Aakaar's 'Naan Pradeep Kumar' a bliss

KUALA LUMPUR: After a two-year hiatus, concerts by South Indian artistes have and are making their way to Kuala Lumpur, with the just-staged 'Naan Pradeep Kumar; A LIVE EXPERIENCE' joining the list of well-organised shows that leave the audience in awe and wanting more.

The 36-year-old singer, who is a music director as well, comes from a Carnatic or Indian Classical music background, having begun his career as a singer in the 2010s.

The movie 'Attakathi', released in 2012, saw Pradeep's entry into Tamil cinema as a playback singer. The rest is nothing short of history.

With his melodious voice, Pradeep went on to not only score various songs, but also capture his own set of fans and followers, especially in Malaysia, which was evident when over 2,000 tickets for his concert were sold out within two minutes after the sale opened on May 12, 2022.

This left organiser Aakaar Foundation stunned. Due to the popular demand, a second-day show was planned and announced, and the tickets were also sold out, within five minutes.

Both shows took place at the KLCC Plenary Hall, on July 23 and 24, 2022, respectively.

On both days, the concert started on time, without any delay or long speeches to keep the audience waiting.

Pradeep kicked off his show with a devotional number, 'Arunagiri Perumale' a song from his musical documentary chronicling the life of Arunagirinathar, a 15th century Tamil saint poet.

The 150-minute show had his numbers from movies and own compositions. Songs such as 'Maya Nadhi' from the movie 'Kabali', 'Aval' from 'Manithan' and 'Nee Kavithaigala' from 'Maragatha Naanayam' saw the audience going into a frenzy and singing along with Pradeep, "setting the hall on fire".

Songs aside, Pradeep's vibes brought so many magical moments to the hall, be it his impromptu conversations while tuning his guitar, or jokes that kept the audience enticed.

In one of the conversation pieces, Pradeep said he was equally elated to see such grandiose support from the Malaysian audience, especially after a difficult phase of two years for musicians during the pandemic-related movement controls in India and globally.

With the accompaniment of his own set of rock band from Chennai, comprising Tapass Naresh,Jhanu Chanthar, Bharath Sankar, M. Abijith and singers Subhiksha Rangarajan and Kalyani Nair, as well as the Datuk Mus Quintet from the National Symphony Orchestra, Pradeep also belted out 'Aagasatha Naan Paarkuren' from the movie 'Cuckoo', 'Agam Thaanai' from 'Sillu Karuppati' and 'Oru Murai' from 'Uyirmozhi'.

Pradeep was truly impressed with the orchestra's performance and announced his wish to work on more collaboration with local musicians.

A big round of applause goes to the organiser, Aakaar, too, which kicked off in 2019 through like-minded friends to promote and preserve the diversity of art and culture and, most importantly, to promote local artistes, with the hashtag #challengingthenorm.

Aakaar started off small, with concerts for an audience of 50 to 100, predominantly with local artists, truly learning the trade from scratch and the nuance of organising a show the way it should be done.

The foundation is also trying to make a difference by organising concerts with the concept of sustainability by, among others, reducing the usage of plastics in any form.

To those who missed the opportunity, Pradeep will be back at the end of this year. A concert is being planned, this time in Penang. Watch out for Aakaar's social media space for the announcement.

And to Pradeep, thank you for ditching the plan to become a theoretical physicist and embarking onaudio engineering and the journey as a singer and musician. Bring on the soul-stirring songs and continue to rock in a 'Vesthi'.

-- BERNAMA