The stage at Sir Mutha Venkata Subba Rao Concert Hall is dressed in shadow, the kind that makes you lean forward and wait for something to begin. A faint spill of light then catches the edges of the microphones, the outline of the conductor’s stand, and the shimmer of brass tucked into a corner. For a moment, the audience becomes a part of the frame: still waiting with bated breath for the first cue. Then, A night at the movies begins as the Mellow Circle choir steps forward.
Act I: The Overture
The opening chords of ‘A dream is a wish your heart makes’ fills the auditorium, the harmonies, a reminder that this choir has been at the heart of Chennai’s music scene for over two decades.
The Disney medley unfolded like shot of a film with ‘A whole new world’ gliding effortlessly into ‘I’ve got a dream’ followed by ‘When you wish upon a star’. When ‘Can you feel the love tonight’ arrived, accompanied by ballet movements that traced arcs across the stage, it felt less like a song and more like a scene — the kind that leaves a theatre hushed for a few seconds after the last note.
It was a gentle beginning, but it set a high bar. As Chrystal Farrell, retro band A26’s lead female vocalist, said later, “We wanted people to feel like they were stepping in to watch a movie, not just a concert. The choir gave us the perfect opening — that sweep of nostalgia and hope draw you in before you even realise.”
The choice of repertoire — music that speaks of resilience, joy, longing, and connection — seemed to reflect that purpose without becoming didactic. The opening chords of ‘A dream is a wish your heart makes’ filled the auditorium, their harmonies polished, yet warm, a reminder that this choir has been at the heart of Chennai’s community music scene for over two decades.
Act One: The Overture
A choir was also a part of the performance.
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Special Arrangement
It was a gentle beginning, but set a high bar. As Chrystal Farrell, A26’s lead female vocalist, said later, “We wanted people to feel like they were stepping into a film, not just a concert. The choir gave us the perfect opening — that sweep of nostalgia and hope that draws you in before you even realise it.”
Act Two: The Score Comes Alive
The shift in the mood was almost cinematic. As the choir stepped back, A26 took the stage with confidence. The opening chord of the Top Gun theme rang-out and the concert’s second act began with a rush of instrumental film themes. Mission: Impossible pulsed with tightly wound rhythm, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly carried the unmistakable whistle of a desert standoff, and The Godfather unfurled in Grayston Vaz’s guitar lines with a reverence usually reserved for orchestras.
“Some of the greatest scores in cinema are instrumental,” Chrystal pointed out. “We wanted to give them their due, but also make them ours. You can’t just copy an orchestra, so we reimagined them with our textures: guitar solos, trumpet accents, rhythm sections that still carry the drama.” From there, Pirates of the Caribbean galloped forward on Clifford Siquiera’s drumming, before Game of Thrones came as a brooding, late addition that fit so well it seemed inevitable.
Only then did the vocals arrive. ‘Nothing’s gonna stop us now’ served as both a title-card and declaration, bright and expansive. Mrs. Robinson traded Simon & Garfunkel’s folk edge for a looser, more playful tone. Skyfall followed — dark and deliberate, Chrystal’s lower register adding weight without tipping into imitation. ‘Life is a Highway’ sent the energy back into high gear, ‘Raindrops Keep Fallin on my head’ offered a breezy interlude, and ‘Shallow’ closed this sequence with the intimacy of a confession.
The Goan band — A26 — gave a high-energy performance in Chennai
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Special Arrangement
Throughout, the band — Lester Rodrigues (lead male vocals and guitar), Chrystal, Alfin Fernandes (on the keyboards and the trumpet), Ignatius Rodrigues (on the keyboards), Marwino Dacosta (on the bass and the flute), Grayston Vaz (on the lead guitar) and Clifford Siquiera (on the drums) — treated each song more like an original. There was room for detail: a trumpet line tucked into a chorus, a flute phrase catching the light, a guitar solo that played like a character’s inner monologue.
Act Three: The Ensemble Returns
The choir’s return marked another shift. ‘Tomorrow’ from Annie built-in careful layers, its optimism tempered by restraint. The senior ensemble moved into ‘Into the Unknown’ from Frozen II, their harmonies rising in waves that echoed the song’s cinematic urgency. The junior choir performed ‘I just can’t wait to be king’ from The Lion King, their bright, playful delivery earning smiles.
From there, A26 steered into familiar territory, offering a rock-and-roll-tinged Bollywood-medley and the Konkani classic: Godacho Panv. “Retro is coming back in a big way,” Chrystal said. “Songs from the 60s and the 70s had this live-band energy, clean harmonies and rhythms that crossed cultures. You can twist and waltz to them and they still feel fresh.”
Act Four: The Finale
The momentum climbed through ‘What a Feeling’ from Flashdance and the grit of Eye of the Tiger. By Footloose, the aisle had its first dancers. Audience who had sat through the instrumentals in quiet focus were now clapping in rhythm.
Ballet movements traced arcs across the stage, making it feel less like a number and more like a scene.
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Special Arrangement
The final stretch felt like a closing montage. The young ones carried a touch of youthful nostalgia before the opening chords of ‘Time of my life’ signalled the finale. The choir and band filled the stage, the audience joined in the chorus, blurring the line between performer and spectator in those last minutes.
“We first did this in Canada,” Chrystal shared. “Now that the production is tight, we want to take it to Mumbai, Bengaluru, maybe Dubai. It’s a format that allows us to stretch as musicians and connects us with the audience in a different way.
A Night at the Movies was staged to raise funds for the Prathyasha Home for Destitute Women.
Published – August 12, 2025 03:53 pm IST
