In your 30s, your friend asks you to go to Sunidhi Chauhan’s concert. It is very important that you answer by saying ‘yes’ out loud.
On her ongoing I’m Home tour across the country, the playback singer performed in Chennai on February 7, and the audience was not prepared for the enigma that she is; Sunidhi Chauhan’s three-hour long concert was an expression of my childhood playlist.
A snapshot from the concert Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
I grew up quietly switching on Bollywood music channels like 9XM and MTV to listen to two songs from ‘Mehboob Mere’ and watch Sushmita Sen’s provocative dance moves. From ‘Desi Girl’ to ‘Kaisi Paheli Zindagaani’, Sunidhi has been singing hit songs since the time I didn’t know what heartbreak was. But now I am well aware of the feeling and understand the words. What I wasn’t prepared for was her power on stage.
She’s no longer just the voice behind the songs that made me dance, sing, and workout. For months, videos of their concerts have been going viral across the country, and it’s become one of the bucketlists for almost every millennial who grew up like me – memorizing the song and singing into a hairbrush microphone.
After braving two and a half hours of traffic on ECR on a Saturday evening, sweating in full make-up while walking two kilometers to the concert venue with thousands of other people, and barely making it on time, Sunidhi floated onto the stage singing ‘Uri’. Request. In that moment all the chaos went away. It was all worth it, and then some.
I went to the concert with two minds. I was excited because it is Sunidhi Chauhan. It promised to deliver everything I want from a live show. But I also had doubts. of the city. Will they come for the music – or just for the Instagram stories? Will they dance when she launches into ‘Race Sanson Ki’, or stand politely while filming some hit songs to dominate social media before calling it a night?
Sunidhi Chauhan in concert in Chennai | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
The skepticism lasted exactly one song. It disappeared into the sweaty, salty air as she picked up the mic and let the audience sing ‘Yeh jo halka halka suroor hai’, and the ground started roaring at her words so loudly that even she was stunned. From there, the night only got better.
Apart from the now viral ‘Aa Zara’ remixed with Sam Smith’s ‘Unholy’, she also sang Selena Gomez’s ‘Taki Taki’, and surprised the crowd with the hit Tamil film ‘Sha La La’. ghilliFrom ‘Selfie Pula’ kathyAnd from ‘Jingunmani’ district. Each number elicited a louder, more intense reaction than the previous number. Whether it was the high-voltage dance anthems she is synonymous with or slower, more soulful stretches, the audience didn’t just sing along, they clapped along to her every word.
The chants of “Sunidhi, Sunidhi” did not subside even during the brief 10-minute interval when she came down from the stage. In his absence, his dancers took charge of ‘Lucky Boy’ – arguably one of the most electric tracks in a catalog numbering thousands. Although it would have been thrilling to hear him perform live, the troupe presented itself much more strongly than that. The entire evening’s choreography was carefully planned.
Sunidhi Chauhan in concert in Chennai | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
After an outfit change, she re-entered with a flowy skirt that did justice to ‘Aaja Nachle’. At 42, she was in step with her dancers, performing the choreography in high heels without sacrificing breath or pitch.
With each song, the anticipation for some of their biggest hits continued to grow. We knew these were the showstopper and climax of the evening. It started with an independent song ‘Aankh’ written by composer-lyricist Pratiksha Srivastava and became a hit with ‘Jhoom Barabar Jhoom’, ‘Bumbro’, ‘Main Mast’ ‘Deedar De’ ‘Deewangi’ and ‘Sheela Ki Jawaani’.
My only complaint was that they removed the ‘Bidi Jalile’ Omkara – One of his more brutal performances. We watched clips of him setting other cities on fire, and waited for the return of that familiar “one last song” in which the lights dimmed before the start again. It never came. The stage went dark, the band packed up, and a slight feeling of incompleteness remained.
But the crowd did not let it end here. Stuck in a chaotic exit, struggling with weak networks and impossible cab fares, a few brightly dressed girls started singing – glitter blurred, voices hoarse, barely in tune. The stage attempted to reclaim what had been withheld – after all it was a song they had grown up on, that they had made their own.
published – February 09, 2026 06:47 PM IST