Vijay, Thank you so much for sharing this wonderful experience. Looking forward to know the result and your perfomance as well.
ARR is a good judge indeed. Just on the spot, it'll be very difficult to decide. A good judge needs enough time to think, analyse and take decision. ARR Rocks.. Cheers, Siraj On 9/19/07, VijayNarain <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Yesterday the shooting for the finals of Ooh La La took place at > Chettind Vidyashram auditorium. Our band, Srishti had lost the semis. > We were called along with some of the other bands to perform one song > together. We chose Vande Mataram. Two days of hard practice and the > song was ready. Basically it was a transition from the National song > to its unforgettable album version and then to Aazadi ( my idea :D ). > > The shooting of the finals episode was to start at 7 pm. Three > finalists 3 songs each. Going by previous experience, I was quite sure > it would start much later, and was prepared for a late night showdown. > We were to do our song after the three bands were finished. I started > from home at around 10.30. > > The atmosphere was electric. The first band had finished shooting 2 > songs. The third was to start. There he was! Sitting on a sofa on a > separate dias. And we were seated hardly 10 feet away from him!! There > we sat watching the band perform. I was watching ARR's reactions > throughout the performance. > > Once the third song was done, there was the usual gap when the next > band sets up on stage. This was my chance. I asked Selvakumar Sir (who > provided us a practice pad and is a close associate of Rahman Sir), if > my sister and I could take a snap with him. He agreed and up we went > on stage. To my surprise, I was introduced to Rahman Sir as the singer > of Srishti and he seemed to remember the band !! Click! > > Next band onstage. Their second song got over. Another chance. Went > onstage with our band's female vocalist, and Selvakumar Sir > reintroduced both of us!! This time the conversation with boss was > longer. I asked him if he had heard our band. He said "yes"!!! I asked > him for an autograph on a piece of paper I'd managed to find. And I > requested him to sign his name fully, saying the last two times he had > given me an autograph, it was just his initials :P!! Sir smiled and > obliged with : > > Lots of love, > > Rahman > > A R R > > Click!!! > > It was around 2 am and Sir was getting late for a flight. Shooting > went at a faster pace. The three bands were done performing, and > Rahman Ji was called onstage to announce results. There were quite a > few funny moments, with the shot of him walking up the stage having > many retakes. A visibly amused ARR hopped on one leg between takes :P!! > > ARR spoke a few words about the competition and its positive effects. > There was tremendous tension in the air. Then came the anticlimax of > the day. ARR said he wasnt going to announce the results as he wasnt > ready with them yet, and that he would have to go back home, think and > decide!! Then he presented a Yamaha Keyboard to one of the bands, as a > special mention, praising them for their performance at a young age. > Then he said "bye guys" > > Only later did we realise it meant he was leaving the sets, and going > back home. Disappointment. ARR would not be there to see our > performance :( H.Sridhar ji who was at the mixing console, was very > particular about pitching and warned us he would decrease levels if > the voices went out of scale :P! We went onstage, rehearsed, > performed. !! It was 4.30 am. My voice was gone by now, and my > throat was sore. Time to leave. Few photographs with the friends we > made in the other bands. Many goodbyes. Back home by 6.30. > > Am I happy?? Yes. 2 photographs and an autograph...And an assurance > that ARR will watch our performance on TV. > But a slight sense of disappointment lingers. Would've been such an > experience singing with the MAN right in front of us! > > PS: I havent described the performances of the other bands so as not > to spoil it for those who are following the show. As for our > performance, do catch it on TV. It will be featured in the last > episode of Ooh La La La. I will post the photos as soon as i get them > > >
