grandMA3 Takes Centre Stage at Yo Yo Honey Singh’s Electrifying “Millionaire India Tour”

Lighting designers Bala Subramanya (better known as Vinod), and Guru Somayaji of 369 Design Lab turned up the adrenaline for Indian rapper Yo Yo Honey Singh’s “Millionaire India Tour”, specifying a grandMA3 system from MA Lighting to power the lighting control across ten major cities. Known for his magnetic stage presence and boundless energy, Honey Singh’s larger-than-life production was matched by an equally dynamic visual spectacle that had fans raving nationwide.

Having relied on grandMA systems for years—Vinod since 2014 and Guru since 2018—the duo’s choice of grandMA3 for this tour came down to its power, flexibility, and ease of use. “We needed a robust control solution that was MVR-friendly,” explained Guru. “As a design studio, we often use Vectorworks, so the workflow and ability to quickly and cleanly export data made grandMA3 an obvious choice.” 369 Design Lab, which now works exclusively on grandMA3 systems, ensured all its LDs were fully adapted to the latest software version 2.3.

With three distinct stage design versions crafted to suit varying venues and a packed tour schedule, time was of the essence. Lighting rental vendor SSL Lights from Mumbai supplied four grandMA3 full-size consoles and two grandMA3 processing unit L for the tour, alongside over 350 lighting fixtures. To handle the intricate wristband visuals, 369 Design Lab also used a grandMA3 onPC 2Port Node to control Xylo wristbands separately, with two devices at each site.

Collaboration was key to the tour’s visual success. 369 Design Lab worked closely with Pixadoo Visuals, whose VJ Kaycee took on the role of creative director and strategist. “His experience and wizardry at executing large-scale concerts and events were a massive asset,” Guru shared. Together, 369 Design Lab and Pixadoo developed the trussing layout, stage design, and lighting plot, blending light, visuals, and stage architecture into a seamless sensory experience.

The creative process began with Vinod’s sketches—simple pen and paper explorations that evolved into detailed Vectorworks drawings. Once the designs were finalised, Vinod relocated the entire 369 Design Lab setup, including the Vectorworks 2025 desktop server, to Mumbai for the final production stages. On tour, Vinod and Guru shared front-of-house operating duties, supported by Albin Biju as the second lighting operator and FOH laser specialist. Initially, the plan was to run two grandMA3 consoles in a live/backup setup, but as the show developed, the team opted to run them in tandem for maximum flexibility.

Stage and effects lighting were controlled by the primary LD—either Vinod or Guru—while Albin focused on lasers and key lighting for the cameras, with the nightly recordings demanding precise haze management to make the lasers pop. The lasers were run via Pangolin Beyond, triggered through the grandMA3 using Art-Net. Previsualisation was carried out with grandMA3’s inbuilt 3D viewer and Capture, with the team now also adopting Depence R4 for lighting and laser previsualisation, Beyond for laser programming, and Visual Productions’ TimeCore for timecode generation.

The tour featured three distinct design variants: an indoor setup for Mumbai’s NESCO Centre, a 360-degree show at New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi Stadium, and an outdoor configuration for all other cities. The outdoor systems were further divided between DDR 85 and DDR 86 designs. Ensuring consistency and quality across the tour, the same production partners were engaged throughout—SSL Lights, Mumbai for lighting and consoles; SFX from Shrijee FX Indore for special effects; Laser VIBGYOR New Delhi for lasers; and Giant Truss as the trussing supplier.

With just three weeks from green light to the first load-in, the pressure was immense—but the results spoke volumes. “This is one of the benefits of being a great team and working with fantastic equipment like grandMA3, which helps us achieve our goals of presenting the very best show for our client and experience for the audience,” concluded Guru.