Love beats hate: AR Rahman’s ‘The Wonderment Tour’ concert in Chennai champions unity on Valentine’s Day

Long before streaming began to define how we consume music, AR Rahman (and Ilaiyaraaja) was part of my everyday routine. Even today I take a few seconds to pick the right song to set the mood for my morning commute. But as I left for Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium on Saturday evening, I refrained from playing anything. Instead, I let the noise cancellation of my earphones drown all external noise — I had to cleanse my mind, prep it to absorb whatever Rahman and his team were to send coursing through me.

It was hard not to think about what this concert meant to every Rahmaniac; the man who gave ‘Maa Tujhe Salaam’ and put Indian music on the global map has had to face the wrath of a clan that has attempted to polarise India. I knew Rahman’s The Wonderment Tour in Chennai wasn’t just any other concert. It was a celebration of the love that annihilates hate, and a Valentine’s Day date with an artiste emblematic of that love.

AR Rahman performs at The Wonderment Tour concert in Chennai on February 14, 2026
| Photo Credit:
The Meraky Collective

Everything changed as I made my way to the stadium through thousands of Rahman fans — what had been a personal ritual had turned into a mass pilgrimage. Amidst the excitement, I also felt fear of the ghosts of 2023, because marakuma nenjam. Fortunately, the crowd management was good.

And so the show began. The Mozart of Madras ascended the stage to the beats of ‘O Yuva Yuva’. An electric guitar solo from Keba Jeremiah charged through the collective vein. Beats-heavy and playful tracks followed; the dance choreography of ‘Muqabla’ particularly caught my eye, while Rahman, along with Nisa Shetty and Rakshita Suresh, made me wish they would sing ‘Fanaa’ once more.

Of all the hats he dons, Rahman is a true-blue showman who can hold the pulse of a crowd, and The Wonderment Tour was proof of it.

AR Rahman performs at The Wonderment Tour concert in Chennai on February 14, 2026
| Photo Credit:
The Meraky Collective

The first segment was a ‘90s special for Valentine’s Day, and the couples in the crowd made enough noise to let us that they were in the majority. I recorded Ashwin Srinivasan’s flute solo of ‘En Kadhale’ with a lump in my throat; amongst all that we had lost during the pandemic, we also lost a rare gem whose vocals dripped honey. Adithya RK — a young performer who knew how to own the stage — began crooning the melancholic track, which seemed to know the effect it has on the listener: “Is this nectar? Or is this poison? Or is it nectar-poison?” Ashwin’s flute then transitioned to one of my all-time favourites, ‘Netru Illadha Maatram.’

The ‘90s trance lingered thanks to acclaimed singers Srinivas, Chinmayi Sripada, and Amrutha Suresh, as they performed ‘Ennavale Adi Ennavale’, ‘Kurukku Siruthavale’, and ‘Enna Vilai Azhage’. Rangappriya’s violin solo that introduced ‘Ennavale’ lingered in the air, as did Haritha Raj’s veena strumming for ‘Sonnaalum Ketpadhillai.’

Rakshita Suresh, Chinmayi Sripada, Srinivas, and Amrutha Suresh perform at AR Rahman’s The Wonderment Tour concert in Chennai on February 14, 2026
| Photo Credit:
The Meraky Collective

When ‘Mannippaaya’ arrived, there were no singles in the stadium. Everybody held hands with someone, whether they were beside them or in a distant past. In Rakshita, Rahman has found a singer with an intoxicating voice and impressive range; she can enchant you with a ‘Kaadhal Rojave’ but also compete with Srinivas in the ‘Minsara Kanna’ face-off. And what is it about Chinmayi’s voice that effortlessly makes me tear up — whether it is ‘Kannaalane’ or ‘Tere Bina / Aaruyirae’?

But the singer nobody at the stadium was prepared for was Alexander Babu, the stand-up comic. “You all know Alex; he has made you laugh before, now he will make you cry,” went Rahman as he and Alex began to sing the oppaari of the ‘Raasa Kannu’ — or that’s what we thought. Rahman is known for bringing out the best in people in ways only he can see. Alex has sung ‘Raasa Kannu’ before. But could he sing one of the most difficult Shahul Hameed tracks? Only Rahman would have the conviction to see in Alex a singer who could traverse the highs and lows of ‘Rasathi En Usuru.’ The show saw another special the ‘D’ factor of Tamil cinema — who, while visibly fighting through a technical glitch with his feedback, performed his ‘Adangatha Asuran’ to much frenzy.

Dhanush and AR Rahman perform ‘Anangatha Asuran’ at The Wonderment Tour concert in Chennai on February 14, 2026
| Photo Credit:
The Meraky Collective

The gear shifts throughout the show were knife-clean. After the bass beats of ‘Enna Solla Pogirai’ left my chest with a yearning — credits to bassist Nilanjana Ghosh — ‘Dil Se Re’ brought the crowd closer. The stage lights painted the stadium red, and a few tracks later, blue washed over as a Sufi wave reached the coast. I vividly remember the first time I listened to ‘Khwaja’ — and somehow, with every rendition of the qawwali, I have become a lighter person. ‘Khwaja’ effortlessly transitioned into its celestial twin ‘Kun Faya Kun.’ AR Ameen, Adithya, Nakul Abhyankar, Nitesh Aher, and Bhavin Pushkarna joined Rahman. I found myself in an altered state when the reverbs of ‘Nadaan Parinde’ began to hit the astral self off my body. I didn’t notice when it transitioned to ‘Sadda Haq’ — Jodhaa Akbar and Rockstar are the only two music albums that could shift my temporal state, and had Rahman played ‘Idhayam Idam Mariyadhe / Inn Lamhon Ke Daaman Mein,’ the purpose of my pilgrimage would have come to fruition.

When the showman knew it was time to change the tempo, ‘Mallipoo,’ ‘Yennai Izhukkuthadi,’ ‘Chinnamma Chilakkamma,’ and ‘Jingucha’ came to move the tired feet almost involuntarily. Perhaps the creative choice that bothered one was when the thavil stripped away the minimalism Charulatha Mani’s ‘Anju Vanna Poove’ needed — that shouldn’t mean Amirthavarshini isn’t a good artiste; the thavil solo before Dhanush’s song was proof of her talent. And Charulatha Mani’s excellent ‘swara showcase’ with Rangappriya’s violin and Sai Shravanam’s tabla gave the show a breezy classical touch.

Adithya RK, AR Ameen, Annupamaa and Charulatha Mani perform at AR Rahman’s The Wonderment Tour concert in Chennai on February 14, 2026
| Photo Credit:
The Meraky Collective

Also stealing the show was this singer-percussionist from Colombia, Evelyn Soto. Her endearing attempt to say ‘Vanakkam Nanbargale’ garnered chuckles from those who weren’t prepared for what was to come — Soto turned the proceedings into a rock band with a stellar set. If drumsticks could conjure up fire, Soto has them.

The final mix featured ‘Hosanna,’ which made the crowd sway in unison. Men and women in my vicinity held their chests when the lyric went “Yen idhayam udaithaai norungave, yen maru idhayam tharuven nee udaikkave,” and Thamarai bloomed all over the stadium. A ‘Chandralekha’ special from Annupamaa; ‘Musthafa,’ which made the crowd turn on their flashlights; ‘Endrendrum Punnagai’; ‘Jumbalakka’; and ‘Humma Humma’ ended the penultimate section.

Rahman knew exactly how to bring down the curtains — Oscar-winning ‘Jai Ho’ (with the ‘Lathika theme’ woven in by Rakshita), the ever-uplifting ‘Chaiyaa Chaiyya,’ and the soaring anthem of a united India, ‘Maa Tujhe Salaam / Thaai Manne Vanakkam’ brought the show to an end. “Our nation is an example of peace. Long live Tamil. Long live unity. All praise be to God,” signed off Rahman.

AR Rahman performs at The Wonderment Tour concert in Chennai on February 14, 2026
| Photo Credit:
The Meraky Collective

The queue on the way back was painfully slow, but I couldn’t complain — my heart had music still ringing loud. And perhaps that’s why I chose not to plug my earphones in on my way back. Looking through the tides of humans, I felt gratitude — for a magician who had defined every step in my life, and for someone who had visibly made tens of thousands of people choose love and art over hate and bigotry. “Rangreza Rangreza,” sang my heart.

The Chennai edition of The Wonderment Tour was organised by Noise and Grains in association with Jo Entertainment and Fairgame Entertainment.

Published – February 16, 2026 03:32 pm IST