Arijit Singh's first concert after quitting playback proves fame was never the point, it was about choosing himself

Music Producer Meghdut Roy Chowdhury shared a personal account of meeting Arijit Singh backstage and he did not describe Singh as a superstar wrapped in security and ego, but he described him an artist who walked in quietly, touched his guru's feet, spoke with humility and carried himself like someone still learning. In a culture obsessed with scale, virality and constant output, Arijit choosing stillness felt radical.

And this painfully relatable! We are the generation that has been seeing people hustle endlessly, optimising passion into productivity and turning even joy into content. Burnout is practically a rite of passage. Watching someone at their absolute peak of career and fame say that 'this is not how I want to make art anymore' feels like permission to slow down, step away and redefine success.

Arijit has not rejected music, he has rejected music being a machine, said Meghdut Roy Chowdhury. "He wasn’t in a bubble of fame. He walked in quietly, greeted Pt. Bikram Ghosh with deep humility touching his feet in true guru-shishya parampara and spoke like someone who is still learning every day. There was no ego, just complete devotion to his craft... On stage, he sang Maya Bhara Rati, composed by Pt. Ravi Shankar, with Anoushka. No big screens, no fireworks, just him, his guitar, and an audience glued to every note."

Reflecting on Singh's decision to quit playback singing, he wrote, "Maybe that's why he's stepped away from playback and the whims of labels. He's not done with music. He is done with music being a machine. He is choosing art over algorithms, heart over hustle. He lives between worlds - sometimes riding a scooty back home in Jiaganj like any ordinary person, yet carrying something that makes millions feel seen. That's the real Arijit."

By stepping away from commercial music, Arijit Singh chose depth of noise. He chose himself over fame and applause. Like Raftaar had once revealed, Arijit never performs at weddings. Even the one time, he did, he chose himself over the performance. For a couple of hours of performance, he earned himself a flat in Mumbai. The rapper also revealed that despite all the fame, he continues to be humble and grounded. If his car takes time to arrive, he sits down in an autorickshaw to get back home. He never let fame get to his head and that itself is quite an achievement. He won in life.

The same also reflects in his post-retirement plans - classical music, independent collaborations, non-film projects. Even his confirmation of working with Amaal Mallik "without films" signals a shift away from validation through box office numbers.

What makes his recent concert powerful is not nostalgia or star power. It is his honesty. Arijit admitted he felt nervous on stage, something we rarely hear from someone who has sung for millions. That vulnerability made the performance human, not headline-ready. In a world where success is loud, Arijit Singh's first post-playback concert was quiet. And in that quiet, it said everything. He didn't leave because he lacked fame. He left because fame was never the point. Sometimes, choosing yourself is the most rebellious thing you can do. And sometimes, it sounds exactly like this.