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LA Sonu Niigaam Show Now Aug. 16 Due to Flight Cancellation
LOS ANGELES — At the other end of the airline cancellation story, members of Explosion 2009 spent some harrowing hours at the Philadelphia airport.
An exhausted Sonu Niigaam recounted their travails to India-West late afternoon Aug. 2 from his hotel in Philadelphia.
After their Atlantic City, New Jersey, show ended at midnight, the troupe left around 2:30 a.m. for the hour-long drive to Philadelphia airport. They were to catch a 6.a.m. flight to Los Angeles where they were scheduled to perform the show in the evening. Little did they know they were not going anywhere that day.
They were informed at the airport that their flight was canceled. Niigaam said he was disappointed by AirTran’s attitude and service, lack of cooperation and failure to put them on an alternate flight after canceling their original one. “They have no clue about customer service…It was very pathetic,” he told India-West.
“We were at the airport from 3:45 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. (EST) just trying to figure out how to get there…keeping some hope,” Niigaam said. But nothing worked out. “We were so tired, stranded at the airport (for hours) without any rest,” he added.
However, he expressed confidence in Super Entertainment’s ability to handle the situation in Los Angeles.
Niigaam spent some time in Los Angeles prior to the tour and said he had met many important music industry people here who were going to attend the show. “Many of them had not seen a Bollywood show and were looking forward to this concert. Why did this have to happen to the LA show?” he questioned.
But he took a philosophical approach to the postponement and said, “One has to surrender to God’s will. There must be a bigger purpose in this… it teaches us patience and tolerance even though we feel like complaining,” he told India-West.
Niigaam, one of Bollywood’s top playback singers, has a large fan following in the United States. He has given several concert tours here and last performed in Los Angeles two years ago with Asha Bhonsle in a show titled “The Incredibles.”
Niigaam said performing in Los Angeles is a unique experience because the audience here is more artistic and have “Hollywood color” in them. He said he has found that when he urges the audience to sing with him, the Los Angeles fans actually sing close to his pitch and key! “When the audience understands what you are doing, the graph of that show rises to a different level,” he told India-West.
Niigaam said that many of the segments he performs in Explosion 2009 have thrilled audiences that have already seen the show. But he won’t reveal details because he wants them to come as a surprise to those who have yet to see it. “I think there is some different kind of energy and ecstasy that’s happening on this tour,” he added.
By PREETI CHANDAN
indiawest.com
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