Atif Aslam regales his Delhi ‘Aadeez’

Pakistani singing sensation Atif Aslam was at his musical best at an evening here, when over 2,500 of his fans, whom he fondly calls ‘Aadeez’, were left asking for more even after he took to stage three hours later than scheduled.

Looking cool in a t-shirt and rolled up jeans, Atif made the audience almost forget the wait and amidst tight security, he regaled his fans with several of his songs and more, on Friday night.

While his concert was to begin at 5 p.m., a few serpentine lines were seen being formed at the entrance of the venue, Talkatora Stadium, much before that.

The delay led some to believe that the concert would be called off. And that’s no surprise as the “Aadat” hitmaker’s shows have been cancelled in the past in various Indian cities, including Delhi.

But as the clock struck 8.40 p.m., one could see his bandmates on the stage. They were soon joined by the singer himself who started the show with his latest Bollywood hit track “Tu chahiye ” from Salman Khan starrer “Bajrangi Bhaijaan”.

Then he moved on to “Doorie”, the title track of his second album “Doorie”; followed by “Bheegi yaadein”, the rock version of his hugely popular Bollywood debut track “Woh lamhe woh baatein”.

As he belted out his hit songs one after the other, the furious fans calmed down and sang along with Atif.

He apologised for making them wait.

“Apologies for the delay. It was because of the traffic. Thank you for the love,” Atif told the audience before singing “Tera hone laga hoon”.

The 32-year-old then picked up his guitar and played it while singing “Jal pari” from his debut album “Jal Pari”, which didn’t officially release in India.

“I am here because of your love. You all listen to my songs, take out time for my music… That makes me feel very good. Thank you for that,” the singer, who has been in the music industry for over a decade, told his Delhi fans, out of which a few showed up in t-shirts with Atif’s images printed on them.

For the next few songs, he gave his band a break. With just his soulful voice and a piano, he sang the moving number “Pehli nazar mein” from “Race”.

Like always, he ensured to churn out some of the Bollywood’s classic songs like “Gulabi aankhen”, “Jab koi baat bigad jaye” and “Kya hua tera wada”.

If Bollywood songs kept the fans up on their feet, his album numbers like “Kuch is tarah”, “Hum kis gali jaa rahe hai”and “Meri kahani” also got everyone hooked to his show, tickets for which were priced from Rs.1,500 to Rs.4,000.

Atif, known for interacting with his fans often, also signed autographs on a sketch made by the ‘Aadeez’ as well as handmade posters while performing. He also tried to shake as many hands as possible. The father of a year-old boy also pulled up a little girl on stage and kissed her on her forehead.

He concluded the show with “Aadat”, a song that he always saves for the last.

Inputs by IANS