He sang...
Songs that got the loudest cheer...
♫ Tum se hi
♫ Nadaan parindey
♫ Matargashti
♫ Kuch khaas
♫ Dooba dooba
♫ Pee loon
♫ Gehraiyaan reprise
♫ Te amo
♫ Tum ho
♫ Ala Barfi
♫ Ilahi
♫ Sadda haq
I was in school when I had first heard Mohit Chauhan. Dooba dooba by Silk Route was the track. Honestly, I was too young to understand and differentiate between an independent music video from any other song on TV but what fascinated me back then was how these men were sitting atop a yellow car half submerged in water, which slowly sinks and the underwater video that follows.
Cut to 2022, I was watching the voice behind many hits at Mohit Chauhan Live in association with The Telegraph at The Westin Kolkata Rajarhat. The thrilling feeling turned into content after the singer dressed in black with his trademark cap, sang almost all his hits starting with Masakali. “Kemon achho Kolkata?” he asked and the crowd cheered. The next two hours (almost) was all about getting nostalgic (Dooba dooba) for some, romantic (Tum se hi) and feeling like a rebel (Sadda haq) because that’s the magic of Mohit Chauhan who can give shape to any kind of mood in a song and make it a hit. Snapshots from the do.
Moods of Mohit
“Thank you for singing along! It’s great coming to Kolkata and meetha kha ke jayunga and rosogolla kha ke jayunga. I want to thank everyone, peechhe wale, udhar wale... sare ke sare...
You guys are amazing, amazing people, amazing city,” he said before singing off after sometime.
“Kolkata ke log bahut suriley hain... let me hear you sing” said the singer before singing the super romantic Tum se hi that got the crowd feeling mushy. The crowd sang along as he soaked in the vibe with his eyes shut.
“Com’on masakalis!” The singer belted out the iconic track from Delhi-6 and surprised his fans as he did the masakali step on stage while singing. “This is a very special song for me, it was my second song with (A.R.) Rahman saab,” he said.
“This is the song I started my journey with. Maine masters kiye hai from Himachal University, MSc in geology and mera jo department tha woh Dharamshala mein tha and that’s where I wrote this song as a part of Silk Route band,” he said and the crowd erupted into a loud cheer. A smile on his face, salaam, Mohit crooned Dooba dooba.
They cheered
“Sadda haq! Sadda haq!” chanted the crowd as they waited with bated breath for Mohit to sing the famous Rockstar number featuring Ranbir Kapoor.
The mood immediately changed when the opening tunes of Nadaan parindey played. Lights dimmed, flashlights on, everyone was hooked to the stage. Next, Matargashti got his fans dancing!
Organiser Speak
“This event meant a lot to me — this big an event, at this age, was a huge task, and wouldn’t have been possible without the support of a few people. Mohit Chauhan has given us music which connects with the soul. I really learned a lot and we will certainly come back with a bigger and better event. Stay tuned,” promised an ecstatic Mayank Jain, owner of Elevated Events.
Other Acts
The crowd warmed up to local acts by Vishal Sharma, RVD, Manish Patwa and VJ Manish Chatwani. “I did my original tracks, started with a few unreleased tracks like Raaz, Imaan, Nazariyan followed by a few released tracks like Galat, Riha and ended with my latest release Iteyhaas,” said RVD. Manish Patwa who got on the console post a scintillating performance by Mohit, ensured the energy of the crowd soared high. “I kept the crowd pumped up with dance numbers like Doobey, Abaad barbaad, Permanence, Biba and Love Tonight,” said the DJ.
Style Check
Denim shorts, cropped top, comfy kicks, and those fringes made Pratyayee Roy turn heads and how! The student had dropped in to listen to her “favourite artiste”. “Mohit Chauhan is special. He’s different. There is something incredibly peaceful about his voice,” she said.
For Gunn Lalwani, who had come to listen to Tum se hi, it was a monochrome night. Leather skirt, white crop top, chequered scrunchy and sneaker summed up her OOTN. We love!
High-waist formal pants, a red top layered with a knotted white shirt, accessorised with a black sling and white flowers adorning her bun, we loved Kheya Chattopadhyay’s OOTN.
They loved...
“Mohit Chauhan has always been very special. He somehow defined the last decade, with a voice that captures every bit of our hearts. And thus, we just had to be here. Abhi kuch dino se is our favourite number,” said Harshit Bajaj and Nidhi Gupta.
For Meghdut Roychowdhury, “Mohit Chauhan’s music has been an integral part of our childhood and hence this concert was super nostalgic for us all. Even my mom joined in later in the evening and crooned to the entire setlist. This night will remain memorable for years to come.”
“A desire to listen to one of the most prolific vocalists brought me to the Westin. And as expected, Mohit Chauhan did not disappoint. It brought me back to my school days as we hummed to the beautiful tunes of Tum se hi and Naadan parindey in his heartfelt and majestic voice,” said Rishi Basu (right).
“It was truly a magical experience . It was a dream of mine to catch him perform live and finally it happened. I have always been an immensely loyal fan of his and he left me mesmerised by his performance,” said Avantika Shaw.
“I’ve always believed in one thing — when life hits you hard, listen to Mohit. Whether you want to dance your heart out or need a cathartic crying session, his songs will always find a way into your life. Watching him perform live was a dream come true! My favourite numbers of the night had to be Nadaan parindey and Sadda haq,” said Ayushi Dutta (extreme right) who was there with her friends.
We spotted Subhash Sinha, general manager of The Westin Kolkata Rajarhat in the audience. “It was a great evening and it was a pleasure seeing him perform live. He had great energy and I personally love the songs he sings, so it was a fan moment for me,” he said.
Pictures: B. Halder
