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He's the toast of the season. All his songs have been chartbusters. His compositions have managed to sell movies on their sheer strength. But now, Reshammiya faces the biggest challenge of them all.
As he's all set to rock the US with a spate of concerts in July-August, he's also going to be taking his greatest inspiration, head-on. AR Rahman will perform in the US at the same time as Himesh, and it will be interesting to see who will win this mother of all battles.
A local show promoter says, "Himesh is very popular among Asians at large; not just Indians. Rahman may be a bigger name internationally but for the Asian community, it's Himesh all the way."
Himesh's tour is called Aap Ka Suroor Live In Concert and is being backed by one of the biggest names in the business, Vijay Taneja of Elite Entertainment while Rahman has tied up with the US-based Global Rhythms as partners for his shows.
The only difference is that while Rahman would be performing at just a handful of cities, Himesh would be taking his troupe all over the country and Canada as well, in a tour spanning over two months.
Incidentally, the average cost of a single Himesh Reshammiya show in the US is around 100,000 US dollars (approx Rs 47 lakh) and the ticket rates have been priced between $35 to $75 (approx Rs 1600 to Rs 3500). These would be classified as among the highest rates commanded by a music director.
Unfair comparison
According to show promoters, comparisons between the two are unfair because each one caters to a totally different audience. "Rahman's fan-following is among the mature audience; even foreigners come to his shows to hear his sound," says a Houston-based organiser.
Himesh's popularity, on the other hand, is more among the youth. "The youngsters are just crazy about his songs. This is his first tour and there's no doubt, it will be a huge success." Accompanying Himesh on the tour, are singers like Alisha Chinoy and Abhijeet Sawant.
Himesh, who is touted as the industry's hottest music director right now, has been Rahman's biggest fan for years now. He has even gone on records to say that Rahman is the only composer that he would agree to lend his voice for.
But now that he's been pitted against him directly in a war of shows, Himesh says, "I'm nothing compared to AR Rahman. Since I respect him a lot, I would prefer attending his shows to take his blessings before I head to perform at my concert. Also, if you will check with the organisers, you will know that the tickets for all my show are already sold out."
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