BREATHLESS BOLLYWOOD

If the true measure of a show's success lies in turning the Esplanade Concert Hall into a dance floor, then the Shankar, Ehsaan, Loy show was a foot-thumping success.

Despite some official reviews once again throwing us into the category of the 'slow-to-warm' audience (has anyone told reviewers that this is the venue where one person has to stand up and the entire rows behind the first guy standing can't see a thing!) and we the audience are a gracious lot. We either sit together to let everyone enjoy the show, or we stand together to party through the night.

With the inimitable Shankar at the helm though its hard to stay glued to one's seats - unless of course, he happens to be belting out his love ballads.

This is my third brush with the performer extraordinaire. The first time was when the trio had performed at the IIFA Awards Ceremony. They had bagged the award they deserved for music direction for 'Kal Ho Na Ho' and were still gracious enough to do every single interview with all the stations who had their lights and cameras set up for the action.

As on stage, in person, they came across as immensely grounded. They were modest about their achievements, speaking more about the best that was yet to come, the number's that hadn't clicked and why some they imagined would be duds had turned out to be hotter than the rest. That ability to keep their feet firmly on the ground despite their global appeal is partly why they connect so well with audiences across all ages. My seven year old danced the night away and finished it all pining for a hot meal - we eventually settled for a cool Haagen Daz ice-cream instead, since that was all there was to offer at 11:30pm. Delighting her as well as the others across all ages were the hit numbers all the way from Dil Chahta Hai, KANK to Don.

And to think that the man who got us all standing almost ended up in the IT industry. In fact, in our studio interview, he mentioned that the minute he stepped into world of 'real jobs' he realised it wasn't for him. So IT's loss turned out to be rhytm's biggest gain. While his jingles, including Cadbury's 'Kuch Khaas Hai' (remember that!) made him a household voice, it was with the launch of his album 'Breathless' that Shankar truly arrived. The album held the number one slot on all major music charts in India for over 10 weeks. That's a feat that this talent trio were to repeat in years to come.

Experimenting with styles, the classically trained Shankar, blues-rock guitarist Ehsaan and the keyboard whizz Loy have created hit after hit right from Shool, Dillagi to Don. They rock like no one else and Saturday night was just another proof of that.