A fundraiser that raised a cheer

CHENNAI: The response that popular singer Benny Dayal and his band S5 got at the musical extravaganza LUB DUB on Saturday was nothing short of phenomenal. The singer, known to be a livewire on stage, kept the crowd entertained for more than two hours at Music Academy, where the concert was held. Benny did not just mesmerise the crowd with his smooth vocal talent as he sang multilingual tracks, but also wooed them with his groovy hip hop moves that the crowd couldn’t get enough of. The audience broke into an uncontrollable cheer when the 27-year-old singer walked on stage, clad in a pair of black pants, a casual T shirt and an overcoat that completed the funky ‘streets-of-New-York’ look. What followed was probably the fastest and most enjoyable live entertainment in the city in recent years. Benny, who is well known for pairing up with A R Rahman for numerous tracks, started the show with the bilingual version of the title track from Uyire (Dil se), a smart move that catered to the mixed crowd of Bollywood and Kollywood lovers. The rapport of the eight band members, who have played together since college, was evident on stage as they traded jocular comments on each other.  Though the evening started with a touching video clip that spread awareness about emergencies and training in basic life-saving skills, it unwrapped into an event that reinforced the importance of music in people’s lives, making everyone – from toddlers to oldies — dance to his tunes, oblivious to everything around them. Sunandita, a highly-accented female singer, accompanied Benny in the duets. The songs were smartly picked so as to not have one dull moment. Songs like Adiyae Kolluthe from Vaaranam Aayiram, Take it easy Urvasi from Kadhalan, Masakali from Delhi 6, Dance pe chance from Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi and Chikku Bukku Raile from Gentleman got crazy fans dancing around their seats. The most awaited hit song Omana Penne from Vinnaithaandi Varuvaya, which Benny dedicated to all the women in the audience, got a well-deserved standing ovation. There was also a special medley sung as a tribute to Michael Jackson, A R Rahman, Ilayaraja and R D Burman.Benny used the time between songs to welcome celebrities who were spotted in the auditorium. He ensured special attention was given to actors Suhasini, Sneha and Prasanna, director Mani Ratnam, singer couple Srilekha Parthasarathy and Sriram.The organisers, SAGA Charitable Trust, who put together the fundraiser to add two mobile vehicles to educate people on organ donation and train them to better handle emergencies, drove their message home to their audience. The evening made people smile, cheer, go crazy and feel enlightened, as Benny Dayal kept everyone’s feet tapping, while the message SAGA put forth was taken back as food for thought.