King of Romance gears up for Durban
Musical instruments will also buckle up as they head to KZN with Arijit to serenade concert-goers
IT’S ALL systems go for one of the biggest Bollywood musicals to hit Africa. Arijit Singh Live in Concert is mammoth to the point where separate air plane seats have been booked to accommodate the precious instruments of band members.
Singh’s concert that takes place at the Durban ICC next Saturday is one of the most demanding that the team of Showtime Promotions have put together since their 2004 Temptations event which saw high-profile actors including Shah Rukh Khan and Rani Mukherji perform in Durban.
“Arijit [Singh] is set to touchdown in Durban on Thursday and we have to prepare the stage over three days.
“There’s not much free time for him to sight-see because of the magnitude of the concert,” said Vinay Hansraj, team member of Showtime Promotions.
Singh, 30, often described as a small town singer who made it to the big league, had been to Johannesburg in 2013 when Bollywood music lovers were gushing over his hit Tum Hi Ho.
Since then he has been the voice behind tear-jerker Channa Mereya and love songs Hawayein and Zaalima, both lip-synched by Shah
Rukh Khan.
Singh did not anticipate he would be singing for B-town big names when he was eliminated from a 2005 reality show Fame Gurukul (Fame School) through an audience poll.
But, the show’s directors appreciated his husky voice and talent and contracted him.
Although the album was never released, Singh, who used to live in a small village, rented a room in the busy Mumbai city and invested money. gained from another competition he won, in a recording studio where he composed his own music and sold pieces of his work to advertisement agencies and radio stations.
Awards
While assisting music producers and directors on movie-sets he grabbed opportunities to provide the male playback voice to a number of songs, eventually leading him to Tum Hi Ho, from Aashiqui 2, for which he garnered several awards, including the much soughtafter Filmfare Award.
Of his early life struggle, he said: “One has to suffer pain to reach their destination. Those days when I failed to get work, I thought about quitting and going back to my hometown, but I realised that one should concentrate on one’s work no matter what happens.
“Mumbai is a place which is made up of small town boys and girls who come to Mumbai to try their luck, but what counts is hard work.”
Singh is now one of the most prominent Bollywood singers, and has taken his concert extravaganzas across the world.
Over 20 specialist musicians will be joining him in Durban, and due to the magnitude of the event, there will be no opening act.
“It’s going to be Arijit on stage right from the get-go,” said Hansraj.
Hansraj said musicians from the UK, US, Germany and Spain would be performing with Singh, and it’s come to a point where his company has booked separate airplane seat tickets for an accordion and a cello.
“South Africa has not seen this mix of music before, there will also be a sitar from India and a digeridoo from Australia. These are precious instruments that are going to add to the magnificent calibre of this event. I guess the air hostesses are going to have to ask the accordion what it wants for breakfast too!” he joked.
The concert is close to sold out with only tickets over R1 000 remaining.
“As this is the month of love, and Arijit is the ‘King of Romance’ we have a special offer for 25 ticket holders.
“A certain category of tickets have been packaged to include a night’s stay at the Elangeni Hotel, on the evening of the concert, which includes breakfast the next day,” said Hansraj.
Tickets can be purchased via Computicket.