That music has no language is a cliché… and AR Rahman’s concert in Delhi on Saturday proved this, with the crown clapping and stamping their feet to the beat of Hindi, English and Tamil songs alike. The music maestro’s soulful opuses weaved a magic web around the audience, leaving his fans ecstatic.

The close to 10,000 people gathered at the venue swayed and clapped with the music wizard, who belted out enthralling numbers, including “Roja” of the movie Roja, “Kehna hi kya” from Bombay, “Khalbali” and “Pathshala” from Rang de Basanti and “Barso re Megha” from the movie Guru. The open-air venue at Rajouri Garden was not packed, however, to capacity probably due to the steep ticket prices, but those who made it to the concert got more then their money’s worth.   

This was AR Rahman’s first concert in Delhi, which captivated the city right away with the magical spell of numerous soothing songs. The melodious extravaganza, with 50 instrumentalists and 22 singers, started one hour later than scheduled, but the delay did not affect the energy of the show, which had the crowd roaring with exhilaration. The other noted celebrities who participated in the event included Kailash Kher, Chitra, Sivamani, Madhushree and Hariharan. There was no doubt, however, about who dominated the huge stage… it was AR Rahman all the way.

The marathon percussion spell by Sivamani and soulful flute rendition by Naveen also kept the crowds spellbound in a concert that was characterized by added glitter with changing sets after each song and numerous dancers beautifully complementing the high voltage music. Apart from the usual all-time popular hits, Rahman gave a special treat to the Delhi audience by rendering some of the compositions from his forthcoming film Jodha Akbar.