ARR can be called critic proof. Trying hard to find flaws in the performing department, one ends up empty handed, grudgingly admitting what his fans have known forever. Move over Eric Clapton, AR Rahman is GOD!

Adrenalin rushing, blood pumping, nerves tingling…where else but at an AR Rahman concert? The ‘Unity of Light’ concert at the Nassau Coliseum on Long Island, New York, on March 28 packed about 11,000 fans as Rahman and his troupe played with telepathic cohesion, displaying a rare musical camaraderie and trust. As fans roared their approval and basically went nuts every time a few opening bars of a popular song were sung, Rahman took it in all in stride. Displaying his customary modesty, the great one conducted, sang and floored us all.

SP Balasubramaniam had folks eating out of his hand with the popular Tamil number Oruvan oruvan Modalali ,the crowd went wild when Sonu Nigam sang the title song from Saathiya, each singing sensation held the fans enthralled. Everything about the concert was on a grand scale, nubile dancers, impossibly lithe and graceful pranced around in stylish costumes, dancing to the popular tunes. The props were elaborate and unusual, enormous drum like structures were brought onstage with dancers peeking out periodically while miming the song Radha Kaise na jale with Udit Narayan. Sweet Udit, who is a whiz vocally, can’t dance to save his life, but the crowds loved his batting skills with Lagaan’s cricket team. When he batted a ball straight into the crowds there were excited yells and cries of encore! All the time a digital display screen behind the band showed eye-catching visuals.

To Rahmans credit, the man was out there, in sight, about 95% of the time, holding undisputed center stage. At the keyboards or at the mike, he was involved right from the start until the very end. Rahman showed true desi mettle, performing an impressive set, despite some technical setbacks.
A hairy moment was when Rahman was heckled out of a song (from the Tamil film Kannathil Muthamitte) at the piano. ‘”Your clapping will get me off key” he said graciously as the crowd began to clap even as he was singing.

This reporter’s concert partners, all diehard Rahman fans, drew the line at on-the-spot Bhangra moves but doggone it if shoulders were not rolling, feet tapping to Sukhvinder’s lusty rendering of Chaiya chaiya.

Among the female crooners, Sadhana Sargam was by far the most popular. The comely young singer’s Jiya Jale from Dil Se was a crowd pleaser. Vasundhara Das sang Shakalaka Baby from Bombay Dreams plugging away the show, which will hit Broadway come Summer 2004. Mahalakshmi, yet another wonder kid from Madras sang some pop but our own version of Eminem, the rapper Blasé took home the laurels! He pranced, preened and rapped the night away. Teaming up with AR’s Percussion genius Shivamani , Blasé had the crowd jumping and waving to his raps.

Rahman’s music has that curious quality, his songs infect one’s memory on first lesson and won't let go.

Music director A.R. Rahman was at the ‘Unity of Light’ concert at the Nassau Coliseum on Long Island, New York, on March 28. The concert, was presented by Bharat Jotwani of Poojanka Entertainment. Artists at the event included S.P. Subramanian, Sonu Nigam, Udit Narayan, Hariharan, Shankar Mahadevan, Sukhvinder, Sadhna Sargam, Vasundhara Das and Mahalaxmi, Blasé and Khan of Bombay Dreams fame.
Said Bharath Jotwani of Poojanka to Lokvani, “This was absolutely the greatest. Rahman is a tremendous draw and I’m pleased to say that in spite of the insecure times that we live in, attendance at the concert was unbelievable. It is the first time that Rahman has toured with nine of the best playback singers in India and the audience loved it!”
And the financial risks of organizing a show of this magnitude?
"Oh it's a high-risk financial game, but here I knew that the risks were minimum. Rahman is so popular that most people will not hesitate to shell out money to watch him perform. They get their money’s worth! Otherwise organizing a show is like investing in the stock market or rolling dice at a casino.” laughs Jothwani.
“How about Boston?”, I needle him, “how come we didn’t have ARR in Boston?
“Next time” promises Jothwani, “we’ll bring Rahman to Boston, in 2005, maybe.” Inshallah!

This writer’s only grouse against ARR and his troupe is that they did not sing enough Tamil songs. Even as the crowd roared its approval at almost every Tamil song sung by SP, Mahalakshmi and the rest, the emphasis was on Hindi numbers.

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