An impromptu gig by Coldplay frontman Chris Martin during his first-ever India visit excited the crowd, which included actress Freida Pinto and some Indian musicians and celebrities, at a New Delhi cafe late Wednesday night. But it also caused a social media frenzy in the country, as Martin’s name trended on Twitter.
Patrons at the popular Summer House Cafe were treated to some Coldplay hits by Martin, according to various tweets from people who attended the gig.
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Videos and pictures of his performance, which included such tracks as “Fix You,” “Paradise” and “Viva la Vida,” led to #ChrisMartin and #Coldplay trending for a while.
Martin and Pinto are on a goodwill visit to the country as part of a delegation with the Global Poverty Project, a nonprofit organization dedicated to seeing an end to extreme poverty by 2030. GPP also runs online platform Global Citizen to promote campaigns for social development.
A GPP representative confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter that Martin arrived in the country Tuesday, adding: “He didn’t want his visit to be publicized, but all that changed after last night’s gig began trending on social media.”
GPP also released a photo of Martin and Pinto visiting a development project in New Delhi on Wednesday. According to a statement, the two are part of the GPP delegation “that is holding meetings with politicians, key government leaders, nonprofit partners in the water, sanitation and hygiene space, and participating in field visits to see innovative projects addressing sanitation in local communities.”
Some of the first pictures of the gig were posted by Bollywood singer-composer Vishal Dadlanion his Instagram and Twitter accounts. “What can I say, really? Tonight was BIG,” he said. “On stage with Chris Martin singing to a stunned Delhi crowd. They lost their shiz :)”
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In another tweet, Dadlani added: “It wasn’t an event. We were at a dinner together, and he just went ‘let’s go play somewhere’! And, boom!”
Other celebs in the crowd included musician Raghu Dixit and members of popular and edgy comedy collective All India Bakchod. Back in March, the AIB quartet kicked up a storm with a profanity-laced YouTube video of the first-ever Bollywood roast, which featured filmmaker Karan Johar and actors Arjun Kapoor and Ranveer Singh, among others. Following a public outcry, the video was pulled, with authorities launching an obscenity probe, which is ongoing.
AIB also posted photos and selfies with Martin, whom they introduced onstage for the surprise performance.
Hello Coldplay fans 🙂 pic.twitter.com/eW0dL2dWkA
— All India Bakchod (@AllIndiaBakchod) July 1, 2015