On October 30, 1996, a plane touched down in Mumbai and the whole city seemed to hold its breath.
Michael Jackson had come to India for the first time. More than 5,000 screaming fans packed the airport just to catch a glimpse of him. Plenty of people still called the city Bombay back then, and it had never seen a welcome quite like this one.
He was in the middle of his HIStory world tour. The website The Better India later called it his “first and only tour of India,” and it all came down to one big concert a couple of days later.
But first, somebody had to greet him at the airport.
That job went to Sonali Bendre. If the name is new to you, she’s a Bollywood actress, and in 1996 she was a rising star of just 21. Her breakthrough film, “Diljale,” came out that same year. She was still a young actress on her way up, and she was about to come face to face with the King of Pop.
She waited for him in a traditional orange nine-yard sari. When Michael arrived, she performed an aarti, which is a Hindu welcome ritual with a small lamp. Then she placed a tilak on his forehead. A tilak is a blessing mark, and it’s a warm, respectful way to welcome an honored guest.
The old news footage from that day shows just how wild the airport was.
Crowds, flower garlands and drummers greet Michael at the Mumbai airport
From the airport, Michael rode to the Oberoi Hotel in a long motorcade. He popped out of his car’s sunroof to wave at the crowds. One Indian newspaper, the Deccan Herald, says he even stopped his car to meet children lined up along the highway.
At the hotel he surprised the staff by mixing freely with fans. He tried the local food too. For breakfast he had masala dosa, which is a South Indian rice-and-lentil crepe. He also tucked into spicy aloo parathas with butter. Those are potato-stuffed flatbreads.
A fan has shared old TV coverage of Michael’s 1996 stay in Mumbai, and it’s a fun way to see what a big deal his visit was.
Old TV coverage of Michael’s 1996 visit to Mumbai
So what was Sonali’s one condition?
Concert tickets. Really good ones.
In June 2025 she told the news agency ANI how she reacted when she was asked to do the welcome. “I was like, okay, but then I want great tickets for the show and all of that with my friends,” she said.
She meant it, too. “So I did it because I was getting these tickets to enter where I could take my friends and go to the show.”
And it wasn’t just one friend tagging along. “My sister, sister’s friends and all of that. We had this great seating.”
You’d expect a young movie star to say the best part was meeting the King of Pop up close. Sonali is refreshingly honest about what really got her excited. “That’s what I was so excited about when I did it,” she said.
Michael’s only concert in India took place on November 1, 1996, at the Andheri Sports Complex in Mumbai. A fan channel has shared footage of that concert, so you can see the show Sonali and her friends had those great seats for.
Michael on stage at his only concert in India, Mumbai, November 1, 1996
Somewhere in that huge crowd sat Sonali, her sister and a group of very happy friends who had the actress and her one condition to thank for their seats.