AR Rahman's concert tour choreographers reveal how they prepare for Oscar-winner's events

The joy and energy of a live concert is an "unmatched" experience, say choreographer duo Arun Mode and Chetan Kadam, who have extensively contributed in creating music maestro AR Rahman's various stage performances.

The Mumbai-based duo, who have been collaborating with Rahman for over a decade now, said their aim is to see the viewers smile after every concert.

"As dancers, choreographers, we always want to see a smile on the audience's face... Live concerts give us that opportunity. When you are doing a film, it is always the camera for which you are performing, you are not interacting with an individual. The joy that comes from live concerts is unmatched," Mode told PTI in an interview here.

"We have movies and theatres. But the kick that you get from theatre, you don't get from films. You get instant gratification from the audience," added Kadam.

In the world of live shows, the spotlight is always on the performer, and Mode and Kadam said they are happy to be in the background.

"We have never done work to be recognised as Arun and Chetan. When we do a good shoot, we feel that our work has been recognised. If we were not good enough, we would not be working with the biggest legend in this country for 10 years," Mode said referring to Rahman.

The duo is currently hard at work as Rahman embarks on his concert tour 'Marakkuma Nenjam' (loosely translated from Tamil to mean 'Will my heart be able to forget this?'), which will celebrate his 30th anniversary as a music composer.

The first show will be held in Coimbatore on Sunday and will move to other Indian cities, including Chennai (September 10). The tour will also travel to France, Germany and Switzerland for the first time.

"It is an adrenaline rush. We are lucky to be part of sir's concert. The number of audience (members) is often 50,000 or 70,000 or more. They all scream, cheer and we can feel the energy and we put in more energy," Mode said.

Unlike movies, choreography in live-shows isn't restricted to the performances of background dancers. 

According to Mode, their job requires them to conceptualise the dance acts, choose specialised dancers, as well as zero in on costumes and accessories, among other aspects.

"When a concert comes up, there's a major influence of where we are performing, like the geographical location. With Rahman sir's body of work, it is difficult to fit it into a two-hour concert.

"For instance, we have to choose all his best songs. We will have to do four concerts and still few songs will be left out. The process is always like, he tries to understand the pulse of the fans, he likes to cater to his fans," he said.

Rahman's stage performances reflect his diverse discography, added Kadam.

"If the concert is in Mumbai, then it will be in Hindi. He will do all kinds of songs, he will do a song in Hindi, Malayalam, or Tamil, etc. Like, 'Jai Ho' (from 'Slumdog Millionaire') is a global phenomenon, so it depends on which part of the globe he is performing in and what the fans want to listen to more often.

"Also, like the 'Jiya Jale' track, it is something that everybody knows about, but he will mix it beautifully. The song is big and he takes it to another language. Then, it is a big challenge for us to match that level at every single concert."

After Rahman and the show's director select songs for a concert, it is up to the duo to further narrow down the list for the final gig.

"Every song that has choreography needs to have some meaning: Why are we doing it? From 60 songs that are shortlisted, we think 'x' songs will look more beautiful with the choreography.

"Like, 'Chaiyya Chaiyya' is a dance number. Everyone expects that dancers will be there, but Rahman sir will never do anything that is obvious. He is like, 'Let's not do dancing over here, the audience will dance anyway'. We will get into another song where they don't expect dancing, so he will choose a slow number," Mode explained.

Rahman, the multiple award-winning music composer known for his work in movies such as the "Ponniyin Selvan" series, "Enthiran", "Sivaji: The Boss", "Rangeela", "Bombay", "Taal", "Rockstar" and "Slumdog Millionaire", has had a deep influence on Mode and Kadam.

Back in 2007, the duo won the dance TV reality show "Nach Baliye 3" as choreographers to then actor couple Aamir Ali and Sanjeeda Shaikh, and they said most of the tracks they used on the show were composed by Rahman.

"When we got the opportunity to do 'Nach Baliye' as choreographers, his music was of the greatest help for us. I think all the dots were getting connected. The director, who used to work with AR Rahman, liked our choreography on his tunes. That's how it all got connected," Kadam said.

Mode and Kadam first collaborated with Rahman for the closing ceremony of Indian Premier League (IPL) in 2010, and it remains one of the most cherished moments of their career.

"There were 250 dancers, it was a ground event. It was a big thing. We barely had eight to ten days, the output was brilliant. It was the biggest challenge.

"We call it a miracle show, it was miraculous that we got the opportunity to work with him. It was done on a big scale because the IPL was big, besides working with so many dancers," Mode said.

For 'Marakkuma Nenjam', this time a total of 40 background dancers from various parts of India have been selected after auditioning to perform on 35 songs.

Kolkata-born Asina Mondal, who has been associated with Mode and Kadam since their first Rahman concert, said she is looking forward to the tour.

"It all feels like a family. When I came here, I didn't know anything much. I was just a good dancer. But I have learnt a lot of things over the years. Today, whenever I go on stage, I am both nervous and excited," Mondal said.

Mumbai's Harish Gajare said he has been working as a background dancer for more than a decade and feels the same excitement before any event.  

"For AR Rahman's concert, I've the same excitement as everyone else," Gajare said.

"When you are on stage and you look at thousands of people cheering up, it is a feeling that you cannot express in words. You have to be there to experience it," added Chandni Nathani, who hails from Uttarakhand.