Review: A.R. RAHMAN CAST HIS MUSICAL SPELL at a Concert In Delhi

He is the pride of India and undoubtedly the best known Indian musician globally. So, it was obvious that when AR Rahman, the music legend would perform in Delhi, there would be magic.

So on a chilly winter evening, Delhiites were left spellbound when the maestro himself performed. Rahman appeared for a landmark concert at the Indira Gandhi Stadium after a hiatus of five long years of stage performances.

Master composer A.R. Rahman kicked off his four city stadium tour series, celebrating his 25 iconic years in the Indian entertainment industry, with 'A.R. Rahman ENCORE- The Concert in association with MTV'. The tour that grabbed headlines in Mumbai, Hyderabad and Ahmedabad make a grand conclusion in the capital .

Arriving at the entrance of the venue, one could feel the excitement that is reserved solely for the most famous musician of India with the crowd who had come out in droves to support the man who is arguably one of the most popular members of their community. The concert that lasted three hours and played to a packed fully seated venue, was replete with moments of delight for concert goers based in the city. The stadium tour which attracted over 20,000 attendees was an understated reminder that it takes once-in-a-lifetime musical genius to give once-in-a-lifetime musical experience!

The performance by the Mozart of Madras - a title he's not particularly fond of - was splendid and adding to the splendour was the monstrous production backed by state of the art technology apart from Rahman and the accompanying musicians regale the audience to some of his most popular songs, both old and new. The Oscar-winner laced the three-hour show with a mesmerising display of his keyboard mastery.

The stage was impressively put together, and what caught the eye was a video montage of some of the genuis' career highlights that played out giving a pulsating beginning to a celebration of two and a half decades. Amidst a sea of helium balloons he jammed like quite a rockstar to the peppy "Naadaan Parindey" followed by a light hearted conversation with the audience paying tribute to his motherland which beautifully set the tone for his next track "Yeh Jo Des Hai Tera". Other songs he played included "Chaiyya Chaiyya", "Mustafa Mustafa", "O Humdum Suniyo Re", "Tu Hi Re", "Tere Bina", "Jana Gana Mana", "Jo Bhi Main", "Tum Tak", "Jiya Re", "Urvashi" and "Humma". "Matargashti" and "Masakali" saw bobbleheads synced into the choreography while amidst a thundering display of LED concoctions, the unplugged version of "Dil Se Re" and rock version of "Patakha Guddi" saw Rahman in an unpredictable jovial form fusing different instruments together. The night came to a truly fitting end with the surreal "Jai Ho" which had the audience waving their cell phones creating a haunting and dreamlike affect as thousands of soft bluish lights honored Rahman. The grand finale brought all the singers and dancers on stage to accompany him for a rousing patriotic rendition of the song. Judging from the standing ovation from the audience at the end of the concert, a great time was had by all.

The legend was accompanied by Ranjit Barot, Neeti Mohan, Jonita Gandhi, Mohit Chauhan, Javed Ali, Shaashaa Tirupati, Hriday Gattani, and Harshdeep Kaur.

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