Will A.R. Rahman get an Oscar?

The Indian maestro A.R. Rahman has just completed a new English movie, Elizabeth: The Golden Age, directed by Shekar Kapur - an Indian as well. It is a sequel of Shekar’s very popular - Oscar winner and multiple Oscar nominee - Elizabeth. Big names like Kate Blanchett, Oscar nominee Clive Owen and Geoffrey Rush are involved in this project.

The first movie was made at a budget of $25 million and garnered more than $60 million all over the world, and also bagged an Oscar for the best make up. Apart from this, it was also nominated for the Best Actress in a Leading Role award, Best Art Direction-Set Decoration award, Best Cinematography award, Best Costume Design, including Best Picture award and not to forget the Best Music - Original Dramatic Score by David Hirschfelder. David will also work in this colossal project along with A.R. Rahman. The sequel of Elizabeth is getting much bigger with much higher budget. Also, chances are high for A.R. Rahman to be nominated for an Oscar. Shekar Kapur, one of the finest directors that India has ever produced is very optimistic about this movie. It will be released in the US this October and Indian audience can catch this movie in the theatres only by next year. Hope we get good news by January and better news by March. Behindwoods has only one thing to say to Rahman: “We will pray for you brother”. Courtesy: Behindwoods.com

A.R.Rahman given clean chit

The controversy surrounding the Jana Gana Mana album by A.R.Rahman came to an end today, with the Chief Justice A.P. Shah and Justice Jyothimani dismissing the petition to ban the album. According to the petitioner, Mohanraj, General Secretary of Jebamani Janata Party, the music director’s intention to release the album was to cash in on the national anthem.

Moreover, he alleged that the national anthem should be sung within stipulated seconds but Rahman has sung it for over seven minutes.
The judges, while dismissing the petition on both counts, said that it is the right of the citizens to sing the national anthem and it cannot be deemed as an act of disrespect. Also they gave the verdict that there is no such rule as to the stipulated time.

Courtesy: Behindwoods.com

A.R. Rahman may get three years imprisonment

A.R. Rahman – the proud Indian he has always been, had released Vande Mataram on the occasion of the 50th year of independence and in the 60th year he came up with an album "Jana Gana Mana". Even though the intentions were good, he seems to have forgotten that there is a law that the national anthem should be sung in a specific way and should be finished within the stipulated seconds.

And if done otherwise it is deemed as disrespect to the national anthem and could attract a sentence of a maximum of three years imprisonment. And now many people are ready to sue Rahman for this action. "Do good, there will be none to support; do good, there will be hundreds to find fault". How true is this statement! Courtesy: Behindwoods.com

Rahman exclusive interview in Vikatan.com

Courtesy: Vikatan.com

A R RAHMAN Jana Gana Mana album 60th Independence Day

"A.R. Rahman’s gift for the 60th Independence Day By Behindwoods News Bureau. August 13, 2007 Music director A.R. Rahman has recently launched the Jana Gana Mana album to commemorate the 60th anniversary of India’s independence. Readers may be aware that the maestro, for the golden jubilee Independence Day celebrations, had released a similar album “Vande Mataram”. A.R.Rahman A.R. Rahman, while speaking at the function organised by the Times Music, which is releasing the album, said that some of the best voices in India have been roped in to sing for this album. They are, Bhimsen Jhoshi, Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle, S.P. Balasubramaniam, Jasraj, Ustad Amjad Ali Khan and the maestro himself. About 80 music instruments have been used for this song. This is probably the first time that so many instruments have been used for a single song. According to Rahman: “the music album emphasises on the economic development of our country and stresses on the need for tolerance among the citizens.”"

Courtesy: Behindwoods.com

Rahman releases 'Jana Gana Mana'

CHENNAI: A decade after he sang "Vande Mataram" to reflect of the mood of the nation when it turned 50, A R Rahman released "Jana Gana Mana", his version of the
national anthem here on Saturday.

The album -- which features some of the biggest names of the Indian music industry, ranging from D K Pattammal to S P Balasubramanium and Balamuralikrishna to Lata Mangeshkar -- is another venture from the Bharatbala-Rahman duo that was behind
"Vande Mataram" in 1997.

Speaking at the packed Music World store at Spencer Plaza here, Rahman said it was of great value to score music for the national anthem.

Responding to a query, he said he could not single out any particular singer from a collection of 35 soundtracks as his favourite. "Everybody is so impressive," he said.

The man, who is now tasting success in the international arena, has not performed any solo number on the album and declined to say why this was so.

Bharatbala, the producer of "Jana Gana Mana", appreciated Rahman's support for the venture.

Courtesy: DnaIndia.com

Rahman, Gulzar release album on `Jana Gana Mana`

Mumbai, Aug 11: As India is all set to celebrate 60 years of independence, musical genius A R Rahman, film maker and lyricist Gulzar and Bharatbala released an exclusive collection of renderings of the national anthem by musical maestroes of India. The music for the album has been given by A R Rahman. In a firstof its kind creation, the legends lending their voices include Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, Pandit Jasraj, D K Pattamal, Lata Mangeshkar, Pandit Hari Prasad Chaurasia, Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, Bhupen Hazarika, Asha Bhonsle, Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma, Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, Ustad Sultan Khan, Amaan And Ayaan Ali Bangash, Rahul Sharma, Vikku Vinayakram, Uma Shankar, Kadri Gopalnath, Ravikiran, E Gayathri,Pandit Kartick Kumar, Hariharan, Kavita Krishnamurthy and many more. This collectors edition which is available in a set of a special booklet, a DVD and an audio CD is set across the vast landscape ofIndia. The set also includes the national anthem picturised on theIndian army. The album has been shot at 21,000 feet in the icy glacier of Siachin. Speaking to reporters yesterday A R Rahman said, ``the greatness of this concept is the humbleness it reflects, the legends praising their motherland in their unique way is an experience in itself andI enjoyed every moment of being associated with it.`` Speaking on the occasion Gulzar said, ``Bharatbala has a habit ofdoing beautiful and unique things and from the genius Rahman we cannext expect a fresh new version of `Sare Jahan Se Acha`.`` Bharatbala productions is a film production house led by Bharatbala and Kanika Myer who have made more than 500 television commercials for indian and international brands in the past fifteen years. Their well-known projects are `Vandemataram` which was the finalist at the prestigious Cannes and New York film festivals.Bharatbala productions have also conceptualised and filmed the`Incredible India` campaign.

Courtesy: Zeenews.com

Freedom gets a voice!

A R Rahman: A proud Indian (TOI Photo) Rahman uses 80 instruments to give Bharatbala a symphonic version of Jana Gana Mana. He’s the voice, brains, soul and the music behind some of the most memorable tunes of our time. And when A R Rahman isn’t spinning out songs that have propelled him to the rarefied ranks of the world’s top 25 selling artistes, in between flicks of the scrollwheel on his P990 smartphone (BT caught him en route to an album launch at a suburban mall), he talks about freedom. Think Jana Gana Mana , and think India in all her avatars, and that’s what inspired the Bharatbala-Rahman combine to create audio and visual renderings of the National Anthem, originally penned by Rabindranath Tagore. This album, released on Times Music, is a tribute to the feeling of pride and unity evoked by the anthem. “India’s progressing very well economically but there should be more tolerance. People need to have balance in whatever they do,” Rahman muses. True to his musical versatility, he’s also done a symphonic version of the National Anthem. “I used around 80 instruments for this one. It took a while for us to put it all together.” Four years, to be precise. And it’s not just Rahman who’s added his prodigious talents to this project. That singular emotion of patriotism has been rendered by the likes of Pt Bhimsen Joshi, Lata Mageshkar, Pt Jasraj, Asha Bhonsle, Pt Hariprasad Chaurasia, Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, Pt Shivkumar Sharma and Jagjit Singh, to name a few. Speaking about the kind of treatment they visualised for the songs, Kanika Myer, of the production house, adds, “We wanted to re-render it keeping the original tunes in mind. We didn’t want it to sound like something you have to listen to but rather like something you’d want to listen to.” And indeed, there’s no song which thrills the heartbeat of a nation as successfully as our anthem. “It is important to give people what they love,” says the maestro. A perfectionist to the core, he adds, “I spend a lot of time on whatever I do. The older you become, the more you like melody and soothing music. There’s so much of chaos out there in the world, I feel like doing something which calms the mind.” And what does he listen to when he wants peace? “Sometimes, it’s just pure classical like Andrea Bocelli,” he says. Courtesy: TimesofIndia.com

Rahman releases new patriotic album

Music maestro A R Rahman and M C Maryko at a launch function in New Delhi.

Noted composer AR Rahman Saturday released a new album based on the national anthem here.

The album was released just ahead of India's Independence Day at the Chennai Music World store in Spencer Plaza.

The DVD album was produced by BharatBala Productions, makers of the feature film Hari Om for the BBC, and the "Incredible India" advertising campaign.

The new album has 35 soundtracks, including tracks from Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhonsle, Balamuralikrishna, noted Carnatic singer D.K Pattammal and S.P. Balasubramanium.

Rahman had earlier done an album on 'Vande Mataram', another patriotic song.

Courtesy: Hindustantimes.com

A.R. Rahman promotes new album

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‘Jana Gana Mana’ is

a unique collection of national anthems by musical maestros

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— Photo: R. Ragu

One of a kind: Music director A.R. Rahman with producer Bharatbala at the launch of the album in Chennai on Saturday.

CHENNAI: There was no place to move. Hardly any to breathe. Bodies jostled against one another, racks of music trembled and security guards shouted themselves hoarse trying to bring order to the situation.

The usually well-disciplined crowd at Music World in Spencer Plaza, though, was not going to be decorous today. Not when A.R. Rahman was on the premises.

Fans, music lovers and shoppers crowded the store as the renowned music director arrived here on Saturday to promote his new album ‘Jana Gana Mana.’

Around 300 people stood on their toes, peered over shoulders and waved camera cell-phones yelling excitedly to Rahman. “This is a very rare album. I really enjoyed doing it,” the famed composer-director-singer said.

“The album is a unique collection of national anthems by musical maestros,” said Bharatbala, one of the producers. The album, by Bharatbala Productions, was launched to coincide with the country’s 60th year of independence.

It consists of 25 films of renditions of the national anthem set in various parts of India including the Siachen glacier, in the DVD version. In the audio CD version there are 35 tracks of the anthem rendered by artists including Lata Mangeshkar, Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, Hariharan, S.P. Balasubramanium, Kavita Krishnamurthy, Amaan Ali Bangash and Uma Shankar among others. The music has been composed by A.R. Rahman.

Around 100 ‘Jana Gana Mana’ albums were sold at the store on Saturday alone.

Courtesy: Hindu.com

Will Robot have A.R.Rahman?

Shankar has always trusted Rahman in the music department and their combination has always managed to weave a magical spell on the listeners. Of course, Shankar did opt for Harris Jeyaraj for Anniyan, but yet the duo bounced back with the blockbuster Sivaji. Now Shankar is ready to take his second Hindi movie with the King Khan, tentatively titled Robot.

A.R.Rahman recently opted out of Shahrukh Khan’s production “Om Shanthi Om” due to misunderstanding. Rahman's demand for a share in the royalty for a song did not go well with Shahrukh which explained the reason for the former’s withdrawal from the project. Now that Robot is finalized and Shahrukh Khan will also be producing the film it has to be seen whether A.R.Rahman is still considered for the movie, Even though the maestro has denied any grudges against Shahrukh khan, let us wait for the news.

Courtesy: Behindwoods.com

A pat from Rahman

Acclaimed music composer A R Rahman has heaped laurels on young debutant director Kala Prabhu after seeing few rushes of Sakkarakatti.

The movie has songs set to tunes by Rahman and is produced by Kalapuli S Dhanu. Rahman has appreciated Kala Prabhu and said,” He reminds him of director Shankar in his early days”.

“The way in which the songs are canned by Kala Prabhu has surprised me. He has immense potential”, says Rahman.

The movie features Shanthanu, son of actor-director K Bhagyaraj is lead role. Pat from Rahman has certainly raised expectations for the movie.

Courtesy: Indiaglitz.com