Asha Bhosle (the superstar legend), Sonu Nigam (the superstar and legend in the making), Kailash Kher (the man who has both A.R. Rahman and the reclusive actor Amir Khan raving about his unique voice), and Kunal Ganjawala (the man who put Bheegey Hont Tere on everyone’s lips): Just one of these names is enough to get you rocking. Put all of them together and you have the show of the year and I’m glad Atlanta got to be the venue for it.
Robin Raina Foundation has become a brand name in a very short time combining not just charity with celebrity, it is now fast becoming the brand name for spectacular shows which keep getting better each year. The show on 17th June at the dazzling Fox Theater was another example of how Robin Raina pulls all the stops to give the audience more than their money’s worth.
The show started late because all the artists were stranded due to inclement weather in Calgary from where they were to arrive on the morning of the show. Instead, they ended up being awake from 4 a.m. sitting at different airports waiting for delayed flights to finally take off. Many of the artists reached barely an hour before the show-Kailash Kher came straight from the airport and in spite of being exhausted everyone showed up at the venue as quickly as they possibly could.
There was no time to do a sound check, and it was during the first segment which introduced a US based singer Gunjan, that the sound check was being conducted while she was singing. Gunjan set the ball rolling with two hit numbers Crazy Kiya Re from Dhoom 2 and Beedi from Omkara and did a good job with both numbers.
Then Kunal Ganjawala took over the stage. I have not seen any young artist in any event so far, who would come on stage in a show of this level and completely dominate the stage and bowl over the audience, but Ganjawala just rocked! He has seen meteoric rise in the past 3-4 years from the days he says he was not even a bathroom singer and discovered his talent for singing at a college ragging session by seniors. Today Ganjawala has a lot of blockbuster songs to his name and has also become a hit singer of Kannada songs. He set the pace with Is Taal Taal Mein hum tum Karen Dhamaal, and went on to belt out Tere Bin, Janabe Ali, Dil Na Diya, Salaam Namaste, the lovely Channa Ve before he went on to his swan song Bheegey Hont Tere. The sound system was still a bit messed up but Kunal was totally cool as he worked with the sound guys and worked the crowd with warmth, and patience until the system was where it should have been. He actually did the sound check in essence for all the singers, and then came down to mingle with the crowd, sang and danced his way to entertain the sold out audience that was even more sold on him when he left.
Kailash Kher
The crowd was still roaring, and it set the stage for Kailash Kher to take over from where Kunal had left. For Kher whose voice has made A.R Rahman say-Kailash Kher’s voice has the fragrance of the soil of India and Amir Khan exult that Kailash’s voice is the only one that is complete music for the ears, it was a bygone conclusion that this man was going to rock the stage. And he didn’t disappoint. A voice that soared beyond the malfunctioning microphones, the magic of Kailash Kher began with a number that has so many people still crazy over it-Teri Diwani, to Tauba Tauba, Allah Ke Bande, Chak de phatte, and the soulful Tere Bin nai Lagda Dil mera Dholna, and he had people dancing to O sikander, and Ya Rabba, Piya Re and the title track from Mangal Pandey. He also sang from his new album Kailasa Jhoomo Re-the purity, range, and earthiness of Kailash Kher’s voice is as dazzling as his warmth and a 1000 watt smile.
Kher who said this was his first time to be on stage for a show of this grand level in the US so he didn’t know the nuances of how to work the stage, need not have worried. His humorous comments, anecdotes delivered in chaste Hindi, the mischievous twinkle in his eyes and just the joy and freedom with which he sings, had the crowd roaring through the segment.
As he left, amidst a deafening applause, the next segment heralded the arrival of the woman who still remains the youthful legend of yesterday, today and tomorrow. At 74, with 60 years of entertaining several generations of music lovers behind her, she remains ageless as ever. Asha Bhosle walked in, resplendent in a beautiful yellow sari, to catcalls and a standing ovation. You would not have known that she had not slept for hours, had barely managed to take a quick shower and shown up on stage without any fuss. Her magical spell was cast over an audience of all age groups as she regaled everyone with jokes, went down memory lane reminiscing about how she had entertained the grand parents, parents and now their children and grandchildren over 6 decades and how music and songs had changed over the years. She said she sang for the first time in 1943 when she was barely ten and the song was Chanda mama door ke. Then as she moved to more seductive numbers it created quite a buzz and people across state lines whispered in various Indian dialects-who is this Asha Bhosle? She is misleading our boys! Asha became the voice of Helen and sang songs like Aao Na gale lagao Na(Come on, come closer embrace me!) and when the youngsters decided to leave for foreign shores, her voice followed them with the soulful Jaiye aap kahan jayenge?( Go, how far will you go?)
Asha ji then went on to mesmerize the audience with beautiful numbers like Chura Liya Hai Tumne, Dum Maro Dum, giving a beautiful fresh touch to In Ankhon Ki Masti mein from Umrao Jaan, and the sexy number Yeh mera dil yaar ka diwana. Shealso sang Punjabi tappe. Then Asha ji made fun of remixes and mentioned how beautifully she had sung the song Chod do anchal zamana kya kahega(let go of my long scarf(worn with Indian outfits) what will the world say?) and then she sees a remix where the woman is wearing pants and a shirt and singing the song. “There wasn’t any long scarf to grab on to so how could she say let go of it?” quipped Asha amidst laughter. Then she said “I have five year old twin grandchildren and my grand daughter brought this cd to me and said Grandma, please sing this song..So here I’m doing as she said.” Donning a cap Asha ji went into a rendition of the famous Himesh Reshamiyya number “ Jhalak Dikhla ja”. Imitating Reshamiyya to a T she brought the house down. She also sang Piya Tu accompanied by Kunal Ganjawala, did the twist, and came down escorted by him to mingle with the ecstatic audience, some of whom touched her feet, others stood up to applaud a woman who remains a show stopper for 60 years.
Sonu Nigam
The stage was then set for the final artist of the show – Sonu Nigam whose voice echoed the alaap of the title song from the Karan Johar blockbuster Kal Ho Na Ho as he came in with a swirl of dancers camouflaging him with a colorful cloth cover that spelt the letter S, Superman style! Sonu was received with roars and cheers and said mischievously that he had no idea he would have to wait for 3 hours to come on stage! Sonu then took over from where Asha ji left, and showed the audience why he is such a phenomenon. His range, sweetness of voice, humor and wit as well as talent in so many different genres of entertainment makes him a consummate artist. He entertained the audience with fun songs like Tum se mil ke dil ka hai jo haal Kya Kahen, mera rang de basanti chola from Bhagat Singh, Tere Haath mein Mera Haath hai from Fanaa, and of course the song Aaj ki Raat, where Sonu sang his segment and the others sung by Alisha Chinoy and Mahalaxmi Iyer himself in a female voice, which brought the house down as did Kajra Mohabbat wala.
Sonu had the audience participating as he would get them to sing with him.
Perhaps the most enjoyable segment that Sonu does in his shows is how he creates a garland of songs sung through the years and composed from the same raga. I had asked him in an interview what he thought of the constant observation that the golden years of music were when Rafi, Kishore, Mukesh and Manna Dey and master musicians of that time reigned. Sonu feels that music is music, what has changed is how the music is executed. He sang Man Tadpat Hari Darshan ko aaj, didi tera devar diwana, chingari koi bhadke and Saathiya as examples of songs emerging from the same fountain of melody. He then went on to sing the lilting title song of Salame Ishq but what brought the house down was his superb rendition of the Bee gees number Staying Alive.
Sonu also shared the fact that he will be a dad this month. We missed his dad Agam Kumar Nigam who was present at some of the concerts on the tour and even sang a duet with Sonu but had to go back to complete his new album. Also missing were some duets Sonu had sung with Asha ji in other venues.
Perhaps the sore points in the concert were the fact that the awful dancers were back as part of the show as was Manasi Verma who really isn’t needed. All the artists these days are very articulate and can do a great job of interacting with the audience and could have easily welcomed the next artist following them as they left. The singers were stellar and I keep saying this in every concert-don’t add unnecessary paraphernalia in shows like this where there is no weak point to hide. It is extremely distracting to see clumsy dancers in ridiculous gear, stumbling their way around a singer who is outstanding and doesn’t need these props.
Another thing that really needs to change is the uncouth behavior of a segment of the audience which was drunk, and restless and misbehaved. For Robin Raina, whose team has worked so hard since the past four years to bring hope to the underprivileged the world over, it was disheartening to see that kind of behavior where they booed Farhana from Delta and Mumtaz from Mumtaz Fashions who have always supported most endeavors in the Atlanta community through their enterprises. “ It makes me feel that a segment of society, does not understand or appreciate the goals and commitment of this foundation, and for whom this show was nothing more than a song and dance thing.” Robin received several emails from other audience members who apologized on behalf of the rowdy segment, and told him how much they loved the show and support the causes he espouses.
As with every Raina Foundation show this one too was a fund raiser for building safe homes for slum dwellers in Bawana which has become one of the biggest slum areas in India. “The slum dwellers have been given land but don’t have the ability to build safe structures for themselves,” says Raina. “ As a result many people have been dying due to fires set by women trying to cook. We run a state of the art school in Bawana for 400 kids of these slum dwellers and since past few months I have been working with architects to arrive at an economical and sensible way to provide these slum dwellers safe and livable homes.” Raina says his goal is to build 6000 homes for starters but even at the most economically viable level, they need 250,000 dollars for every 1000 homes they build.
Asha Bhosle said she has loved being a part of the foundation’s charity shows since the past two years as giving hope and education to underprivileged children is a cause dear to her heart. Sonu Nigam said that because his show last year was such a success he personally felt that the entire Incredible Tour was resting on the laurels of the show done previously and he looked forward always to supporting this noble cause. He deeply appreciates the wonderful Atlanta audience. Kailash Kher met Robin on a flight and was immediately hooked when he heard all that Robin was doing and wanted to come on board.
Weeks have passed since the show got over and people are still talking about it and many who couldn’t make it are hoping fervently that there would be an encore next year.
The final bow: Robin Raina takes the stage with the artists.
For Robin the path is very clear: “I am not a show Promoter, nor do I ever want to be. I know that if there was no social cause there would be no show under my banner. For me the most satisfying thing is the strides we have taken towards achieving the goals we set and nothing gives me more joy to see that thanks to these fundraisers there are some blind children who now are receiving High education and can fend for themselves. We see confident and smart young kids in our schools in the slum areas, and so many women have been able to stand on their own feet with our support. But what we have achieved is only a drop in the ocean. There is so much that needs to be done, always.”