A R Rehman brings spice

If Andrew Lloyd Webber, John Williams and Barry Manilow were rolled together and reincarnated as an Indian film composer, you'd have A.R. Rahman.

One of the most successful Bollywood musicians of all time, he's also an accomplished singer whose work has crossed over to London's West End, Broadway and even Hollywood films. The composer and performer is making his Midwest debut this Saturday with a huge stage show at the Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates. The 11,000 seat venue is the kind of place typically reserved for Bollywood shows that feature major film stars lip-synching and dancing scenes from their most popular films.

This show, however, is just the opposite of those star spectacles, explains Rahman. "We do the songs ourselves and all of the singers sing for real," he says. "No lip-synching. That's a good thing."

Still, according to local South Asian entertainment producer Bhavesh Patel, these kinds of "singer shows attract a different audience than the ones with the stars."

But with 12 singers, 20 dancers, a laser show, 3-D light show and an array of pyrotechnics, Rahman's show should still offer plenty of eye candy.

On the phone from India with his 4-year-old son chiming in occasionally, the composer said that he was thrilled to be on his third U.S. tour which will bring him to the Chicago area for the first time. He promises a mix of his new works from more recent films such as "Sivaji," "Guru" and "Rang de Basanti" as well as his older, now "classic" works from "Roja," and "Dil Se."

Rahman, leading the band from his command center keyboards, will also present selections from his musicals "Bombay Dreams" and "Lord of the Rings" (currently at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane in London), which have expanded his influences, audiences and repertoire farther and farther West.

With so many constituencies to please, Rahman says he tries to keep his musical input loose. So what is he currently listening to on his iPod?

"Oh, loads of stuff," the composer says. "Andrea Bocelli, classical like Januschek and Ligeti and the whole best of Barbra Streisand double-CD."