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ARR's Unity of Light World Concert Tour 2003

Topic started by Anon (@ 202.41.76.192) on Fri Jan 10 23:11:30 EST 2003.
All times in EST +10:30 for IST.

Will kick off at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata on March 1st. Other Indian venues are Mumbai, Chennai and Hyderabad. International venues are Dubai, Toronto, Fairfax(In Virginia) and two other venues in the USA. Possible additions could be London, Singapore. Lata Mangeshkar will perform on the international leg of the tour.

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• From: Are Yaar (@ 203.115.31.67) on: Mon Jan 27 05:03:57 EST 2003
  
  City Lights, The Telegraph
  Countdown to the concert
  
  FIRST NIGHT, FIRST SHOW: A.R. Rahman. Picture by Pabitra Das
  
  VOICES OF THE BIG NIGHT: Hariharan and Sonu Nigam
  
  First night, first show: A.R. Rahman. Picture by Pabitra DasAn animated scene with Kipper: Coming soon to your tellyvoices of the big night: Hariharan and Sonu Nigam
  
  From Deen Isai Malai, his debut album of Muslim devotional songs, and Set Me Free, Allah Rakha Rahman has come a long way. Now, at 37, the melody monarch has already waded into Bollywood's hall of fame, made a splash in Broadway, and is paddling feelers from Hollywood. These days, of course, he is busy tying up the last loose ends for his February 1 mega-show at the Yuba Bharati Krirangan in Salt Lake, Calcutta.
  
  A.R. Rahman's Unity Of Light Concert, presented by The Telegraph, in association with Hero Honda and Emami Beauty Secrets by Madhuri, with ITC Sonar Bangla Sheraton & Towers as the official host, promises to be the biggest audio-visual extravaganza the city has ever experienced.
  
  The top names in Bollywood playback singing - S.P. Balasubramaniam, Hariharan, Shankar Mahadevan, Sonu Nigam, Udit Narayan, Sukhwinder Singh, Sadhna Sargam, Vasundara Das and Mahalaxmi Iyer - will get the giant stadium swaying with their combined repertoire of superhit soundtracks.
  
  "There will be 20,000 watts of pulsating sound, delivered from omni-drive long-throw, array speakers," says Deepak Gattani, managing director of Mumbai-based production house Rapport Global, which is helping Rahman put the huge show together. Dutchman Benny Ball and Kiwi David Seaton, "both master light designers", will create magic inside the stadium with "intelligent, pre-programmed" lights.
  
  The 90 ft-by-60 ft split-level stage has been designed by Umang Kumar of awards nites fame. "It's really special and gives you the feel of a ship with layered decks. I haven't seen a stage like this at any Indian event before, and Calcutta can surely expect a real wacky show," says Hariharan from Chennai, where more than 150 people have been working "day and night for the past eight months to make it happen", and happen just right.
  
  The 30-strong string and brass section, the percussion ensemble and the electronic group have all been jamming together at Rahman's state-of-the-art Panchathan Record Inn studio in Chennai for weeks. "We have been doing dress rehearsals on a complete mock set-up with music, light and choreography, and the last full preparation drill has gone off smoothly, with Rahman on keyboard and piano at the helm," Gattani declares.
  
  The countdown to the February 1 mega-show is truly on, and the cry for a ticket to the enchanting evening is fast reaching fever pitch.
  
  
  
• From: Are Yaar (@ 203.115.31.67) on: Mon Jan 27 05:04:23 EST 2003
  
  Rahman gearing up for 'Unity of Light' performance
  
  http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/cms.dll/html/comp/articleshow?
  artid=35582390
  
  PTI[ SUNDAY, JANUARY 26, 2003 07:37:50 PM ]
  
  CHENNAI: Internationally acclaimed music director A R Rahman is
  gearing up to set this metropolis alight with a fabulous 'Unity of
  Light' performance on February 21 to raise funds for cancer care.
  
  The maestro will be performing in the city after a gap of six years
  for the Mahesh Memorial Trust (MMT), with the motto being 'Live
  Beyond Cancer', Mani Ratnam, well known film director and one of the
  trustees, told reporters here on Sunday.
  
  The Hollywood style production, set to enthrall the audience, is
  projected to be a spectacular and dazzling display of music and
  dance. "It will be a combination of excitement and melody", Rahman,
  who was also present, told media persons.
  
  Over 95 artistes, including musicians, dancers and craftsmen would
  come together to create this magnum opus providing 6,00,000 watts of
  pure musical experience, a rare treat for the 40,000 Chennaites, who
  are expected to witness the performance at the Madras Race Course
  Club.
  
  The artistes will include famous multi-lingual playback singers S P
  Balasubramaniam, Chitra, Hariharan, Shankar Mahadevan and Udit
  Narayan.
  
  The trust, in rememberance of film music writer Mahesh who fought
  cancer for 13 long years before succumbing to it October last, has
  committed funds for an ongoing programme, with the Cancer Institute
  here, to provide support to children belonging to the economically
  backward and help them fight the disease.
  
  The 'Unity of Light Show' is part of the musician's 'World Tour 2003'
  after shows in Kolkata and Hyderabad.
  
  
  
• From: Are Yaar (@ 203.115.31.67) on: Mon Jan 27 05:04:46 EST 2003
  
  Pop Stop
  - Business India, January 20, 2003
  
  Pop music maestro A.R.Rahman is slated to give his first live concert in India on 1 February at Kolkata's Salt Lake Stadium. Rahman has given concerts abroad but never in India because of "technical" issues. He also says he has learnt from his forays on the London stage and now feels able to manage shows of his own. Rahman's Unity of Light concerts are expected to swing through 11 countries through the rest of the year. Rahman is also treading on thin-ice with proposed reinterpretations of Rabindranath Tagore. "Javed Akhtar has translated and I am doing the arrangement of some Rabindra Sangeet, which will also be used in the film Netaji, " he says. Rahman has roped in some of the biggest playback singers in Bollywood to render his compositions.
  
  
  
  
  
  
• From: Are Yaar (@ 203.115.31.67) on: Tue Jan 28 03:21:55 EST 2003
  
  Return of the native
  
  Rahman, who's tailored his tour so that he can help raise funds for cancer treatment, says he's dong it both for Mahesh, and his own father who was also a victim of cancer.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Announcing the Unity of Light effort on Sunday - Mani Ratnam, Kamal, Rahman and Deepak Ghattani.
  
  CHENNAI'S BEEN humming his tunes for ten years. So, 134 films, three national awards and one glitzy-glam West End production later, it's only natural that A.R. Rahman returns home, with his biggest live performance ever - the `Unity of Light' concert.
  
  The Unity of Light, they say, is `beyond language, colour, creed and nationality'. Seven vividly different colours, after all blend to create light, and as the concert's ad line goes, "and when they do, their differences disappear".
  
  Rahman's proved that the sounds of India can reverberate far beyond our borders. And now, as the strains from `Bombay Dreams' are just beginning to fade away, he's setting out on a world tour and taking the cream of Indian Music with him - singers, musicians and dancers from across the country. Together, they will tour Los Angeles, Toronto, London, New York and Dubai. But first, they are singing in India - Kolkata, Hyderabad and then Chennai.
  
  Set at the Race Course Grounds, Guindy, the concert promises `600000 watts, 100 artists and 40,000 fans', but what makes it really important is the fact that its being held here to raise money for the `Mahesh Memorial Fund', which works towards aiding and supporting institutions involved in cancer treatment.
  
  Rahman, who's tailored his tour so that he can help raise funds for cancer treatment, says he's dong it both for Mahesh, and his own father who was also a victim of cancer. Chitra, Mahesh's wife, Filmmaker Mani Ratnam and Actor Kamal Hassan, also friends of Mahesh and directors of `Live beyond Cancer', which is under the Mahesh Memorial Fund, are sparing no efforts to make the forthcoming concert a success. And they've all got more to egg them on than a desire to contribute to Chennai's music scene.
  
  According to Jayendra, also a director of the trust, about 400 children go to the Cancer institute for treatment every year. Though children have the best chances of recovery, the economically weak can't afford treatment since cancer treatment costs at least a lakh a year.
  
  The funds from this concert will be used to both spread awareness and help treat children, whose parents can't afford treatment.
  
  According to the Unity of Light's creators, `seven notes spread a new light', apparently that's true - in more ways than one.
  
  By Shonali Muthalaly
  
  http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/lf/stories/2003012702470200.htm
  
  
  
  
  
  
• From: Are Yaar (@ 203.115.31.67) on: Tue Jan 28 03:22:37 EST 2003
  
  Rahman has composed a special opening theme for this concert tour.
  
  Courtesy of Sify.com
  
  Internationally renowned music legend A.R Rahman is geared to set Chennai
  ablaze with a fabulous Unity of Light - World Tour on February 21, 2003.
  
  After the magic of Bombay Dreams, Rahman has created a new concept and a new
  theme that cuts across geographical, racial and communal boundaries. Rahman
  has composed a special opening theme for this concert tour.
  
  He will be performing live for a Chennai audience for the very first time at
  the Madras Race Course Club. Rahman uses the power of music for the benefit
  of cancer care. He is trying to fulfill a friend's last wish and raise funds
  for the ‘Mahesh Memorial Fund’ with the noble cause that is LIVE, Beyond
  Cancer.
  
  The Unity of Light show is part of the first leg of A. R. Rahman's World
  Tour 2003. After shows in Kolkata and Hyderabad, the Unity of Light Show
  will reach its final leg at Chennai. Then it's off to conquer the world -
  from New York to Los Angeles and to Dubai. One fabulous show to enthrall
  audiences around the world.
  
  This Hollywood style production will be a spectacular display of music and
  dance. With specially created arena just for the show, fascinating stage
  designs, intelligent lighting, fabulous special effects and huge projections
  screens. It is not just world-class but also a one of a kind experience.
  Over 95 artists including musicians, dancers and craftsmen will come
  together to create this magnum opus providing 600,000 watts of pure musical
  experience for 40,000 chennaites.
  
  The Chennai show is special, given the fact that it is likely to be the only
  destination on the tour to feature Rahman’s entire repertoire of Tamil,
  Hindi and International music in fair proportions.
  
  
  
• From: Karan, London (@ 213.2.111.98) on: Tue Jan 28 04:45:52 EST 2003
  
  Does anyone one know if the show will be televised and if so on which channel?
  
  

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