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A two-member team in charge of the technical and production aspects of the Rahman show, the celebrated composer’s first live show after winning the double Oscars, landed in the city on Thursday on a one-day recce mission.
Shailesh and Bharath, who have been associated with a number of Rahman shows during the last four years, first visited the Chandrasekharan Nair Stadium, the main stage where Rahman will perform live. Both work for Rapport Productions, the event management company that organises the tours of A.R. Rahman.
They inspected the venue, deliberated on the position of the stage – the pros and cons of each – the lay of the land, gauged the wind behaviour, the natural acoustics of the stadium, its capacity and took stock of the facilities.
“We normally design the stage after taking a close look at the venue,” Bharath, who is in charge of production, said. When the team reached the stadium, a skeleton of a stage was already present, the one that was used for a channel presentation. It was at the West end and faced the Palayam mosque.
Shailesh was more or less happy with the position. “Ideally, the stage should have been on the opposite side, right below the mosque. But accessibility is a problem there. Moreover, there are no rooms on the other side,” he said, standing five-feet high on the half-dismantled stage.
“This side looks fine. It is easy to reach the stage from the main road and there are rooms at the back which can be used as green rooms for the musicians.”
The viability of designing the stage in front of the torch pavilion, facing the M.K. Joseph Pavilion, was also discussed. The idea was dropped because, as Shailesh said, the sound could get slapped back from the opposite pavilion. Further, the seating capacity will also be reduced.
The stage will be 100 feet wide and 70 feet long. It will be roofless. Except for these basic facts, both Shailesh and Bharath are in the dark about Rahman’s plans.
“We don’t know what Rahman has in mind. This is the first show after the Oscars. He would definitely want to give this show a completely new feel, something that has never been experienced before. He might even have a unique theme for the show. It’s Rahman, anything is possible,” Shailesh said.
Normally, a Rahman show will have ten big singers and 40-odd musicians.
“For the show here, we feel it might be bigger. That’s the feel we have. We will get a clear idea after we meet the man himself,” Shailesh added.
Bharath was particular that the venue should have chemical toilets. He found two on the track, behind the bare stage. Bharath told his local contacts that he would mail a check-list after he gets back in Mumbai.
While Rahman performs live at the Chandrasekharan Nair Stadium, the performance will be simultaneously projected in two other venues in the city. “Rahman himself will reveal the two additional venues when he flies down to Kochi on a day between March 5 and 10 to formally announce the show,” Shailesh said.
The show has been organised by Global Kerala Initiative – Keraleeyam to obtain funds for their AIDS initiative.
