In his first ever concert in Mumbai, music maestro A.R Rahman mesmerized the huge crowd for ” Mukti Foundation Aids Concert “ at Andheri Sports Complex on 28th February. Playback singers Udit Narayan, Alka Yagnik, Shankar Mahadevan, Sukhwinder Singh ,Sonu Nigam and others entertained the crowd with their live performances belting hit ‘A.R Rahman’ numbers. Eminent socialites, industrialists and a galaxy of filmstars graced the occasion. The 3 hour long musical extravaganza epitomized the musical expertise of irrepressible A.R Rahman, along with wide fleet of musicians in perfect sync with singers made for a memorable night.
A.R Rahman told The Asian Age, “I was really excited about this concert for its meaningful purpose of fight against deadly Aids disease. Also it is my first concert in Mumbai-the heart of film industry. After composing music for musical opera ‘Bombay dreams’ in London, I am working on music for a Chinese film by Columbia Pictures and couple of other overseas projects. I am also doing album for a Bollywood film based on 18th century ghazals, which is something new for me and will make for a wonderful experience. Constant association with Madras Philharmonic Orchestra and London in past few years has exposed me to a wide world of music and aided me to learn finer notes of music field.”
Smita Thackeray, President of Mukti Foundation said, “The main aim of Mukti is to create awareness and educate people about AIDS.Since last seven years, Mukti is holding AIDS awareness programs and by involving celebrities the message goes faster and effectively to the people. We also have panel of doctors to look into the severity of the problem and educate people. It is very important we treat AIDS affected individuals as human beings and give them care and concern. We should learn from foreign countries, wherein AIDS has been totally eradicated.”
On the eve of the India-Pakistan cricket match, Rahman -composer for film ‘Lagaan’coyly added, “I am not a cricket freak. But I wish the Indian team all the best. Hope they relive the good memories of Lagaan song ‘Koi humse jeet na paaye, chale chalo….”