Pics: Dayanand Kukkaje
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru
Mangaluru, Jan 14: It was truly a 'Rock On' moment for Mangalureans gathered at Adyar grounds here on the evening of Saturday January 13 as celebrity Bollywood actor-singer-director and rockstar Farhan Akhtar took the city by storm with his electrifying concert.
The Farhan Live concert was part of the celebrity's nationwide Imperial Blue Superhit Nights tour, that had last year seen music director duo Salim-Suleiman perform in the city.
The two-hour concert witnessed a packed crowd, comprising young and old of all ages, who clapped with glee, hooted, danced, screamed and sang in tune with Farhan.
The youth icon was welcomed on to the stage with resounding cheers. What came next was a series of highly entertaining, peppy musical extravaganza, every minute of which was thoroughly enjoyed by the upbeat crowd.
Amidst the loud applause, Farhan addressed the crowd and said, "Love you Mangalore! It is a pleasure to be back. I have been here once before, a couple of years ago. It feels really good to be back here, to see you people come here and celebrate music with us. Thank you so much."
Farhan, with his band of skilled musicians, presented each of his song with a short introduction that also included a bouquet of charming 'shayris' carefully picked from his movies like 'Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara' and others. Every time he said 'Mangalore', the excited crowd responded with loud cheers.
The engrossing evening comprised a host of popular songs. "This song is about a time in life when not much is happening, when you don't know what you are going to do. It is a question you keep asking yourself, and hopefully figure it out," he said, before going on to perform 'Main aisa kyun hoon' from the movie 'Lakshya'. He followed it up with the song 'You know what I mean'.
Farhan then got the crowd even more involved, asking them to hold up their hands and join him while he sang 'Socha hai'. The crowd was only too happy to oblige and gleefully called out for an encore when it ended.
Taking a short break from the performances, Farhan Akhtar introduced to the audience his social campaign 'MARD', which stands for 'Men Against Rape and Discrimination. "Before we move on to the next song I would like to share with you something that we have all been part of for the last five years. It is called MARD - Men Against Rape and Discrimination. I think all of us know that there are certain problems that need rectifying, where men have taken certain freedoms, liberties and certain rights for granted because they are born men, and somehow women always have to struggle to get the same freedoms, equality and rights. It is time for a change, and the change is happening. We as young India, as young men especially, need to decide and need to choose whether we are going to be part of this change or be left behind. Do you want to be part of the change?" he said, in response to which the crowd responded with a loud 'yes!' Farhan urged the gathering to log on to MARD website and pledge their support to the campaign. He went to recite a poem 'Mard' penned by his illustrious father poet and lyricist Javed Akhtar, and followed it up with the song' 'Chulein aasman' on women emancipation.
The evening continued with stimulating performances by the star singer. He was accompanied by the melodious Shannon on vocals, who belted out hits like 'Khabon ke parindey' and 'Ude ude' and joined Farhan on duets.
A magical moment came when Farhan performed his electrifying song 'Pichhle saat dino mein' from the movie Rock On. The crowd joined in singing the chorus 'na na na na'. The perfectly timed bursts of confetti and smoke jets from the stage on to the audience added an extra spark to the atmosphere.
There was special performance by the band of musicians led by Darshan on drums, Sarosh on guitar, Titu on percussion, and others. Farhan Akhtar was then back with the ever popular 'Senorita', drawing loud cheers and applause from the audience. The performance was made even more special with Shannon chipping in with a highly energetic ending to the song that had the crowd up on their feet.
Farhan also performed a couple of songs from his movie 'Bhaag Milkha Bhaag', namely 'Zinda' and 'Havan karenge', dedicating them to the legendary sprinter Milkha Singh, in whose biopic Farhan had starred. The jubilant crowd once again joined in the chorus for the latter song.
Other songs that he performed included 'Dhadakne do', 'Atrangi yaari', 'Tum ho toh' and 'Dil chahta hai'.
He kept the best for the last - the title song of his movie 'Rock On', which was also the name of the concert, gave a perfect ending to the magical evening. By then, the entire crowd in the front rows came forward to the dance floor. The excitement and energy level reached a crescendo as Farhan belted out the last number of the evening. He thanked the crowd for gathering in large numbers and also the organizers before winding up the concert with the final song.
Indeed, it was an evening Mangaluru will remember for years to come.