A R Rahman to debut in Mumbai

A R Rahman will stage his first concert in Mumbai for Smita Thackeray's Mukti Foundation on February 28.

Asked what made him agree to Thackeray's request, Rahman replied, "I have been involved in such programmes earlier. In Chennai, I did a similar programme for cancer patients."

Rahman's concert, Unity of Light, will take place at the suburban Andheri Sports Complex. Lending a supporting voice to Rahman are singers S P Balasubramanyam, Udit Narayan, Sonu Nigam, Hariharan, Shankar Mahadevan, Sukhwinder Singh, Sadhana Sargam, Alka Yagnik, Vasundhara Das and Mahalaxmi.

Smita Thackeray, Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray's daughter-in-law,

said, "I am a great fan of Rahman's music. Rahman is a very quiet person -- his music speaks. I attended his Hyderabad concert. It was a great experience. I am grateful he has agreed to do this programme for us."

Commenting on the AIDS situation in the country, she said, "It is shameful that our country has the second-highest number of AIDS patients in the world. I want to increase the awareness level of this disease among our countrymen. I want every person in this country to make an effort to eradicate it. I appeal to the people who are attending this concert to come with a candle or torch to make this programme a success."