Singer Karthik Rocked "The Vijaya Forum Mall"...

 Before the show did even start I just knew what I was gonna exclaim at the end of the show – Please GOD, will you make it happen once again??!

The person who sings for every love moments on screen was gonna come Live and I couldn’t believe that I was standing there. I had heard that he is a tremendous performer, from one of the sound engineer who worked with him, but maybe this is the chance that I will witness it Live. One may think why I am exaggerating so much about this person. When I listen to his songs it brings a Love feel but after all he is the best Love vocalist for all the on screen romance. Without his voice the romantic melody songs will feel a void and lose its charm.

The name which rose to fame after getting introduced in AR Rahman songs, thro' Harris Jayaraj and till Isaignani.

K-A-R-T-H-I-K

The place was ‘The Vijaya Forum Mall’, Vadapalani on 26^th, Oct, 2013. I had planned it 2 days before that I must be there to see him. I took a place closer to him in the 1^st floor, left side by 6 pm and was waiting. The crowd and the hype was increasing all over the mall. Time passed but there was no sign of him, I was determined to not leave that place even if it gets late (if I move an inch, there was another guy waiting near me to take my place :-P :-/). Videos of him performing live previously were being played on a screen to which the people were cheering. The crowd was now standing all along the corridor and up to the 4^th floor of the mall. Once again the video was playing and people were again shouting for that, this proved a stronger fact that he is really worth watching. Time was 6:45 pm by now, there was usual noise in the crowd but after a while the people at the back were getting silent and all the eyes were glued to the entrance with the spot light fixed there.

BOOOOMMMMM!!

Alas!!

He was right there at the entrance with few bodyguards covering him. He wasn’t walking neither did he raise his hand and accepted the crowd’s welcome but he came jogging straight to the stage and held the microphone meanwhile the instrument players were ready by now. I thought that he might address the crowd but he proved me wrong, he started with an “Aalaáp”, and the crowd bad become silent and he continued it with the classical “Mahá Ganapathi”. My thought going on about him was – he is handling the stage like a master, there was energy and enthusiasm in him which was channelled to the crowd too, he did not give any speech but let his talent take care of the rest. I was awestruck at that very moment and by the time he finished that song I was on cloud nine... ;-)

The next song was the one which I wanted him to perform – “Oru maalai Ilaveyil neram”. This song was composed by my very favourite music director Harris Jayaraj (HJ). I had been very eager to listen to this song being performed Live for a long time. He was singing it with heart (you can feel it as an audience...!!). When the BGM portions came, he stopped there and conversed with the crowd but when he resumed the verse after that gap I must really appreciate the players, there was a perfect rapport and timing between the singer and the players, there was no lag. They all took it up at the same time and the song had reached a new peak, there was awesomeness added to the song. Anyone can hardly notice he was gesturing the players with his fingers and expressions, it was very cute, while the crowd was amazingly responding to the song.

3^rd song was “Behka Behka” from the Hindi film Gajini.

He thanked Rahman sir for giving the opportunity to sing this song. He sang it perfectly, though I hadn’t listened to this song a lot of times in original mp3 but I was able to really enjoy the way he sang it, it would have been a treat for North Indians present there.

4^th song was “Vizhi moodi yosithal”

Aaahhh !! About this song?? There is no need to introduce this one. It was already an evergreen song by HJ, and was awarded ‘the most downloaded caller tunes and ring tones’ of the year 2009. He started it with vocals alone, he carried it beautifully till “...yen vaazhvil varumo” in the 1^st verse. And he slowly gave a cute hand gesture to the percussionist and right there the song took a diversion which felt like looking at a beautiful landscape/portrait. The rhythm and vocals were mixing in a unique way and I got Goosebumps. Only Karthik could’ve done it magically, he is such a unique performer. The ending was soothing as well, and I felt paradise there.

5^th song was “Hasili fisili”

Again this is one of my favourite songs by HJ. I remember listening to his song for more than thirty times a day when it was released. For the starting rap portions, Karthik sang half and pointed the mic to the crowd, and I was shouting the rap portions despite knowing the fact that my voice would not reach there. But then... what was the use of seeing him perform Live if I don’t cheer there?? So!! I was on top of my voice and had the whole lyrics by hearted, I was singing (or atleast that is what I believe I did there, I couldn’t hear my voice and got my throat sore by then) !! The keyboard player was killing the song with beautiful notes. As usual the crowd was on the feet. Karthik had some energy drink and a water bottle with him, he drank them when the BGM portions where going on.

6^th song – “Théradi veethiyil thevathai vandhal”

It was as if the whole crowd had been waiting for this song. They were cheering like mad. Karthik came down from the stage and pointed the mic to a guy. He snatched the mic from him and sang two lines, while Karthik moved away from that guy, he did not try to get the mic back by himself instead the guard came and helped him. He is such a gentleman. This Kuthu song had matched the pace of the crowd and passed on cheerfully.

The crowd was cheering very loudly that Karthik had to request them to calm down as he was not able to hear his own voice through the on-stage monitors.

7^th song – Ilayaraja’s evergreen song “Ilayanilá poligirathu”

Having heard it in its original singer's voice I could suggest that Karthik’s voice was apt for this song. If he had been the singer at the time this original song was released, surely Isaignani would’ve chosen him to sing this song. The orchestration was as such and the lead guitarist was playing the killer leads in this song. At first the sound of the guitar was not proper but Karthik signalled the sound engineers present at the Consoles to increase the sound. This act had increased the respect for him; he cared for the fellow musicians as well.

8^th song - This was the most acclaimed one in Karthik’s career. “Usure poguthe”.

A combination of Isaipuyal and Kavipérarasu. The vocals was very soothing and it carried me like travelling in a boat on a calm river. One can surely say that the crowd was enjoying it thoroughly.

9^th song - This song again by HJ. Before singing, Karthik mentioned that this song is one of his favourites. He started with his husky voice “Mun andhi saaral nee” and sang the first Charanam and to one’s surprise he continued it with “Pehla nasha” Hindi song. I must say, I felt like it was raining flowers all over the place. The crowd had thrown up their hands in air and were waving.

10^th song - The guitarist started strumming chords and no one was able to guess which song this one will be. I was sure that it was very groovy and had a jazzy feel. But i was taken aback when he sang “En iniya pon nilave”. I never knew if there was any other better way of listening to this song if it was not with this groove. Once again the crowd had started dancing and the keyboardist was playing with all the enthu he had. He had his ‘Keytar’ on and was playing it like a pro. I knew something was going to merge with this one but could not guess which song will be best suited and that is when Pallavi portion of “Azhaipaaya” came in “VIzhundhèn naan tholainthèn naan...” (nijama sollanumna, naanum andha mall-laye tholanjitten, angayé...!!)  Listening to this combination was like heaven. The song followed through the Charanam and got finished.  Crowd had already started asking for once more.

11^th song – “Paal pole pathinaaru” 

Another ARR and Karthik’s combination, I must say this is the anthem of all the guys who are single, maybe even myself :p (Haha!!). The lead guitarist and Keyboardist were rocking together and the singing was flawless, bassist was on top and percussionists had totally revived the energy.

The crowd was tired and Karthik was tired as well but the next song wouldn’t have been better if he had not regained his energy quickly.

To everyone’s surprise he started the retro song “Vishwanathan... vélai vendum”, one of the old Rock n Roll songs from 1980s. He had not given up on the energy (of course!! pros don’t give up until their show is done). There was still magic left and the crowd was yet to witness it.

People were jumping in excitement all around.

After the 12^th song, the rhythm was getting bumpier and I thought it was gonna be another jazzy one but it was Pop Folk fusion of “Enadi Muniyamma”. I was like “What!!” while everyone was awestruck by the way they orchestrated the song. It wasn’t the whole racy folk number like its original, but garnished with a new flavour.

After the 13^th song, Karthik told the crowd that this one would be last song for the evening and it was not a surprise that the audiences weren’t done yet.

The last song was another one without which the whole show wouldn’t have ended well. “Ava enna enna thédi vandha anjalaè...” – The heartbeat of youths. This was also composed by my favourite music director, which was another reason. With his lovely voice he sang Pallavi and 1^st Charanam. There was a lovely feeling all around me, while his magical voice echoed in my mind.

He thanked the musicians, light & sound engineers and the crowd and walked towards the entrance with the bodyguards walking along with him, leaving behind the awestruck crowd. I stood there watching a phenomenal show that had just finished and felt myself blessed for witnessing such an event.

Without wanting to leave that place I took my steps towards the entrance and boarded the bus to home recounting one of the best days in my life.

There was no other way of making my day better than watching that Live show.

In future if I get a chance to watch any Live show happening in Chennai I wouldn’t miss it because anyone watching the Live performance will feel peace in mind and excitement in heart just like we watch movie in a theatre, and we’ll forget the surroundings and start to jump like we used to when we were kids...!!