little chance of success thanks to Bollywood's domination.
Film music was a natural progression, and over the years KK has been responsible for some of the biggest songs, many of which he will perform at Dubai Rocks.
Jagjit Singh and Gulzar
One of India's most respected ghazal singers, Jagjit Singh, will be back in Dubai to perform, for the first time, with acclaimed lyricist and poet Gulzar on February 18. Singh and Gulzar will do a "jugalbandi", a fusion of poetry and singing.
Singh, a recipient of the Padma Bhushan, one of India's highest civilian awards, is credited for the revival of the ghazal, an unique musical style in poetic form. He has added his unique voice to a number of Bollywood films and has released a record number of albums and collaborations.
Gulzar, meanwhile, is the name behind some of the Indian film industry's most memorable songs with a career spanning decades. Also a recipient of the Padma Bhushan, Gulzar penned the Hindi words of the Oscar-winning song Jai Ho for the film Slumdog Millionaire.
Harbhajan Mann
There's no denying that Harbhajan Mann is one of the biggest Punjabi artist today.
The singer and actor started off with public performances before he studied music professionally. Mann first tasted success in Canada in the Punjabi community in 1992. But it was 1999's Oye Hoye, the Bhangra-infused pop album, that threw him in the limelight in India.
Following this success, Mann briefly added his voice to Bollywood for a few years and acted in a couple of movies before moving back into his most comfortable niche — Punjabi music and films.
Don't miss it!
- Catch Jagjit Sing and Gulzar together for the first time in Dubai on Friday, February 18, at the Shaikh Rashid hall at the Dubai World Trade Centre. Tickets cost Dh1,000, Dh500, Dh250 and Dh100. Call 050-6246841 or 050-2866123.
- Catch the Punjabi star in action and groove to Bhangra beats at the Gal Ban Gaye Mitra concert tomorrow at Al Nasr Leisureland. Show starts 8.30pm. Tickets cost Dh250, Dh175, Dh120 and Dh60 and are available at 04-3540755 and 04-3540400.
- Dubai Rocks, featuring Sunidhi Chauhan and KK, is at the Madinat Arena on Friday. Tickets are available for Dh1,000, Dh500 and Dh250 at boxofficeme.com and at the Souq Madinat Theatre box office. Call 04-3666546.
