Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan has announced UNIFYD, a music festival scheduled to take place in Abu Dhabi on 20 March 2027. The event will feature performances by singers Sonu Nigam, Arijit Singh and Karan Aujla, with tickets expected to go on sale soon.
The festival will be held at Etihad Live in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Its organisers have asked interested audiences to download the District app to receive notifications about ticket sales.
Shah Rukh announced the event on Friday evening, sharing a promotional video that introduces the festival and its three headline performers. His son Aryan Khan’s brand, D’YAVOL, is among the festival’s brand partners.
Shah Rukh’s humorous announcement introduces UNIFYD
In the promotional video, Shah Rukh begins by asking, “Music, how hard can it be?” He then attempts to play several instruments, including the keyboard, saxophone, drums, guitar and violin, before trying to sing.
After his efforts fail, the actor concludes, “Let’s just leave this to the pros.” The video then cuts to footage of Sonu Nigam, Arijit Singh and Karan Aujla performing at concerts over the years.
Explaining the idea behind the event, Shah Rukh says with a smile, “It’s time to come together, it’s time to be unified,” tying the message to the festival’s name.
The official UNIFYD social media account described it as a music festival bringing together “India’s biggest voices” for one day and confirmed the date and venue as 20 March 2027 at Etihad Live, Abu Dhabi.
The announcement also drew reactions from Shah Rukh’s family and the participating artists. His daughter, Suhana Khan, responded to the video with heart emojis, while Karan Aujla commented, “Aujla aujla baby do your thinggg,” accompanied by heart-eyes and fire emojis.
Sonu Nigam, Arijit Singh and Karan Aujla to perform
The line-up brings together three singers associated with different strands of Indian music, from Bollywood playback singing to contemporary Punjabi and hip-hop sounds.
Sonu Nigam has sung for several films, including Border 2, Do Deewane Seher Mein, Batwara 1947 and Prahaar: The Untold Story of Ujjwal Nikam.
Karan Aujla’s recent releases include the album P-Pop Culture and the hip-hop EP AUJLA SZN 1.
Arijit Singh, meanwhile, announced in January this year that he would retire from Bollywood playback singing. Despite that announcement, his voice has featured in films released this year, including Border 2, O’Romeo, Dhurandhar: The Revenge and Cocktail 2. His songs are also expected to feature in the upcoming films Ramayana: Rise of a Legend and Maatrubhumi.
The UNIFYD announcement places the three artists on the same festival bill for a one-day event in Abu Dhabi. Further details on ticket sales are expected to be shared through the District app.
Shah Rukh Khan’s upcoming film King
Shah Rukh’s announcement comes as the actor continues work on his next film, King, directed by Sidharth Anand.
His last three theatrical releases were Pathaan, Jawan and Dunki, all of which arrived in 2023. After delivering two blockbusters among those three releases, he took a short break before returning to filming.
King will feature Shah Rukh sharing the screen with his daughter, Suhana Khan. The cast also includes Deepika Padukone, Abhishek Bachchan, Anil Kapoor, Jaideep Ahlawat, Jackie Shroff, Arshad Warsi, Rani Mukerji and Raghav Juyal.
The film is scheduled to release in cinemas on 24 December.