Natarani ended the year with a two-and-a-half-hour high energy concert by Sona Mahapatra on Monday. Wearing a belted electric-blue gown and cowgirl boots, the lady dazzled the audience with her moves, as she sang her biggest hits.
In between, she kept up an easy banter with the audience on subjects like feminism, trans power, Shyam Benegal and the chaniya cholis of Law Garden.
Sona’s repertoire has songs in Hindi, Punjabi Oriya, Bengali and even a folksong in Gujarati, which she picked up for the Ahmedabad concert. She sang her own hits, like Mujhe Kya Bechega Rupaiya from the TV show Satyamev Jayate and Ambarsariya from the film Fukrey.
She also sang evergreen classics like Maro Gao Katha Parey (the Amul song) from Manthan and Farida Khanum’s Aaj Jaane Ki Zid Na Karo. In Sambalpuri, she sang Rangabati and in Bengali, Shundari Komola, whereupon a very talented girl from the audience joined her on the stage to dance.
Sona’s multi-lingual repertoire and easy connect with the audience is reminiscent of another great performer of yesteryears, Usha Uthup. The only difference is that Usha Uthup wore saris and didn’t move about with quite as much gusto.
Sona, on the other hand, had nothing to inhibit her physical energy. She danced, dashed around the stage, spun like a dervish, sank to the ground. At one point, she plunged into the packed amphitheatre, wending her way through the audience as she sang an RD Burman medley.
Following this, in a happy surprise for the audience, Sona’s husband, composer Ram Sampath, joined her on stage for a soulful rendition of their song Jiya Lage Na from the film Talaash. The show climaxed with the Sufi anthem Mast Qalandar, which had Mallika Sarabhai and others dancing up on stage and everyone else on their feet, clapping and stomping.
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