Hyderabad, 26thNovember 2017: Music lovers who congregated at Hyderabad’s Gachibowli Stadium tonight couldn’t have expected a better conclusion to the year than with a landmark concert by the musical genius A.R. Rahman.
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 will soon make its way to mesmerize his fans in Ahmedabad, Mumbai before culminating in New Delhi.
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 rock star 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 “ChaiyyaChaiyya”, “Mustafa Mustafa”, “O HumdumSuniyo 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 “PatakhaGuddi” 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 Jonita Gandhi, Mohit Chauhan, Javed Ali, ShaashaaTirupati, Hriday Gattani, and Harshdeep Kaur.
Saugato Bhowmik, Head, Live Viacom18 and Consumer Products, Viacom18, said, “To witness a legend such as A. R. Rahman in concert is something people put on their bucket lists. Since the day Live Viacom18 first announced the ENCORE concert, we have been inundated with messages from fans wanting to be present for the event. It thus comes as no surprise to us that the event tonight was beyond spectacular. We know people are going home today with memories that will last them a lifetime – something that we aim to create with every event of ours. Here’s looking forward to packed houses and some more amazing experiences as we continue on this tour in Ahmedabad, Mumbai and Delhi!”
Kunal Khambhati, Head- Live Events and IP, BookMyShow said, “When A.R. Rahman takes the stage, one cannot expect anything less that pure musical delight and this is exactly what the city of Hyderabad witnessed tonight. BookMyShow elevated this extravaganza by delivering an outstanding and memorable experience to every single attendee and we look forward to replicating this in Ahmedabad, Mumbai and New Delhi shortly.”
M Sainath Goud, Deepthi Dullur , Srikanth Goud of Hyderabad Talkies said, “We have created history today and would like to thank the Telangana Government for their relentless support and faith in us. The concert has set the perfect tone for Global Entrepreneurship Summit.”
The evening concluded with the audiences crooning to the John Williams of the Indian film industry with a smile on their faces and a song in their heart and the reinstatement of a universal fact – no other live Indian concert can warrant such committed audience participation.
AR Rahman ENCORE
After a hiatus of over 5 years, the music maestro A.R. Rahman has embarked on a massive stadium tour spanning across Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, New Delhi, Mumbai and LIVE Viacom18 in association with MTV and the official ticketing partner BookMyShow will present this magnificent spectacle encapsulating the musical excellence of two and a half decade journey of the legend. The tour is brought in association with Hyderabad Talkies in Hyderabad, White River Entertainment in Ahmedabad, Viacom18 in Mumbai and Maham in New Delhi.
