“So, what do you want me to perform?” asked composer Anirudh to his thousands of fans.

He didn’t receive any cheers or whistles. But there were hundreds of comments that kept piling on, so fast that the young composer couldn’t even keep track.

The scene was unfolding on YouTube, where Anirudh was performing a live web concert to make Tuesday evening a little extra special for his fans. “I’m very happy doing something like this in such tough times and entertaining you all,” said Anirudh, who urged people to ‘stay home and be safe’ during this lockdown period due to the Coronavirus scare.

From his debut flick 3 (Moonu), to the upcoming Vijay-starrer Master, Anirudh took his internet audience on a musical journey, as he dished out hit numbers like ‘Why This Kolaveri Di’, ‘Oh Penne’, ‘Aaluma Doluma’, ‘Marana Mass’ and ‘Kutti Story’ from eight years in his career.

All he had was a small keyboard (”I cannot recreate all songs completely here, sorry about that”) but once the composer took off, there was no stopping the ‘rockstar’, as he is popularly known in Kollywood. There was no set playlist that he had prior to the concert — he took requests from the comments and played them impromptu.

The standouts from the concert was his vocal rendition of ‘Aathi’ (Kaththi) and the theme music of Kaththi and ‘Vaathi Coming’, which had him showcasing his exemplary keyboard playing skills. ‘Yennai Matrum Kadhale’ from Naanum Rowdy Taan was another highlight, for it saw ‘singer’ Anirudh reach the musical heights that Sid Sriram achieved in the song. The composer also ensured to keep his Telugu fans happy by dishing out two numbers from his debut Telugu film Agnyathavaasi and Jersey. The Vijay-starrer Master, which happens to be Anirudh’s latest release, got some special treatment as the composer entertained listeners by performing a few lines from all the songs.

The ‘Anirudh Live’ was a unique experience for fans of popular Kollywood music, for it took place minus the chorus, crowds, cheers and the near-perfect acoustics that you usually associate with such performances. Some lyrics were missed, and some notes might have been off, but for that two-plus hours, Anirudh’s music spread cheer to thousands of fans worldwide who are indoors due to the coronavirus scare.