MR B Live Co-Produces and Manages A R Rahman’s ‘Nenje Ezhu’ Tour

by  EVENTFAQS Bureau Entertainment | February 12, 2016 | News

MR B Live Nenje Ezhu Tour BTOS Productions AKR Events

A multi-city benefit concert tour dedicated to Chennai’s flood victims, A R Rahman’s Nenje Ezhu was held in the second half of Jan. Presented by Noise & Grains Entertainment and AKR Events, the event was co-produced and managed by MR B Live. Conceptualized and directed by BToS Productions, the team also took charge of Artist Relations. With over 150+ Artists and Musicians on board, the tour reached an audience of over 75,000 people.

As co-producers and primary organizers, MR B Live managed and executed event production in collaboration with the Show Director and Set Designer. The grand setup took 10 days for each city, including the construction of an Artist Village and an elaborate backstage area.

The technical crew comprised of Stage and Trussing masterminds Men at Work, industry veterans Sound.com providing backline and audio equipment, and Media Pro International on lights. Read more on what SOUND.COM did here.

Balaji Manoharan, Event Head, MR B Live remarked, “The challenge was creating a one of a kind modular, structured multi-city tour kit with time as a major constraint. The entire set had to be a clean yet complex build, in order to dismantle and move from city to city with a gap of less than a week between each show. No compromises were made, using entirely world-class gear for a grandiose ensemble and tour of such stature. Being the first event we’ve done in association with Noise & Grains, handling two cities – Chennai and Coimbatore – proved effortful. In particular, shifting the entire set from city to city definitely required extensive Logistic Planning.”

Also handled by MR B Live were event logistics, Permissions & Licensing, Stage & Backstage Management, Show Technicals, Crowd, Seating and Traffic Management, Security, Vendor Liaison and Artist Logistics (including travel, F&B management and hospitality).

Vinay Agarwal, Production Head added, “It was nice to witness Time Code being used for a show completely produced and designed here in India. We’ve worked for many shows where this technology has been used, but always brought in by the International Artists’ crew. The safety standards used by Men at Work was at par with any International rigging company. The weight loaded on the scaffolding and the counter weight added using water ballasts, the cross bracings done to the trust, the Ring Lock Stage and Scaffolding- all executed with International quality and finish.”

The unconventional Diamond stage consisted of the Milos MR5 Ring Lock staging and scaffolding system, notably the first of its kind in the country. Over 5,000 sq. ft. of LED screens, weighing in excess of 4 tonnes were suspended from the scaffolding. In total, 175m of sub hang and spreader trusses were used to light the main stage, and an FOH truss (24m x 6m), suspended from 2 cranes of 50 tonne capacity was used for face and audience lighting.

The visual content was conceptualized and created in collaboration with VJ KayCee (Pixadoo), Nazeef Mohammed (BToS), Amit (KM Conservatory) and Blind Mapping Studios, Canada. Specifically tailor made for this show, each song was complimented by a unique 7k resolution aesthetic treat, visually mapped on the monumental 5,000 sq. ft. LED set.

Other partners include Media Pro International (Lighting Design), Stage SFX (Special Effects), and On Cue (Show Running Team).

A R Rahman took to the stage accompanied by legends of the Indian music industry including S. P. Balasubrahmanyam and Hariharan, the soul-stirring voices of Benny Dayal, Hari Charan, Jonita Gandhi, Neeti Mohan, Vijay Prakash, Karthik, Srinivas, Shweta Mohan, Sid Sriram, A. R. Reihana, Haripriya and Sunitha Sarathy, along with rap artists Blaaze, Lady Kash and ADK- to name a few. Along with choreography by the Terence Lewis Dance Academy, the ensemble thrilled ARR fans with an assorted set-list of classic and fresh Tamil melodies.

The star-studded concert also featured Ranjit Barot, Sanket Athale, Raghav Sachar, Gulraj Singh and Mohini Dey along with Sunshine Orchestra, KM Conservatory and Cochin Strings amongst others. The event saw several celebrity attendees including actor Dhanush, Trisha, Jeeva and cricket star Murali Karthik.