BY SONAM MIRPURI
ANAHEIM, CA- Thousands of fans packed the Anaheim Arena enthusiastically and patiently waited for the legendary musician to make an appearance on stage. Trailers of the musicians and images of previous tours enticed fans to the upcoming and highly anticipated moment.
ANAHEIM, CA- Thousands of fans packed the Anaheim Arena enthusiastically and patiently waited for the legendary musician to make an appearance on stage. Trailers of the musicians and images of previous tours enticed fans to the upcoming and highly anticipated moment.
 |  |  |
Thousands of fans packed the Anaheim Arena enthusiastically and patiently waited for the legendary musician to make an appearance on stage. Trailers of the musicians and images of previous tours enticed fans to the upcoming and highly anticipated moment. 555 Entertainment and Singh is King Entertainment in association with Glam Entertainment as well as Prria Haider Productions Global and 27th Investment presented A. R. Rahman live on August 19 here. In a cool, calm, and collected manner Rahman walked to the forefront of the stage toward a disc jockey setup in which he performed an instrumental remix of a few of his well-known hits. The screaming fans forgot about the delayed start as the Arena filled with cheers and whistles to demonstrate their love, admiration, and appreciation. Chaiyya Chaiyya, Dil Se; Jai Ho, Slumdog Millionaire; and Paathshaala, Rang De Basanti were some of the tracks in this introductory remix which garnered much love from the audience.
Completely in his element, Rahman continued by moving from the disc jockey setup to a piano which was placed towards the back of the stage. Jonita Gandhi came on stage to sing the first Tamil track of the evening, Mukkabla from Kadhalan. Gandhi danced along to the beats of the song as she sang.
Utilizing this opportunity Rahman took in all of the love expressed by his fans in the form of cheers, screams, and whistles responding with gratitude. Jiya Jale once again from Dil Se brought Neeti Mohan, Linda Lind, and Haricharan to the stage to perform. Mohan and Haricharan continued by singing the next Tamil song, Veerapandi Kotayyile from Thiruda Thiruda. The performance was enhanced by the background graphics projected on a screen behind the singers.
More of the many Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu popular and renowned songs were presented to the audience who clapped, cheered, screamed, swayed, and whistled in reciprocation to the beautiful melodies. Rahman then took the time to sweetly and shortly introduce the next singer. “A very special singer who needs no introduction,” said Rahman introducing
Narayan who came to the stage to sing another delightful track from Dil Se, Ae Ajnabi.
“Give a big hand to A. R. Rahman, because of him we are all here today,” said Narayan at the end of his first song of the night.
Haricharan then joined by all three ladies sang Taal Se Taal from the film Taal. Narayan joined in as well to sing the male version of this duet. From the same album, Javed Ali sang Nahin Samne with Gandhi. The audience clapped along to this pleasant and easy on the ears number. Chairs were brought on stage for Gandhi, Haricharan, and Mohan to take a seat as they continued by performing Agar Tum Saath Ho from Tamasha. Audiences swayed with their hands in the air in their seats to this track.
Rahman came to the front of the stage and emotionally spoke to everyone in attendance about the hardships they faced in attaining their visas and how many of the audience members who once resided in India have since left India and now reside in the US, because of which events like this are made possible.
Mohan then came to the stage to sing an upbeat track, Jiya Re, from Jab Tak Hai Jaan and requested fans to sing along with her to which they happily obliged. This was followed by Rahman singing Enna Sona with Gandhi, Lind, and Mohan providing background vocals. Rahman then presented the next portion of the concert to the audiences stating “ this is a medley of all the memories, it is a bouquet dedicated to you.” Going back to the piano, Rahman took fans down memory lane. All of the singers took turns singing in this mashup with him. Kehna Hi Kya, Bombay; Tu Bin Bataayein, Rang De Basanti; Jashn E Bahaara, Jodhaa Akbar; and Saans, Jab Tak Hai Jaan were some of the melodious songs performed. The mashup continued and concluded with a few more upbeat tracks such as O Re Chori and Mitwa, Lagaan; and Rang De from Thakshak. While the singers took a brief break, the audience was presented with a trailer. 99 Songs, an upcoming Indian romantic musical film, which was co-written and produced by Rahman. Audiences cheered and screamed “I love you,” to demonstrate their love for Rahman.
Appearing on stage in a new persona, the next portion of the evening was presented. Rahman, Ali, Haricharan, a few other singers, a harmonium player, and a tabla player peformed in a Sufi arrangement.
Kun Faaya Kun, Rockstar and Khwaja Mere Khwaja, Jodhaa Akbar were the two most popular songs. Both got audiences out of their seats in an attempt to record with their phones. Others who remained in their seats turned on the flashlights on their phones and swayed to the music. Rahman and Narayan came back on stage to an entirely new and different setup. This time virtual drums performed by Ranjit Barot accompanied Narayan as she sang Kya Kare Kya Na Kare from Rangeela.
All of the local and national promoters were brought to the stage to be recognized for making this event possible.
Rahman then took audiences back in time to present songs from about 20 years ago. This brought audience members to their feet to dance along as the other singers took turns singing with Rahman.
Shakalaka Baby, Mudhalvan; Tanha Tanha Yahan Pe Jeena and the title track, Rangeela; Mustafa Mustafa, Kadhal Desam were the most loved songs. Ali, Gandhi, Haricharan, Lind, Mohan, and Narayan came together to perform the finale number Jai Ho. During the performance, movie posters of various Rahman albums were projected on the screen in the background, enhancing the effect. The concert came to a close with Rahman thanking everyone for coming.
Completely in his element, Rahman continued by moving from the disc jockey setup to a piano which was placed towards the back of the stage. Jonita Gandhi came on stage to sing the first Tamil track of the evening, Mukkabla from Kadhalan. Gandhi danced along to the beats of the song as she sang.
Utilizing this opportunity Rahman took in all of the love expressed by his fans in the form of cheers, screams, and whistles responding with gratitude. Jiya Jale once again from Dil Se brought Neeti Mohan, Linda Lind, and Haricharan to the stage to perform. Mohan and Haricharan continued by singing the next Tamil song, Veerapandi Kotayyile from Thiruda Thiruda. The performance was enhanced by the background graphics projected on a screen behind the singers.
More of the many Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu popular and renowned songs were presented to the audience who clapped, cheered, screamed, swayed, and whistled in reciprocation to the beautiful melodies. Rahman then took the time to sweetly and shortly introduce the next singer. “A very special singer who needs no introduction,” said Rahman introducing
Narayan who came to the stage to sing another delightful track from Dil Se, Ae Ajnabi.
“Give a big hand to A. R. Rahman, because of him we are all here today,” said Narayan at the end of his first song of the night.
Haricharan then joined by all three ladies sang Taal Se Taal from the film Taal. Narayan joined in as well to sing the male version of this duet. From the same album, Javed Ali sang Nahin Samne with Gandhi. The audience clapped along to this pleasant and easy on the ears number. Chairs were brought on stage for Gandhi, Haricharan, and Mohan to take a seat as they continued by performing Agar Tum Saath Ho from Tamasha. Audiences swayed with their hands in the air in their seats to this track.
Rahman came to the front of the stage and emotionally spoke to everyone in attendance about the hardships they faced in attaining their visas and how many of the audience members who once resided in India have since left India and now reside in the US, because of which events like this are made possible.
Mohan then came to the stage to sing an upbeat track, Jiya Re, from Jab Tak Hai Jaan and requested fans to sing along with her to which they happily obliged. This was followed by Rahman singing Enna Sona with Gandhi, Lind, and Mohan providing background vocals. Rahman then presented the next portion of the concert to the audiences stating “ this is a medley of all the memories, it is a bouquet dedicated to you.” Going back to the piano, Rahman took fans down memory lane. All of the singers took turns singing in this mashup with him. Kehna Hi Kya, Bombay; Tu Bin Bataayein, Rang De Basanti; Jashn E Bahaara, Jodhaa Akbar; and Saans, Jab Tak Hai Jaan were some of the melodious songs performed. The mashup continued and concluded with a few more upbeat tracks such as O Re Chori and Mitwa, Lagaan; and Rang De from Thakshak. While the singers took a brief break, the audience was presented with a trailer. 99 Songs, an upcoming Indian romantic musical film, which was co-written and produced by Rahman. Audiences cheered and screamed “I love you,” to demonstrate their love for Rahman.
Appearing on stage in a new persona, the next portion of the evening was presented. Rahman, Ali, Haricharan, a few other singers, a harmonium player, and a tabla player peformed in a Sufi arrangement.
Kun Faaya Kun, Rockstar and Khwaja Mere Khwaja, Jodhaa Akbar were the two most popular songs. Both got audiences out of their seats in an attempt to record with their phones. Others who remained in their seats turned on the flashlights on their phones and swayed to the music. Rahman and Narayan came back on stage to an entirely new and different setup. This time virtual drums performed by Ranjit Barot accompanied Narayan as she sang Kya Kare Kya Na Kare from Rangeela.
All of the local and national promoters were brought to the stage to be recognized for making this event possible.
Rahman then took audiences back in time to present songs from about 20 years ago. This brought audience members to their feet to dance along as the other singers took turns singing with Rahman.
Shakalaka Baby, Mudhalvan; Tanha Tanha Yahan Pe Jeena and the title track, Rangeela; Mustafa Mustafa, Kadhal Desam were the most loved songs. Ali, Gandhi, Haricharan, Lind, Mohan, and Narayan came together to perform the finale number Jai Ho. During the performance, movie posters of various Rahman albums were projected on the screen in the background, enhancing the effect. The concert came to a close with Rahman thanking everyone for coming.
RSS Feed
