VOCAL SUNIDHI

By LISA TSERING
India-West Staff Reporter

SAN JOSE, Calif. - Sunidhi Chauhan
strutted and sizzled her way
through a dynamic concert
July 9, leaving her audience
breathless. By the time Chauhan
closed the three-hour-plus show
with a blockbuster performance
of her biggest hit, "Aisa jadoo," she'd
evoked a rainbow of emotions, from
the seductive "Deedar de" to the tender
"Mere hath mein," and to fiery heights
of vocal prowess on her faultless interpretation
of the English song "I will always love you."

Chauhan also took her show to Long Beach, Calif., July 8, presented by Core Media Solutions and Mastmobile TV. Accompanying her on tour were Indian Idol finalist Rahul Vaidya; singers Javed Ali ("Kajara re") and Ayub Patel; and compere Manasi Parekh, a singer and star of the StarOne serial "India Calling."

Chauhan is known for a husky, but wide-ranged, vocal style that has been most often used on fast-tempo, Western-flavored songs, but her perfect grasp of sur and her impeccable breath control and phrasing make her far more versatile than that. She has often said she longs for the opportunity to record more soft-tempo ballads, so that she does not become pigeonholed in one musical style.

Nevertheless, throughout most of the evening, Chauhan kept up a high energy level on her songs, many of which were Himesh Reshammiya compositions such as the percolating "Aa aa aashiqi main teri" from 36, China Town. Other fast-paced highlights included "Sajna ve sajna" (Chameli), "Mehboob mere" (Fiza), the title track to Ek Ajnabi and "Ishq kabhi kario na" (Musafir).

At other times, Chauhan showed herself capable of extraordinary delicacy, as in her light and poignant reading of "Aa bhi ja" from Sur, her rendering of the oldie "Dil cheez kya hai," and an unforgettable performance of the vocally demanding "Mere haath mein," one of two songs she's performed on the soundtrack to Fanaa.

Chauhan often toyed with the audience: "Here's a very romantic little song," she said with a coy smile, as a soft sitar twanged behind her - and moments later blasted into "Dhoom machale." Capping the show, she drew out the climax of the blistering "Aisa jadoo," pretending to build up to the explosive chorus ... and then retreating, her hand on her hip, with a laugh.

She kept the show interactive, often playing call-and-response with the audience or switching the song's tempo to keep things fresh. A seven-man band and four female dancers added visual appeal, but Chauhan didn't need it - with her movie-star looks, glittering costumes and graceful moves, the petite singer is a perfect entertainment package.

The July 9 show, at the San Jose Center for Performing Arts, was a fundraiser and awareness booster for the Foundation for Excellence, a Silicon Valley-based NGO that grants scholarships to India's top-achieving students from indigent backgrounds.

All proceeds from the July 9 concert (an exact figure was not available by press time) will go toward providing scholarships to talented and needy students in India through the FFE, said a spokesperson. Since its inception, the FFE has provided over $3.7 million in over 18,500 scholarships to deserving students in 25 states in India.

Prabhu Goel, a leading Silicon Valley entrepreneur and philanthropist, started the FFE with his wife, Poonam, in 1994. Recently, the organization brought onboard two noteworthy individuals who have vowed to increase its influence even further - Vikram Modak, now FFE president, had earlier headed up Intel's operations in India; and Kailash Joshi, who has just joined FFE's board of directors, is a founding member of The Indus Entrepreneurs.

The FFE now has ambitious plans to expand. "We've started asking ourselves, what should FFE's vision be?" said Goel. "How can we now reach out to one million students? When we started, our goal was 10,000. We don't have the answers yet, but we think we see how we might get there."

Sunidhi Chauhan, who is just 22, has not even reached the peak of her powers. Discovered as a child artist on the TV talent show "Mere Awaaz Suno" by no less than Lata Mangeshkar, Chauhan has made an indelible impact on the Hindi film music industry with hits such as "Mast," "Aisa jadoo" and "Dhoom machale."

"I'm my own teacher," Chauhan told India-West during a brief interview backstage. "I've never had classical training, though I'd sing along to Lataji's songs when I was young ..." She laughed. "... younger!"