Sonu Nigam, laser show steal the show

PATNA: The audience went hysterical as noted singer SonuNigam crooned patriotic tunes of 'Mera rang de basantichola', romantic numbers 'Surajhuamadham', 'Shukran Allah', and other evergreen numbers at the inaugural cultural function of BiharDiwas celebrations at Gandhi Maidan on Friday evening.
The singer, who has many Indi-pop albums to his credit, rocked the audience, with his troupe from Mumbai, with many popular tracks including 'Aaja aaja mai hu pyar tera', 'Dhunki', 'Tumhi ho bandhu', 'Aivyehi aivyehi', 'Gumsum', 'Tu aaja soniye', 'Bachna ae hasino', 'Mere sapno ki rani', as fans stood on chairs to catch a glimpse of their favourite singer and waved and cheered as he interacted with them.
Laser light formed patterns on a transparent screen on stage and an audio-visual clip, "Gauravshali Bihar - Ek atulya pradesh" that depicted the history of formation of Bihar since the ancient times, completed the laser show package. The visuals were supplemented with scripted commentary and background scores. Audio-visual clips of popular movies and television shows were also integrated with the script to beautifully bring out the state's historic glory.
The laser show started the journey of Bihar as the first republic of world civilization via historic names of Gautam Buddha, Mahavir, Guru Gobind Singh, Chanakya and Chadragupta, Tilka Manjhi, Babu Kunwar Singh and concluded with present government schemes for the development of the state.
Colourful light beams from designer projections made beautiful formation of waves or designs that converged upwards or criss-crossed to form visually delightful outline. Pleasing music of "Bihar gaurav gaan" and "Vande matram" added to the show, ending it on a patriotic note.
However, the crowd beyond the railing turned unruly and hurled shoes and stones at the seated audience within the fenced area. A number of people panicked and city police had a hard time controlling them as the mob repeatedly threw shoes, empty bottles and other things towards the fenced area. In fact, Sonu had to repeatedly ask fans not to throw chairs and stones and maintain decorum.
A dance act by students of Bharatiya Nritya Kala Mandir on the tunes of Bihar prayer song 'Mere raftar pe suraj ki kiran naaz karein' and Bihar rajya geet 'Mere Bharat ke kanthhaar', enthralled the gathering and gave a perfect start to the cultural programmes. Their coordination on the rhythmic beats was simply stunning. Another performance on "Bihar gaurav gaan" organized by the art, culture and youth affairs department also struck a chord with the audience.