Mika Singh rocked the San Jose Civic Center Nov. 3 delivering a non-stop three-hour power-packed performance that had the audience up and dancing right from the first song. The stunning Ishita Sarkar, a Ponds Femina Miss India 2009 finalist, hosted the show and introduced Bollywood playback singer Shraddha Pandit, who sang popular item numbers, setting the stage for Mika Singh”s dramatic entry.
“Mika Singh is extremely entertaining as a performer,” Neeraj Dhar of AAA Entertainments told India-West. “So, the response for this concert has been overwhelming.” AAA Entertainments was one of the chief presenters of the event.
Pandit began the evening’s concert with a traditional Sufi number, “Dum Mast Kalandar,” and followed it up with some of her own hits, like “Jigar da Tukda” from the movie “Ladies Vs Ricky Bahl” starring Anushka Sharma and Ranveer Singh.
She initially rose to stardom in Bollywood with the song “Rang Deeni” from the Amitabh Bachchan and Kareena Kapoor starrer “Dev” and has been an active playback singer, admired for her powerful voice. “The Bay Area audience is always so energetic. It’s great to be performing here,” Pandit told India-West.
Mika Singh entered center stage with a bang singing the hit “Subah Hone Na De” from the Akshay Kumar film “Desi Boyz.” He then seamlessly transitioned to other Bollywood hits like “Raat Baki,” “Mein Dardi Rab Rab” and “Aja Nachle,” maintaining same tempo and high energy that he began with.
Mika Singh is popularly known as a “powerhouse entertainer” in addition to being a prolific songwriter and versatile singer. His first Bollywood hit “Ganpat” from “Shootout at Lokhandwala” was a self-composed number. Most of hit private album songs including “Sawan Mein Lag Gayi Aag” were written and performed by him as well. Along with his brother Daler Mehndi, Mika Singh continues to be one of seminal voices of Bollywood dance hits.
“I’d like to dedicate my next songs to everyone in audience,” Mika Singh announced. “It is only because of your love that I am here today,” he added. Mika Singh regaled the audience with musical gems from his repertoire including “Dekha Jo Tujhe Yaar” from “Apna Sapna Money Money,” “Singh is King,” “Mauja hi Mauja” from “Jab We Met,” “Pungi” from “Agent Vinod,” “Dhanno” from “Housefull” and “Jugni” from “Tanu Weds Manu,” infusing more enthusiasm with each rendition.
The singer interlaced his numbers with spontaneous rap sequences and popular English numbers like Queen”s “We Will Rock You” and Bee Gee”s “Stayin’ Alive” that resonated well with the larger American audience. He then delivered to perfection his more recent chartbusters including “Chinta ta Chita Chita” from Akshay Kumar’s “Rowdy Rathode” and “Dhinka Chika” from Salman Khan’s “Ready,” and received repeated encores from the audience.
Mika went on to perform legendary Bollywood hits of yesteryears as a tribute to the artists from that generation. He began with “Khwab Ho Tum” reminiscing Dev Anand”s glorious era and continued with “Yeh Shyam Mastani” in memory of actor Rajesh Khanna. Remembering Jagjit Singh he sang “Dhai Din Na Jawani Naal Chaldi” and as a final tribute to Yash Chopra he sang “Koi Mil Gaya” from the Shahrukh Khan hit “Kuch Kuch Hota Hai.”
Mika then returned to a high tempo with a string of Punjabi folk songs and concluded the evening with a bang, performing “Saj Dhaj Ke” from the Shahid Kapoor movie “Mausam” and returning to “Subah Hone Na De” to complete a full circle.
When Mika Singh is not rehearsing, touring or singing playback in Bollywood, he is usually judging reality comedy shows and dabbling in acting for his upcoming movie with singer Shaan, titled “Balwinder Singh Famous Ho Gaye.” The film is slated for release next year.
Intero Real Estate and Cal Coast Financial Corp presented the event in association with AAA Entertainments and Indian Chili. “Totally loved the energy at the show. We just kept dancing all the time,” Ashna Mehta, an Indian American resident of Fremont, told India-West. “I hope we get to see Mika again soon. He is a great entertainer,” Mehta added.
