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Rahman ends North American tour with Houston gig

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Press Trust of India Houston

AR Rahman finished his two-month long North American tour of 10 shows in 10 cities on a high note with a sold-out concert here.

The Oscar-winning musician enthralled the crowd on Saturday with an instrumental medley of his biggest blockbusters in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu.

He opened with an extended version of 'Dil se re' (Dil Se) and went on to belt out numbers such as 'Muqabala Muqabala' and 'Lose Control'.

"Music is universal, indefinable, and infinite. It is a feeling, a moment, an expression. It is harmony," Rahman said.

He was accompanied by Neeti Mohan and Haricharan, who crooned 'Jiya Jale' from "Dil Se".

 

As Rahman sang the Tamil version of the soulful 'Tu Hi Re', the audience went into a tizzy. Udit Narayan was next and he sang crowd favourites like 'Ae Ajnabi Tu Bhi Kabhie' and 'Taal Se Taal Mila'.

Javed Ali showcased his vocal strength superbly by singing songs like 'Mere Paas Hai Tu Mere Saath Hai'.

The prolific composer announced a special medley of his songs that showcased his 25-plus years of work, with all the singers taking turns in presenting delightful songs such as 'Kehna Hi Kya' and 'O Bhanvre'.

Narayan, who delivered multiple blockbusters during his reign in the '90s and 2000s, showed that his voice can still create ripples.

The show was presented by Rajender Singh of Star promotions, who has been bringing prominent Bollywood shows for over two decades.

Balaji, who flew in from Florida with his family for the concert, said, "It was all worth it as the concert gave fans a little bit of everything: romantic ballads, rock songs, soulful numbers, and Sufi songs."

The first look of "99 Songs", a film written and produced by Rahman and directed by Vishwesh Krishnamoorthy, was shared during the event. "99 Songs" is set to be released in Tamil and Hindi in 2018.

Rahman also presented a song from upcoming "2.0", which is written and directed by S Shankar and stars Rajinikanth and Akshay Kumar.

For his Indian American fans originally from South India, Rahman and Haricharan presented songs such as 'Humma Humma' and 'Urvasi Urvasi'.

Rahman ended the concert with a rendition of 'Jai Ho', his Oscar-winning number from "Slumdog Millionaire".

Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content

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First Published: Sep 18 2018 | 7:55 PM IST

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