A R Rahman performs at the Times of India Jai Ho concert at Balewadi on Sunday There was Rahman magic in the air... Pune: There was a buzz in the air. Thousands of Puneites were eagerly waiting for the ‘Mozart of Madras’ and his magical melodies. And, he did not disappoint. The Balewadi sports complex resounded with the Rahman magic leaving his fans spellbound and asking for more as The Times of India Jai Ho concert unfolded in the balmy Sunday evening. The venue was crowded well before the show started. And then the wait began, that of the maestro and his posse of musicians. Moments before Rahman got onto the stage, radio jockeys of Radio Mirchi, RJ Shrikant and RJ Aditi played host and welcomed the crowd. The crowd complied when they were asked to scream ‘Jai Ho’ at the top of their voices but their loudest cheer was reserved for Rahman as he came on to the stage in a lift that came up from the middle of the stage. Clad in a white sherwani, Rahman started off the show with a track from ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ and followed it up with a Tamil track ‘Machan Machan’. But it was his talk before the track that left the audience charmed. “Namaskar, salaam and satsriakaal! A dream I had since a long time has finally come true today, and I’m here20in Pune. We are going to have fun today with some good songs, some bad and some mistakes,” he said with a laugh. The next track, one of his latest releases — the title song of ‘Delhi-6’ — had the crowd up on their feet with all singing along with Rahman’s troupe of singers. “The concert began with a prayer for peace which was fitting since Rahman’s music symbolises light, beauty and peace for all those who hear it. His songs cut across languages and countries, only to bring everyone together,” said an excited Jill Sheldekar,a corporate trainer. Popular singers Hariharan and Sadhana Sargam’s entry on the stage caught everyone by surprise as they immediately launched into the song ‘Roja Janeman’ from ‘Roja’ to the delight of everyone, as the crowd hummed along. Singer Raja Hassan belted out the popular ‘Masakalli’ from ‘Delhi 6’ and ‘Guzarish’ from ‘Ghajini’ and he was accompanied well by a female singer from Rahman’s troupe. But while ‘Masakalli’ had the crowd whistling along, it was Rahman’s ‘Dil Se,’ the title track from the film by the same name that had the entire crowd up and jumping on their feet. From his entry in a lift that looked like it was on fire, to his voice that reached a high few could dream of, Rahman did it all and=2 0elicited the loudest cheers of the evening. “I do not normally sing this song in shows, but I got too many e-mails asking for this particular song,” he said. In between songs, Rahman also found time to converse with the audience, as he left the stage with the intention of ‘interviewing’ a few people. “I always get asked ‘Why’ and ‘What,’ etc, so now, I’m going to do the same,” he said, as everyone started jumping up and down to catch his attention. He finally spoke to a couple of people and then dedicated his next song ‘Jiya Se Jiya’ to them. “We are enjoying every bit of the show. His entry was superb and so is the event. Also, the police is doing a great job,” said Amit Besetty, who was there with his group of friends. It was not all music, and even the dancers in the troupe put up a splendid show. What was particularly eye-catching was a dance jugalbandi in martial arts style by two dancers. The other songs performed during the pulsating evening included ‘Ringa Ringa’ from ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ and ‘Genda Phool’ from ‘Delhi-6’. Next up was the foursome of Rahman, Hariharan, Roopkumar Rathod and Rashid Ali as Rahman played the piano with the others singing some beautiful numbers. While Hariharan sang the soulful ‘Tu Hi Re’, Roopkumar Rathod followed w ith ‘Khamosh Raat’ and Rashid Ali with ‘Kahin Toh’. But, it was the patriotic ‘Sarfaroshi Ki Tamanna’ from ‘The Legend of Bhagat Singh’ and ‘Bharat Humko Jaan Se Pyara’ from ‘Roja’ that stole the heart of the audience. “These are two of my favourite songs,” Rahman told the audience. “We think he is fantastic and being here is indeed a privilege. He’s ‘God’ and we have no words to express how we feel,” said friends Sujay Kulkarni and Manmohi Dake. The evening drew to a close with the hits ‘Kabhi Kabhi Aditi’ (Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na) ‘Chupke Se’ (Saathiya), ‘Rehna Tu’ (Delhi-6) and ‘Mayya Mayya’ (Guru). Later, the ‘Nightingale of India’ Lata Mangeshkar went to the stage and congratulated Rahman on his winning the Oscars. Lata, who spoke in Marathi, told the audience “Tyana Marathi samajat nahi (he does not understand Marathi), but Rahman sprang a surprise by saying, “But, I do!” She also presented him a memento. City mayor Rajlaxmi Bhosale presented a shawl to Rahman as city MP Suresh Kalmadi also came on stage. After that Benny Dayal and Neeti Mohan came on stage to sing ‘Kaise Mujhe’ from ‘Ghajini.’ Then it was again Rahman, along with Raja Hassan who presented two sufi songs=2 0‘Khwaja Mere Khwaja’ from ‘Jodhaa Akbar’ and ‘Arziyaan’ from ‘Delhi 6.’ Rahman brought the audience on the feet when he came down the stage and mingled in the audience while singing ‘Hamma Hamma’ from ‘Bombay.’ He egged on the audience to sing along and his fans responded wholeheartedly. As the show came to an end, Rahman sang ‘Jai Ho’ and ‘Vande Mataram’ as the stage bathed in tri-colour and the sky was lit with fireworks. “I thank you for all the love. I had a great time and I hope to see you all next time,” said Rahman as he signed off. (Clockwise from top) Rahman and his team perform at the Balewadi stadium complex; Rahman on stage with Sivamani; and, the mesmerised crowd at the concert Celebrations galore! THE stars were shining bright at the 46th Marathi Film Awards that took place in Pune on Saturday. Well-known artistes from the Hindi and Marathi film industry were felicitated at the event. All eyes were on the stage as artistes and filmmakers were felicitated. The crowd cheered with all intensity when Aamir Khan and Rekha came onstage and were awarded the Raj Kapoor Outstanding Achievement Award and the Raj Kapoor Pratibha Gaurav, respectively. Both actors spoke a few words that touched the hearts of every person in the audience. Amongst the Marathi artistes, renowned lyricist Jagdish Khebudkar was awarded the V Shantaram Lifetime Achievement Award. Padma Award winners, Hridaynath Mangeshkar, Udit Narayan and actor Helen were felicitated at the function. A R Rahman, a few members of the technical team and the child artistes from Slumdog Millionaire were also felicitated. Presenting the various awards were Chief Minister Ashok Chavan, Deputy Chief Minister Chhagan Bhujbal and Minister for Cultural Affairs, Harshvardhan Patil. The evening came to a close with a fabulous performance by Rahman. It was a starry, starry night indeed. Hridaynath Mangeshkar Ashok Chavan Chhagan Bhujbal Harshvardhan Patil Helen Rekha Aamir Khan A R Rahman Article
