Spending an Unforgettable Valentine's Day with A.R. Rahman in Chennai

On Saturday, February 14, Chennai’s Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium witnessed one of the biggest concerts ever held on its soil. As tens of thousands flocked to the stadium to watch their favourite son perform, not many would have expected the night to be this emotional. AR Rahman’s Wonderment Tour’s Chennai leg hit every emotional chord one could experience, having grown up a fan of the Mozart of Madras. As Rahman paused on stage to prepare for the audience, before taking us on a time machine. He asked, “Love ah, love failure ah?”, asking his listeners to choose between the two extremes of the same emotion. 

He gave us ‘Ennavale Adi Ennavale’ from Kadhalan, all about the peak of romantic bliss and mixed it up with the ‘Rasathi En Usuru’ from Thiruda Thiruda, rendered heartbreakingly well by comedian Alex. These emotions found new colours when they moved on to pathos with ‘Manipaaya’ from Vinnaithaandi Varuvaaya and then ‘Kadal Rojave’ from Roja, the album that started it all. He gave us anthems like ‘Maa Tujhe Salaam’ and the divine with ‘Kun Faya Kun’, rage with ‘Sadda Haq’ and the calm with ‘Tere Bina’ from Guru. 

But he also mixed these heavy-duty numbers and chose to also let loose and have fun with ‘Fanaa’ from Yuva, ‘Jumbalaka Jumbalaka‘ from En Swaasa Katre and the recent hit ‘Yennai Izhukkuthadi’ from Kadhalikka Neramillai. Even singers, both senior and new, showed immense range as they took us through this musical journey.

Chinmayi reinforced her position as one of our most precious when she tore listeners apart from Thug Life’s ‘Muththa Mazhai’. Srinivas surprised everyone, changing the mood of the entire stadium as he rendered ‘Minsara Kanna’ from Padaiyappa, a film still super fresh in all our hearts thanks to its most recent re-release. Rahman also sprung another surprise as he brought back vocalisr Annupamaa on stage to sing ‘Chandralekha’, again from Thiruda Thiruda, bringing back all the glory of a song that’s 32 years old today. 

His tiny bits of trivia, between song recitals, further added the feeling of “you just had to be there”, creating a personal connection between listeners as though we were all simultaneously being ushered into a moment in history. He broke down the genesis of ‘Oruvan Oruvan Muthalali’ from Muthu, his album with Superstar Rajinikanth and then surprised us all by inviting Dhanush on stage to sing ‘Usure Neethaane’ with him from his movie Raayan.

But apart from the songs we live for, he also showcased all the other reasons we admire the man, beyond his music. For being the absolute superstar of his era, he showed unimaginable grace in sharing the stage and the spotlight with talents we may never have discovered if not for him. One witnessed Columbian percussionist Evelyn Soto break down into proud, happy tears as Rahman urged young Thavil prodigy Amirthavarshini MS to take over the stage and own her moment in the sun. Violinist Rangi too got her moment as the bow of her violin swayed the mood of the entire stadium.

Naturally, his set of singers was just as adept at taking us all along with them. This includes youngsters such as Nisa Shetty, Nitesh Aher, Amrutha Suresh, Aditya RK, Rakshita Suresh, Nakul Abhayankar and AR Ameen. As Rahman concluded the concert, he reiterated his message of love and that all-welcoming spirit that made Chennai a home to everyone who stepped foot here. In times of divisiveness, Rahman chose the only path he has ever followed, that of love over hate, and we were just happy to follow in wonderment.