One important thing to note : The article below is written by a journalist and not by any fan or member of this group
--- On Thu, 6/4/09, $ Pavan Kumar $ <pawancum...@yahoo.com> wrote: From: $ Pavan Kumar $ <pawancum...@yahoo.com> Subject: [arr] A night of Rahmania To: arrahmanfans@yahoogroups.com Date: Thursday, June 4, 2009, 8:51 AM A night of Rahmania With his last ‘Jai Ho’ concert for the season, AR Rahman opens up to audiences as he’s never done beforeLalitha Suhasini font sizIt couldn’t have been easy— this transformation from a painfully shy south Indian boy-man to a free-hug endorsing 43-year-old composer and singer who can capture the imagination of a packed stadium. A.R. Rahman has never been as self-assured and easy on stage as he was on 31 May, entertaining a whopping 40,000 fans at Pune’s Balewadi stadium, a venue that hosted the Commonwealth Youth Games last year.Live act: 40,000 fans attended the Rahman concert at Pune’s Balewadi stadium on 31 May.The man works hard at his act, I find, when I sneak into the 7-hour rehearsal that begins sometime around midnight. The stage is buzzing—musicians tweaking their gear, dancers stretching and singers humming to each other. Conductor Srinivas Murthy, the seniormost member in the troupe and the man to be relied upon throughout the show, looks wired and is positioned to the left of the stage, next to flautist Naveen Kumar, who has worked with Rahman since Roja(1992). Beside them, at the extreme left corner, is Kabhi Kabhi Aditi singer Rashid Ali tuning his guitar alongside guitarist Sanjeev Thomas, who adds his rock cool to the show. Singers Benny Dayal (the versatile vocalist who delivered the hit Pappu Can’t Dance Saala), Raja Hasan (the riveting performer from Bikaner on SaReGaMaPa Challenge 2007), Shweta Pandit (Jatin-Lalit’s niece, who sang Bandhne Lagi from Naach) and Suzanne D’Mello (Mumbai’s jazz circuit will recognize this silken-voiced singer of Latika’s Theme) chat away on the right of the stage, near the wings where I stand. There’s also a DJ console right next to us and this is the first time a DJ will mix Rahman’s music live on stage, so I’m curious to know what tricks he has on his table. The percussionists—one on the pads and the other on an acoustic kit—are on the far right of the stage. There are thousands of bulbs stuck into steel bowls that have been glued on to the stage. It’s a unique idea, looks hilarious up close and I’m not sure about its visual appeal.Suddenly, everybody’s looking up at the highest level on stage. Rahman is in. He’s speeding on the Grand Boston Piano on stage and ends with a cue to Hariharan, who croons Tu Hi Re in his honey-glazed vocals. Hariharan and Rahman walk down to the first level on stage and the singer breaks into an impromptu Marathi dialogue with an invisible audience and fools around for a bit before it’s time to take position back on top of the stage. Rahman pulls off a fantastic surprise by including an old diamond in his set list—a Khamosh Raat from Thakshak sung by Roop Kumar Rathod, a richly textured ballad that will go down as a classic.Rahman sits down on a mattress, folds his legs beneath him, wears his prayer cap and begins singinghttp://www.livemint .com/2009/ 06/04204200/ A-night-of- Rahmania. html?h=B