Headline :GENIUS @ WORK

NEW SUNDAY TIMES
Date :02/10/2005
Page Number :16
Byline :By R.S. KAMINI
Type : Entertainment

IT was a highly charged affair at the Singapore Indoor Stadium last Saturday where the roaring fans stomped their feet and chanted their idol's name.
The idol was A.R. Rahman, the man behind some of the greatest songs in the history of modern Indian music, and he was in Singapore for his Third Dimension World Tour - his only Asian stop.
It was a spectacular concert where Rahman, who is hailed as the man who revolutionised the Indian music industry, and an incomparable entourage rocked the stadium.
There were never a moment of silence befalling the stadium as the raving crowd, ever-energetic singers and ingenious musicians kept the party mood going for almost five hours.
A short but poised appearance by the maestro of Indian cinema later witnessed wild screams from ardent fans of different races.
Starting from Rahman's latest Hindi venture, Yuva, fans were entertained to stupendous chartbuster tracks from movies like Swades, Saathiya, Dil Se, Sapnay and more.
These tracks were interspersed with their original Tamil versions as well as other Tamil songs.
Many could only marvel at the composed music director who guided his singers and fellow musicians with mellowed and robust hits with his synthesiser and piano.
Rahman's orchestra, which included flautist Naveen Kumar, percussionist Sivamani and bass guitarist Keith Peters, presented a unique blend of panache.
Indian music scene's finest voices who made an appearance were Hariharan, Udit Narayan, Sadhana Sargam, Madhushree and Chitra.
Names familiar to the Bollywood scene such as Kailash Kher earned himself credit for his powerful voice prowess while Alma from Bosnia belted out songs from Rahman's highly acclaimed musical Bombay Dreams.
Together with the young and sensational singer Karthik and India's hottest rap star Blaaze, the concert was one big party.
Favoured tracks such as Chaiya Chaiya (Dil Se), Humma Humma (Bombay) and songs from director Shankar's Boys had many in the audience up and dancing.
Thunderous applause were heard every minute for every performance and every speech uttered by singers on stage on Rahman's excellent work.
"We have only one Taj Mahal marvelled by people worldwide, similarly, we have only one A.R. Rahman," Udit Narayan told the crowd.
Rahman, himself, although fathomed by many as a man of few words, surprised the crowd when he sang along with other singers.
The finale brought the stadium to its feet when the orchestra performed the rousing anthem Vande Matharam.
Rahman burst into prominence after his first Tamil movie, Roja, in 1991. He has, since then, redefined contemporary Indian music.
He won numerous awards, including National awards, Indian Filmfare awards (equivalent to the Oscars), MTV awards, and was conferred the prestigious Padmashree award by the Government of India in 2000.
Rahman has sold more than 100 million copies of albums, including music from blockbuster movies such as Lagaan, Taal, Jeans, Indian, Dil Se, Baba and Alaipayuthe.
He became the talk of West End in London and New York after the success and brilliant soundtrack in Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical, Bombay Dreams.
His next stage production was for Lord of the Rings, which is scheduled to be performed next year.
Reports say his current ventures include Indian superstar Rajinikanth's next movie.
The Rahman-Shankar combination that produced fantastic soundtracks in Gentleman, Kathalan, Muthalvan, Nayak and Boys previously, has led to the Rajinikanth venture being a sell-out with investors even before production had started.
That says a lot for the Rahman genius, doesn't it?

- nsunt@nst.com.my
**Kamini's attendance at the concert was made possible by the Singapore Tourism Board.
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