Sitar, soul and spectacle: Rishabh Rikhiram Sharma casts a spell over Mumbai

What unfolded on Friday night at the Mahalaxmi Racecourse was not just a concert, it was an emotional phenomenon. Over 20,000 Mumbaikars attended one of the largest-ever classical music concerts in the city. In an era dominated by high-decibel beats and fleeting hooks, Rishabh Rikhiram Sharma created something far more enduring: a collective experience of stillness, healing and transcendence.

Titled ‘Sitar for Mental Health’ concert, the evening saw thousands gather under the open sky, only to be drawn into an almost meditative silence as Rishab’s fingers danced across the strings.

Never before, probably, has an instrumentalist-singer held an audience of this scale (including Deepika Padukone on teh front row. Also sported were Soha Ali Khan, Gauri Khan, Tara Sutaria and Mrunal Thakur, Mika Singh, Jasleen Royal, Kumarmangalam Birla, Sayani Gupta, Maheep Kapoor, Bhavna Panday) in such rapt attention, each note landing not just on the ear, but somewhere deeper within.

Music that felt, not just heard
From the unfrogettable strains of Tumhi Dekho Na, reimagined on the sitar, to the aching nostalgia of Kal Ho Na Ho, Rishabh blurred the lines between melody and memory. The familiar film song tunes took on new life, slower, more introspective, allowing the audience to rediscover songs they thought they already knew. But it wasn’t just about nostalgia. As the night unfolded, Sharma moved seamlessly between instrumental passages and vocal interludes, surprising many by taking the microphone to render spiritual compositions, songs on Shiva, (Shiv Kailasho Ke Vasi, Tandavam) and chants of “Om Namah Shivay! Om Namah Parvati Pateh, Har Har Mahadev! On stage, Rishabh said, “Thus is my sixth concert in Mumbai!” He also spoke about on how his very first show was held in a basement for just 100 people in the suburbs and he expressed heartfelt gratitude for the overwhelming turnout this time.

A spectacle with soul
While the emotional core of the evening remained deeply intimate, the production matched it with grandeur. State-of-the-art pyrotechnics lit up the Mumbai skyline, confetti guns punctuated crescendos, and immersive lighting design turned the racecourse into a dreamscape. Yet, none of it felt excessive; every visual element seemed to serve the music rather than overshadow it.

More than a concert
“This isn’t just music, it’s therapy,” said one attendee, echoing a sentiment that seemed to ripple across the crowd. And indeed, the night felt less like a performance and more like a shared emotional release. What Mumbai experienced was not your regular concert. It was part symphony, part spiritual gathering, part personal journey. In a city that rarely slows down, Rishabh managed to create a rare pause, where thousands breathed, felt, and healed together.

Setlist:
Rishab’s expansive setlist featured many ragas, his original compositions like Shankara, Shiv Kailash, Burning Ghat and Roslyn, alongside dynamic sitar interpretations of popular pieces such as Harry Potter x Game of Thrones, Kal Ho Naa Ho, Zara Zara, and Tumhi Dekho Naa, as well as his Himachali folk single Belua.
The concert concluded with powerful renditions of Chanakya, Kautilya and Tandavam—his interpretation of the Shiv Tandav Stotram earning a thunderous standing ovation from the crowd.



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