After the lights came on and the crowd started to disperse at the Etihad Arena in Yas Island of Abu Dhabi, two things stood out: All were moving their shoulders to the beat of Chaiyya Chaiyya that wrapped up a three-hour musical journey guided by A.R. Rahman himself, and the amused comments, on how the show went better than expected, in Tamil and Malayalam.
Accompanied by the full-fledged orchestra Firdaus, an ensemble of women from around the world, including war-torn countries in West Asia, and a team of talented singers, including Shweta Mohan, Jonitha Gandhi, and Haricharan, the concert on Saturday (November 2) night was both a celebration of peace and a trip down memory lane for the Indian diaspora in the Emirates.
Starting with his Oscar-winning Jai Ho, the show had everything one could expect from Mr. Rahman and more. A soulful rendition of Kun Faya Kun, romance and heartbreak in Munbe va and Kadhal Rojave and the spirit and celebration of youth in Mustafa Mustafa and Barso re.
With fan favourite Jonitha joining Mr. Rahman to set the bar right at the beginning with Mukkala Mukkabala, Shwetha Mohan won the crowd with Kadhal Rojave, originally sung by her mother Sujatha, and followed it up with spot-on performances one after the other culminating in early Malayalam version of rap battle Padakali from Yodha.
While the show did not carry any specific proclaimed theme, a dialectic of individual cultural identity and cultural integration was visible when Mr. Rahman took a moment during the show to tell the crowd that the “biggest identity” should be “service to humanity, peace, and love”. Then he went on to sing Yeh jo Desh hai tera, a song about the need for people to go back to their roots and ended with its Tamil version, calling out to the ‘Tamizhar’. He also acknowledged migration, with a nod to critically acclaimed The Goat Life.
Mr. Rahman’s quest to address themes from humanity, as a group and as individual beings, through his songs is not new to his fans. The audience was surprised when he announced in the middle of the show, calling a lady from amidst them backstage and telling her to get ready to perform. Celine Dee Matahari, a French-speaking woman born to Indonesian parents in Dubai, sang Chinna Chinna Asai in heavily accented Tamil, to a roaring reception from the predominantly south Indian crowd.
The crowd was in for another surprise when the group started singing Hum Dum Suniyo Re and the big screen showed Vivek Oberoi, still the ‘cool guy’ whose bike sync with the tune with headphones over his ears in Sathiya made waves.
After an orchestral tribute to “Superman of Tamil Nadu” Rajinikanth, a rap mashup and countless fan favourites covering the whole spectrum of musical genres, the all-familiar drum beats of Chaiyya Chaiyya that defined an era for Bollywood brought nearly 18,000 people to their feet with their flashlights blinking, bringing an amazing Abu Dhabi night to an end, reinforcing the hold Mr. Rahman has created on the ears of the diverse diaspora. (The Hindu)
