Jai Ho Chennai - A concert to remember

A R Rahman performed live in his home turf for the first time after winning the Oscars, leaving the Chennai crowd completely awe-struck on 11^th October.

From the first song Jaage Hain (Guru) to the finalVande Mathram, the concert was a musical treat to all Chennaiites who were not deterred by the distance, as the venue for the concert was 100 Kms away from the city at MARG Swarnabhoomi located in East Coast Road.

The songs performed were a mixture of Tamil and Hindi and every song was received with great enthusiasm by the audience. Hariharan, Chitra, Sadhna Sargam, Benny Dayal, Blaze, Javed Ali, Rasheed Ali, Neeti Mohan, Suzzane, Sivamani and others sang some of AR Rahman’s popular compositions.

When Hariharan sang Thamizha Thamizha from Roja, one could see the Indian tri-color all over the place which provided a patriotic flavor to the evening. Blaze and Benny Dayal performed the peppy number Taxi and the audience simply enjoyed dancing and singing along. Rasheed Ali sang the famous Kabhi Kabhi Aditi while Javed Ali sang the soothing Jashn-e-Bahara. Chitra pitched in too and sung the romantic Kannalanae.

However, the highlight of the concert was the fact that the crowd could see more of ARR himself taking center stage and singing songs like Khalbali, Athiradi, Rehna Tu, Khwaja, Arziyaan, Humma Humma, Mustafa Mustafa, Dil Se and more. ARR also played the Piano and the music guru seemed to enjoy the moment as much as the crowd present in MARG Swarnabhoomi did.

While ARR and team enthralled the audience with scintillating performances, the dancers did a stunning job too. Maiyya Maiyya, Jiya Jale, Liquid Dance, Chandraleka, Ringa Ringa, Aye Bachchu, Nenjinele, etc, proved to be a visual treat to the audience.

Towards the end of the concert, the 25,000 odd people present in the venue, were singing Mustafa Mustafa, Humma Humma, Jai Ho and Vande Matharam along with the Oscar winning A R Rahman.

The best moment of the day was when A R Rahman, the winner of two Oscars, was singing Jai Ho with the same fervor when he sang it at the Oscars, in front of his home crowd – the people who have followed his journey from Roja to Blue. The concert was truly spectacular.

The next concert in the Jai Ho Flagship tour will be in Hyderabad on 24^th October.