Review: Mumbai Gets a Dose of Pop Perfection with Dua Lipa

Undeniably the biggest moment from Dua Lipa’s Mumbai concert this weekend was when the Albanian-British pop star crooned and Bollywood danced to the viral mashup of her song “Levitating” with the 1999 filmy hit “Woh Ladki Jo” from the Shah Rukh Khan starrer Baadshah as you would have seen all over social media by now. The Instagram reel sensation was originally mixed by Mumbai-based DJ Ruchir Kulkarni and soundtracked the concert in the first half of the show.

What else went down at the three-time Grammy-winning artist’s second concert in the country?

As we walked into the suburban MMRDA grounds under the peak afternoon sun in the pedestrian-only zone for attendees that seemed like an endless expedition, we couldn’t help but notice major stan fits — with teens and adults, alike donning Lipa’s iconic butterfly crop top and fan art tees. One fan painted out ‘DUAon Main Yaad Rakhna’ on the back of their tee — a line also now synonymous with the paparazzi on the artist’s arrival to India this time around. While most fans were comfortably yet chicly dressed in glitter, sequins and sheer and practical footwear, a few fans dared to venture to the vast, stony and sparsely netted concert grounds in heels which made us really worried for their well-being for the aftermath of the show.

We were greeted with the sounds of opening acts. DJs OG Shez and Ishani x Bobkat played warm-up sets with Afro, pop and club classics. Singer Lothika performed her hit “Doobey” from 2022’s Gehraiyaan which is way more breathy live than expected.

Next up was Talwiinder — the masked rapper and singer, best known for his verse on the collaborative track “Wishes.” Sporting a Led Zeppelin vest with his signature gothic rockstar face paint, he performed some of his biggest tracks including “Khayaal,” “Tu” and “Dhundhala” while spooky Halloween-esque imagery and anime stills blew up on the screens. We heard some people wondering what anime and pumpkins had to do with Punjabi rap and going on to infer that neither did the artist’s garb of choice or face painted persona translate to his hip-hop beat-led Punjabi pop. He closed with “Wishes” while the same group of people now recognized him “as the guy who sang this song ohhh!”

The star of the concert entered the grounds now. Nope, we don’t mean the dance-pop queen herself, but a bridegroom-attired dude with a garland of Dua Lipa photos replete with a sherwani and saafa holding out a poster asking ‘Dua ke papa, aap convince ho gaye yaa apni shaadi.com profile bheju???’ with a photoshopped image of him newlywed next to a lehenga-fied Lipa and a pleading hands emoji.

Other notable attendees were the several kids in Dua Lipa tees and graphic, glittery eye looks asking their parents to take pictures of them, a cowgirl Dua Lipa from “Love Again,” and others in pearl netted tops and beaded body chains.

By now Bollywood playback singer and pop artist Jonita took the stage with an entourage of backup dancers and styled in a sleek wet hair look and floral Rahul Mishra ensemble. When she dropped her Tamil dubstep version of “Vaseegara / Zara Zara,” the audience roared the loudest we had heard yet. People sang the hell out of her rendition of “Crazy In Love” and last year’s Bollywood smash “What Jhumka?” but seemed to recognize her most for the mellow “Deva Deva” from Brahmastra. Her solo releases with Karan Aujla & Divine (“Yaad”) and Ali Sethi (“Love Like That”) didn’t seem to invoke the same reactions, which leaves a lot to be said for artists traipsing the indie plus playback path.

The final opener for the evening was rapper NAV. We overheard people say “He’s the Punjabi Weeknd” and also “Is he Canadian or Punjabi?” The truth is all of the above and more.

NAV has a song with fellow Canadian artist The Weeknd and is of Punjabi origin. A few drinks down, people were vibing to his set and prepping for the final act.

A few fans were heard wondering why rappers and Bollywood singers were chosen as opening acts for an international pop star – especially with many children being exposed to explicit lyricism and the harsh bass of the hip-hop acts.

To get the crowd hyped up for Lipa’s headlining set the PAs played the Nineties U.K. banger “Gym and Tonic” with its retro refrain of “2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and back” which the crowd actually started chanting to. It’s amazing how much rhythm and melody can synchronize large crowds and something about it reminded us of school assemblies or PT lessons.

At 8:05 pm sharp as per the stipulated time — there she was — a vision in white. Do note that none of the earlier performing artists’ sets started on time. A sparkly dress with an asymmetrical chainmail cut and the thumping notes of “Are you someone that I can give my heart to?” and Miss Lipa got the party started! Opening with “Training Season” — the second single from the new Radical Optimism (2024) album — had at least half the crowd scream-singing along.

Moving on to the Calvin Harris-produced “One Kiss,” we heard people proclaim that this is what they’d come for, as most of the audience sang in unison. Lipa’s backup dancers in silver bodysuits brought on the right energy for the bouncy house track. Lights spotlighted Lipa so brilliantly that we noticed her minimal yet statement drip — a diamond choker and matching studs. Not only was her fit bedazzled but also her white cowboy boots.

Track #3 was another one off the latest record. “Illusion” featured a lot of gyrating and several dance breaks. Taking a moment to acknowledge an attendee with a poster saying ‘Dua’s biggest fan’ Lipa thanked the crowd and addressed the audience for the first time.

A lowkey bop off of Radical Optimism is “End Of An Era” which makes for an essential part of her tour setlist. Cued at fourth place, Lipa sounded sensual and confident despite no choreography — there was a lot of feeling herself. The disco interlude was definitely very hypnotic as Lipa and her dancers were soaked in a warm red light.

Returning to the soundtrack of the lockdown with her breakout album, 2020’s Future Nostalgia,“Break Your Heart” was next with fans screaming the chorus. Lipa offered a bunch of head throws and hair flips.

A curious curse follows pop artists. They enjoy omnipresent fame and everybody and their mother being able to sing along to their lead singles and chart toppers. Some of their strongest songwriting, however, slips through the cracks and may develop a cult following to later resurge (see: Taylor Swift and “All Too Well”) or be known only to a handful of diehard stans.

These awkward and quieter moments make up some of the performances of her 2024 tracks at the concert. A lone hardcore fan sang the entirety of “Watcha Doing” next to me — a slinky synth-led song. A pristine sonic spell fell upon us all as the track faded and the London-based songwriter exited the stage.

Returning in the same outfit — nope, no costume change yet – electrifying guitar and drums took over around the 8:30 pm mark as the nu disco beats of “Levitating” finally resounded over the whole grounds. Commencing with the chorus, with the attendees in the palm of her hands, Lipa had everyone with their phones out. The signature side throw and kick step was performed as she cheekily sang-spoke a couple of lines. This was the moment. Everyone was geared. Fireworks and Bollywood. Shah Rukh and pop perfection. IRL viral excellence. Many attendees in the silver zone claim that they couldn’t hear the reels mashup soundtrack at all over the cheers and explosions.

Some of us definitely flew away with her that night.

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The ballad “These Walls” was another one only stans sang along to as Lipa hit those high notes and had her first melodic moment of vulnerability. This was the perfect segue to a speech from the pop diva as she told us how she started her year in the city and felt like she was rounding it up by being back here. Lipa has consistently shown her love for India by visiting at least four times since her time in the public eye. “Thank you for having me back and showing up for me,” she said.

Introducing her band, she moved on to another sleeper hit – “Be The One” was the singer’s second-ever release in the run up to her debut album. “It’s a song I’ll sing for the rest of my life,” we were informed. Jamming and throwing her head back, her immaculate stage presence really came through. This is what a pop star looks like.

“Love Again,” a slow burn of disco ecstasy featured meticulous choreography and floor work from Lipa. As she asked us to cheer from every side after an emphatic “But God damn” it finally started to hit that we’re at an international Billboard charting A-lister’s concert. The streamers in the air helped. “Putting our mind at ease” with “Pretty Please” and with the chimes and bells of electronic production, Lipa came down on her knees, as strummy high octave guitar chords enveloped us. We’ve never fangirled harder.

Taking a proper break, the band and crew exited as a recorded dance sequence was screened.

Resuming with “Hallucinate” and then “New Rules” we couldn’t help but realize the TikTok-ification of music was here to stay. The 2017 track was sped up and we don’t know why.

Lipa has been a proponent of dance-centric pop from her early days. Working with record producers Mark Ronson and Diplo (the duo known as Silk City) in 2018 she danced feverishly in the music video for “Electricity.” As she gave us the same electric energy, we somehow felt like no one in India knew this song.

A tender moment was when she moved on to the Elton John revival “Cold Heart” as she moved arm in arm with her dancers. People knew the lyrics to this song.

A piano solo ensued as it was ballad time again. “Anything For Love” had people talking over the somber performance and not a phone filming in sight. Clearly people hadn’t shown up for an acoustic performance with no backup singers or dancers. It gave us time to take a note of her winged black liner with the subtlest shimmer.

On “Happy For You” we spotted only one girl singing along far and wide. It didn’t matter. Lipa personified a goddess. With no choreography her pop star chops showed, as well as her several tiny tats.

Lipa then wished us good night and exited. Many people thought the concert was concluded and proceeded to leave. A few were left bewildered and aghast: “Isn’t she going to do ‘Physical’ and ‘Houdini’?”

The Eighties-inspired frenetic track was indeed performed when Lipa took the stage again. “Let’s get physical” was perhaps the most shouted refrain we heard all night as several women climbed onto their significant others’ shoulders to be at a seven feet eyeline. The much-missed choreography was back.

“Barbie always has a smile on her face. Not a hair out of place and always ready to dance the night away,” we learned from Lipa as she waved “Hi Barbie” at the crowd. There were pink streamers of course for “Dance The Night Away.” The movie OST seamlessly switched to the bass of “Don’t Start Now.” Loosened up by now, fans were having their own little dance parties.

“This is our last chance to dance together,” came the bittersweet revelation. The first single of her current era had the most thorough dance breaks as Lipa managed looking flawless till the concert closed. As her silhouette vanished into the white strobes, we wondered — could we really catch her before she went “Houdini”?

With the sky lit up, an old-school favorite blasted on. Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance With Somebody.” Yes, we Du(a).