When you sign up for a concert by a music maestro, you often sign up for the long wait too: hours of anticipation, a late start, tired feet and a weary journey home. But on Saturday night, Bengaluru was in for a pleasant surprise.
“But in 1995, when Rangeela released, I came here for some other work and the film’s music was playing everywhere.
“I was working with composers like Vijay Anand, and that’s when I first came to Bengaluru, back in 1987,” he said. Everybody said it wouldn’t work, but when I heard it playing everywhere in Bengaluru, I was like, ‘Okay, this is going to work. You guys recognised what music is. That’s when I knew it was a hit.”
AR Rahman returned to the city after eight years, and Laughing water entertainment and Noise & grains present AR Rahman The Wonderment Tour Bengaluru, which opened its 2026 India leg at KTPO Grounds in Whitefield, began remarkably on time. Then came nearly three hours of music that never once let the energy dip. For an audience that had waited so long to see one of India’s most celebrated composers live again, the night was worth every moment, every mile and every penny. A star-studded musical ensemble The setlist travelled from Tamil and Hindi hits to a surprise Kannada rendition of the beloved Roja song, with an engaging jugalbandi between his musicians along the way. Rahman was joined on stage by singers Vijay Prakash , Jonita Gandhi, Rakshita Suresh, AR Ameen, Adithya RKay, Heer, Nitesh Aher, Raghav Kaushik and others, while musicians including Ranjit Barot, Ashwin Srinivasan, Evelyn Soto, Nilanjana Ghosh, Rangappriya Sankaranarayanan, Haritha Raj and Aleif Hamdan added to the musical spectacle. There were a few hiccups too: some singers drifted off beat, pre-recorded tracks were noticeable, and the setlist had its share of lesser-known songs. But Bengaluru took it all in good spirit. The crowd had come for Rahman and his music, and they were happy to sing along, cheer the performers and soak in the evening. ‘Bengaluru recognised the music before anyone else did’