{"id":17236,"date":"2017-07-16T00:29:08","date_gmt":"2017-07-16T07:29:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/siliconeer.com\/current\/?p=17236"},"modified":"2017-07-16T00:29:08","modified_gmt":"2017-07-16T07:29:08","slug":"tamil-songs-at-rahmans-uk-gig-irk-fans-organizers-deny","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/siliconeer.com\/current\/tamil-songs-at-rahmans-uk-gig-irk-fans-organizers-deny\/","title":{"rendered":"Tamil Songs at Rahman’s UK Gig Irk Fans, Organizers Deny"},"content":{"rendered":"

Music composer and singer A.R. Rahman performs at IIFA Rocks, July 14, at the MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey during the 18th International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) Festival. (Jewel Samad\/AFP\/Getty Images)<\/em><\/p>\n

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A.R. Rahman came, he performed but some of the Hindi-speaking concertgoers were not impressed as they targeted him for being language-biased saying he sang too many Tamil songs. But the organizers and Rahman’s sister A.R. Raihanah refuted the claims. Meanwhile, A.R. Rahman\u2019s IIFA Rocks concert, which saw the crowd groove to the Oscar and Grammy winner\u2019s popular Hindi and Tamil tracks, was proof that music trumps all language barriers.<\/p>\n

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The \u201cNetru Indru Nalai\u201d (Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow) concert at Wembley Arena on July 8 attracted hundreds to what was described as a celebration of the Chennai-born star\u2019s 25- year musical journey.<\/p>\n

But a few concertgoers claimed on Facebook and Twitter later that they had walked out over the lack of Bollywood tunes from Rahman\u2019s repertoire.<\/p>\n

Some of the users on Twitter complained that they felt duped by the organizers, as they were promised the performances would be in Hindi and Urdu.<\/p>\n

\u201c#ARRahman concert: Never seen so much #disappointment & #masswalkouts. Approx one per cent of songs in Hindi.<\/p>\n

#ssearena filled on #falseadvertising,\u201d one of the users tweeted.<\/p>\n

Another tweeple expressed his displeasure that the show failed to impress the fans and how he felt let down by Rahman.<\/p>\n

\u201c#ARRahman very disappointed with the concert tonight in Wembley. Waited for a very long time to be disappointed. Not expected from a legend,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n

The criticism prompted the organizers\u2014HueBox Entertainment and Hamsini Entertainment\u2014to publish the complete song list from the concert to highlight the balanced nature of the show.<\/p>\n

\u201cHi London, thanks for the tremendous support and response, however we have been getting few complaints on language bias which is rather unfortunate as this was an Indian show and music doesn\u2019t have any barriers,\u201d said a statement from the organizers on the official A.R. Rahman Live – UK Facebook page.<\/p>\n

\u201cNevertheless, we have posted the track list performed at the SSE Arena Wembley to prove that there were 16 full tracks in Hindi, 12 full Tamil tracks and 1 Medley with a mix of Tamil and Hindi,\u201d they added.<\/p>\n

In an interview to a TV channel, the Oscar-winning composer\u2019s sister Raihanah also said there was a decent number of Hindi songs in the set list and she did not spot any audience leaving in middle of the concert.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe did have pretty good number of Hindi songs. There were some songs sung in Hindi like \u2018Humma Humma,\u2019 \u2018Enna Sona\u2019 \u2018Dil Se Re\u2019 and \u2018Dil Hai Chota Sa.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we are Indians. We should not think small. We should think as Indians. It\u2019s an Indian language. So, we should think beyond boundaries. Music is all about love and harmony,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Many celebrities and singers also came out in support of Rahman.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat is rude. I don\u2019t have knowledge about it, so I can\u2019t comment further. All I will say is that it was rude,\u201d Priyanka Chopra said.<\/p>\n

South Indian singer Chinmayi Sripada also took to Twitter to support the award-winning composer by tagging the outrage by the fans as another show of intolerance and double standards.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen Rahman sir wins 2 Oscars and creates history, he is \u2018An Indian,\u2019 but 7-8 Tamil gaane kya gaa liye aap naraaz hote ho<\/i> (all this furor over playing 7-8 Tamil songs?). What yaar<\/i>? The show was called \u2018Netru Indru Naalai,\u2019 had 65 percent, 6 Hindi songs (Set List is out there). Music knows no boundaries\/ language.<\/p>\n

\u201cChase the American dream, your kids can (speak) Spanish; Live in the UK that once colonized India – but cry foul when you hear Tamil songs,\u201d wrote Sripada, who has sung \u201cTere Bina\u201d from \u201cGuru\u201d in which Rahman gave the music.<\/p>\n

Mocking the Hindi-speaking crowd, stand-up comic Aravind SA did a wordplay on the line from Rahman\u2019s Academy Award- accepting speech, where he thanked The Almighty for his win.<\/p>\n

He wrote, \u201cIf A.R. Rahman won his Oscar today, I\u2019m pretty sure some people would have wanted him to say – \u2018Sab Pugal Bhagwan ke liye\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

A.R. Rahman Weaves Musical Magic at IIFA Rocks<\/b><\/p>\n

Rahman brought the audience to its feet with his Tamil hits \u201cUrvasi Urvasi\u201d and \u201cHumma Humma,\u201d a scene so different from his recent UK concert for which he was trolled on the social media by concertgoers who felt there were too many Tamil songs.<\/p>\n

There was a demand for an encore even after he regaled the crowd for almost two hours.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat? Once more… I can\u2019t hear you… Isn\u2019t it too late?,\u201d Rahman said on the stage before taking up the mic again to sing \u201cHumma Humma.\u201d<\/p>\n

He performed his Oscar-winning hit track \u201cJai Ho\u201d as the lighting on the stage changed to orange, green and white.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am thankful to you all for coming and supporting the concert… love you,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The musical extravaganza, which is part of the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) awards events, celebrated 25 years of Rahman\u2019s glorious journey that began with the success of \u201cRoja\u201d in 1992.<\/p>\n

Rahman, 50, was joined by Diljit Dosanjh, Benny Dayal, Javed Ali, Neeti Mohan, Jonita Gandhi and Haricharan Seshadri at the MetLife stadium.<\/p>\n

The music maestro teamed up with Mohit Chauhan to croon \u201cNadaan Parindey\u201d while Neeti Mohan and Hariharan joined him for a duet on \u201cBin Tere Kya Jeena\u201d and \u201cMere Paas Hai Tu,\u201d respectively.<\/p>\n

The other hit numbers from his vast repertoire were \u201cDil Hai Chota Sa,\u201d \u201cAgar Tum Saath Ho,\u201d \u201cAye Hairate,\u201d \u201cTere Bina\u201d and \u201cTanha Tanha.\u201d<\/p>\n

Punjabi star Diljit\u2019s songs \u201cEk Kudi\u201d and \u201cPatiala Peg\u201d and Mika Singh\u2019s energetic performance brought the audience to their feet.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am feeling very happy and proud that he (Rahman) called me here. Make some noise for Rahman sir. Love you all,\u201d Mika added.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thank him for being an inspiration. I am honored to be here,\u201d Jonita said.<\/p>\n

Rahman, who recently composed the music for Sachin Tendulkar\u2019s biopic, asked the crowd, \u201cdo you like cricket \u2026 do you like Sachin?,\u201d before singing the title track of the film as the master blaster\u2019s photograph was displayed on the screen.<\/p>\n

\u2013 Komal Panchmatia<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Music composer and singer A.R. Rahman performs at IIFA Rocks, July 14, at the MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey during the 18th International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) Festival. (Jewel Samad\/AFP\/Getty Images) A.R. Rahman came, he performed but some of the Hindi-speaking concertgoers were not impressed as they targeted him for being language-biased saying…<\/p>\n

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