Illayaraja with CBSO

I saw the Sonu Nigam’s breathtaking concert ‘An Evening in London – Rafi Resurrected’ on Sony TV. Mohammed Rafi’s classics were performed with the backing of City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. More about the concert later but while watching it, I thought how it would be if Raaja’s songs were performed with the backing of such a symphony orchestra. For Sonu Nigam’s concert they had to arrange the songs differently for the orchestra but for Raaja’s song, one need not add or remove anything from the song, it is enough it they just play the song in the way Raaja has arranged it. I believe there must be many songs eligible for such a concert and everybody would have their own list of songs but here is the list of songs that came to my mind immediately (not considering ‘Music Messiah’, ‘How to Name it’, ‘Nothing but Wind’ and ‘Thirvasakam’ here)

1. Sundari Kannal (Thalapathi)
2. Adi Rakkamma (Thalapathi)
3. Maalayil yaaro (Chathriyan)
4. Thendral Vandhu (Avathaaram)
5. Oru Naal Antha Oru Naal (Devadai)
6. Sangeetha Megam (Udhaya Geetham)
7. Ram Hey ram (Hey Ram)
8. Sempoovae Poovae (Sirai Chaalai)
9. Poonkathave thaal thiravai (Nizhalgal)
10. Captain Prabhakaran Title Score (we need a separate concert for his background scores)

The exhilaration I had when I was sitting in the middle of 10000+ crowd clapping after the orchestra finished playing the second interlude of the ‘Sundari’ song from Thalapthi in Illayaraja’s ‘Andrum Indrum Endrum’ concert is one of those unforgettable moments of my life. Be blessed by watching this video if you are cursed of not being one among those 10000+.