Gig Review/ Usha Uthup

 

BY NARENDRA KUSNUR

Usha Uthup Live In Concert

Genre: Pop/ Bollywood 

Details: Nehru Centre Worli, March 29

Rating: ****

Whether she performs at an auditorium, open-air venue or nightclub, Usha Uthup always gives the audience a rollicking, memorable time. There's entertainment, nostalgia, interaction and humour, all blended in the right quantity. And before the show, one always wonders what colour Kanjeevaram she'll wear.

This time, it was a concert hall. At the Nehru Centre, Worli, on March 29, she wore red, with her trademark bindi and gajras in perfect sync. She also showed her Kanjeevaram sneakers, much to the awe of the ladies in the house. The jokes kept flowing, whether they were about being politically-correct, pointing out similitaries in western and Indian tunes, or describing what "the nation wants to know".

The occasion was a fund-raiser by Alert-India for the cause of leprosy elimination. And the venue was jam-packed, having been sold out four days before the event. The crowd burst into chorus frequently, and from one corner, a lady screamed, "Love you Usha Ji".

The set was varied too, starting with Uthup's standard 'I Believe In Music', and moving into English songs before getting into Bollywood territory and some regional fare. Adele's James Bond song 'Skyfall' and Andy Williams' Love Story theme set the mood, before she sang the popular 'Bombay Meri Hai', which she also  briefly changed to 'Mumbai Aamchi Re' to the crowd's delight. The song had been popularised by Uthup's sister Uma Pocha.

One of the highlights was the rendition of the Stevie Wonder classic 'I Just Called To Say I Love You', where her sister Indira Srinivasan joined from a microphone given in her seat in the audience. Uthup then sang snippets from a few English tracks, asking the crowd to sing the Hindi versions.

The transition to Hindi was very smooth, as she called Kavita Seth to join her on the Dil Apna Aur Preet Parayi gem 'Ajeeb Dastaan Hai Yeh'. Kavita then did a solo version of her Wake Up Sid hit 'Iktaara'. Uthup excelled in an R.D. Burman medley, before paying tribute to Bappi Lahiri with 'Ramba Ho' and 'Hari Om Hari'.

For variety, we had the motivational song 'Mera Khuda Bada Hai' which was dedicated to the concert's cause, Ilaiyaraaja's Tamil hit 'Rambambam' and a snippet from Tagore's 'Ekla Chalo Re'. Of course, the concert couldn't be complete without the flavour of the season - M.M. Keeravani's 'Naatu Naatu'. She called two people randomly from the crowd to do the dance, but four landed up, with all doing their own assorted steps but having fun.

'Darling' (from 7 Khoon Maaf), 'Senorita' (Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara) and the popular 'Damadam Mast Kalander' (with Kavita Seth) were performed at the end, and the show concluded with John Lennon's 'Imagine', with the audience switching on their mobile phone torches as a gesture.

The band, comprising guitar, bass, keys and digital percussion, has obviously been playing with the singer for years, and coordinated brilliantly. Uthup kept the crowd on its feet with her nostalgic renditions and wit. Barring a brief section where she sang songs from Don 2 and Ae Dil Hai Mushkil (and maybe the Ilaiyaraaja number, in the case of non-Tamil fans), the repertoire was such that people knew the tunes, if not the words. One missed her 'Malaika' and 'Bindiya Chamkegi', of course.

What was most noteworthy was the way Uthup brought out energy and enthusiasm from the crowd. She's 75, and has been doing shows for nearly 54 years. Needless to say, every show of hers has been like a masterclass in the art of live singing and stagecraft. And there's not the faintest sign of slowing down.