Netru..Indru..Naalai..

It finally happened. And boy it was well worth the wait. The show absolutely rocked, exceeding expectations by milestones. Trust Mani Ratham to really know how to entertain people and with a team that included the likes of Vasanth, Rajiv Menon and Sabu Cyril to efficiently help organize and run the show what more can one expect. And what better audience than a crowd of 20,000 cheering them on that included so many celebrities and artists from film and tv. The long drive to Jeppiar Engineering College and the hour and something long delay waiting for the show to start was so totally worth it and am I glad I made it with VIP passes to sit at the very front amidst the famous people. It did get a little annoying with repetitive ads on the screen and the long wait to the start with people pouring in until the very last minute… but ya what a crowd!

The programme opened with Revathy on the screen talking about The Banyan-foundation for destitute women and the work they are involved with. It was divided into 3 segments showcasing the evolution of film music over time in the past, present and the future. The artists of the evening amongst others, included Shaam, Abbas, Vineeth and of course Shriya.

The first part started with the drum dance from Chandralekha and had a host of performers dancing to the tune of songs from yesteryear and the sets, artwork and lighting was fantastic and it all looked so original- straight from the actual movies. Must really appreciate the tremendous effort at detail put in by the organisers. Prakash Raj was just hilarious in his green costume- I doubt I can ever look at him as a scary villain again after the way he danced around looking so funny yesterday for the song Yaradi Nee Mohini. And man it was quite a surprise how they managed to bring a car on stage and drive it across for Viswanathan Velaivendum.

It resumed after a short break to the songs of the movies of the present phase with Blaze singing a fast paced number on Netru Indru Naalai and then Shobana’s dance and things got very interesting here on. Simbu played a very close Rajini and dancing to Rakamma with Simran and later Thillana Thillana wit the very pretty Reema Sen. Man, can the guy dance or what! The most exiting part of the evening though was Shilpa Shetty sizzling the audience with Chaiyya Chaiyya (Vivek Oberoi couldn’t make it- they put some other guy as substitute) and it was quite a shock to the audience when they even managed to bring a train (or rather a close imitation of one) on to stage to replay the original theme of the song. And how can I forget the biggest star present there was none other than Kamal Hassan who had the crowd spellbound when he sang the very melodious song-Thenpandi Cheemailey. This was followed by a Banyan theme song with a video presentation for which the music was composed by none other than AR Rahman.

The shortest segment of the evening, probably what we all wanted more of was restricted due to the time constraint considering it was already close to midnight and so the show was wrapped up in a medley of the most popular film song hits of today starting with a Ganesh idol being danced with on stage and then followed by Fanna, Appadi Podu, Sa Re Ga Ma (which had Manikandan- who didn’t dance in the movie, and Genilia dancing) and then Uyirin Uyire, Madurai, Theridi Veediyil (from Run –starring Maddy) , Manmathanae (Simbu again with the extremely cute Diya) and last but not least Remo. The show finally ended wit all the artists performing together and for the grand finale- forming a human Banyan tree, the symbol of the organization Banyan-in aid of which the show was held for. All the artists and dancers walked on stage and the ever charismatic Madhavan took the mike and thanked all those responsible who had worked towards making the show a reality and success.

Overall, it was a brilliant show and where else can you get to see a stage where the performers manage to bring a cycle, a rickshaw, a bike, a car, a mock ship and even a pretty realistic working train on to stage and recreate scenes straight out of the actual film’s setting- the fruit of months of hard work and contribution from a whole lot of dedicated people who deserve credit. Do catch it on tv due March, first week. It totally compensated for the disappointment in not being able to make it to the Bryan Adams concert at Bangalore this weekend and was on the whole- a night worth remembering for a very long time.