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Rahman rocks Kozhikode with Jai Ho premiere
Rahman performs at the premiere of his world tour Jai Ho in Kozhikode on Sunday
evening
By Ashraf Padanna
Thiruvananthapuram: Music maestro A R Rahman kicked off his ‘Jai Ho-A R Rahman
Live’ world tour with a spectacular performance before an estimated 50,000
euphoric fans in the northern Kerala city of Kozhikode on Saturday evening.
This will be the first world tour for the ‘Mozart of Madras’ after winning two
Oscars for his music in Slumdog Millionaire this year and the fourth in his
career spanning nearly two decades.
The proceeds of the live show, the first of 39 such shows to be conducted all
over the world, will go for the rehabilitation of HIV-affected children.
Though his itinerary for the world tour is yet be finalised, sources said
Rahman would perform live in the Gulf, the US, Canada and East Asia besides a
number of north Indian cities during the next five years.
Rahman, whose father R K Shekhar spent most of his career setting scores for
Malayalam films, was here for the first time for a live concert.
“I have wanted to come here for the past 15 years,” he told the cheering
audience in between the songs - in English, Hindi, Tamil and Malayalam. “I
would be delighted to return to Kozhikode once more.”
Malayali singers Sayanora joined Rahman to sing Athiradee, a popular number
from the Rajani hit Sivaji. Rahman also led the chorus for the Malayalam song
Padakali that he scored for the Malayalam movie Yodha in 1992.
Singers Hariharan, Sadhana Sargam, K S Chitra, Rashid Ali, Javed Ali, Mohamed
Aslam and Raja Hassan also delighted the audience with the choicest of Rahman
numbers during the 180-minute non-stop show.
The stage set up for the show was billed as one of the largest ever built in
Kerala, with an 80,000-watt sound system and a hydraulic system to raise a
section of the stage.
Earlier, the state government hosted a reception in his honour which was
attended by prominent personalities in the city. Industries Minister Elamaram
Karim, Forest Minister Benoy Viswom and Water Resources Minister N K
Premachandran jointly presented a memento to Rahman.
Rahman said Sukhwinder Singh, the original singer of the award winning song Jai
Ho, who was absent at the concert here, will be part of the shows in northern
India. “The way we have figured out this concert is with completely new talent,
so Sukhwinder will be part of northern India concerts. From southern India, we
have a selection of extraordinary talent,” Rahman said.
