AR Rahman’s music in Vinnai Thaandi Varuvaayaa

Gautham Vasudev Menon’s Vinnai Thaandi Varuvaayaa starring Silambarasan and Trisha is almost complete but for a few shots and the climax scene. VTV, a breezy love story, has been shot in Chennai, Kerala and Malta. AR Rahman has composed some soulful music for the film and of the five songs for which he had composed music, three have already been shot. While the Hosanaa song has been rendered by the Jai Ho fame Vijay Prakash, AR Rahman has sung the song Omana Penne. Both these songs have been penned by Thamarai and choreographed by the Adiye Kolluthe fame Flexy Stu. Shot in Malta – Hosanaa and Omana Penne – have been captured exceedingly well by cinematographer Manoj Paramahamsa, sources say. It is expected that VTV would hit the marquee during the month of November.

Courtesy: behindwoods.com

When Rahman rubbed shoulders with Michelle Obama

Being voted one of the 100 most influential people by Time magazine has seen his popularity soar. Oscar-winning Indian composer A.R. Rahman not only got an opportunity to share the same platform with US First Lady Michelle Obama, he also had the whole audience in New York chanting “Jai ho”.

“At the function I was on the same table as Michelle Obama, Oprah Winfrey and the CEO of Time magazine. When I went up to the stage, a chant of ‘Jai ho’ (the Oscar-winning song from ‘Slumdog Millionaire’) went up in the house.”

The music maestro, who won two golden statuettes for his compositions in British filmmaker Danny Boyle’s underdog drama, says the awards have had a huge impact on his life.

“The impact of ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ has been tremendous. The western perception of Third World countries has changed. Earlier when some of the most talented musicians of Asia would approach western companies, they’d encounter stumbling blocks. Today that has changed. The west is ready to listen to us,” Rahman told IANS in an interview.

Rahman admits that dealing with the huge amount of attention after the Oscars has been unnerving.

“Yes, the Oscar changed my life. I can’t even attend places of prayer without being recognised. Even when I’m at malls in the US, kids freeze in recognition when they see me. I need to concentrate on my music. I’m not the kind of guy who can pull himself away from my music, attend functions, give interviews and get back to what I’m supposed to do. It’s like entering and leaving new cities,” he said.

Ever since the Oscar happened, the music maestro has been doing extensive travelling.

“It’s been a full roller-coaster ride for me in the past week… from New York to Dubai to Calicut, Pune, Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai… every day I’ve been in two cities. Can’t be helped. Everywhere they want to felicitate me and I can’t say no. How can I? Everyone was excited about my Oscar and wanted to share their excitement with me,” said Rahman, who will be conferred an honorary doctorate by the Aligarh Muslim University June 7.

He admits he is not able to spend time with his children.

“Luckily all three of my children are into music. So my kids and I are on the same wave-length. My wife dreamt of walking the red carpet with me to the Oscars. She can now dream of walking to the Oscars with our children,” said the 43-year-old.

“I’m slowly getting back to normal now,” said Rahman, now blocking away the Oscar euphoria to focus on his current work.

His forthcoming films are “Blue”, “London Dreams” and S. Shankar’s Tamil film “Endhiran”, which has Aishwarya Rai and Rajnikant in lead roles.

AR Rahman slams the writer of his unauthorised biography

Success comes at a price and it seems, to have cost AR Rahman his much-treasured privacy. The Mozart of Madras, who has the world grooving to his winning anthem ‘Jai Ho’ from Oscar favourite ‘Slumdog Millionaire’, is a peeved man these days and it’s all owing to the unending media glare and notorious individuals trying to cash on the reticent musicians’ success.

After several political parties used or rather abused his creation ‘Jai ho’ for their own political vendetta, it’s the musician’s much anticipated ‘authorised biography’ that is giving him sleepless nights.
The book titled ‘AR Rahman: The Musical Storm’ had been widely publicised as the singer’s biography and has made numerous headlines for being the singer’s only biography till date. But according to Rahman, the so-called ‘authorised biography’ is completely unauthorised as the writer Kamini Mathai has not received his consent.
Speaking to media a visibly piqued Rahman said, “The claim that it’s an authorised biography is wrong."
The singer is reportedly not amused by this cheap stunt used by the involved individuals to capitalise on his success.
A news daily even quoted a source as saying, “Though Rahman is oblivious to the outside world and doesn’t understand the commercial aspects of his superstardom, he isn’t oblivious to the ‘Cash in on Rahman’ factory that flourishes far and wide.”
And for a maestro, who is known for his originality, Rahman will be writing his own biography thereby, giving a first hand account of his life.
Now, that’s a read we are all looking forward too.

Courtesy: zeenews.com

Rahman global tour starts with ‘Jaye Ho’!

A.R. Rahman is gearing up for his first live performance after the double Oscar victory. He will perform on May 3rd at the Corporation Stadium, Kozhikode in Kerala. The show will be the first of a series of live performances across the globe which will help the Global Kerala Initiative-Keraleeyam raise awareness about HIV and help in the rehabilitation of HIV infected orphaned children. The concert has been named ‘Jaye Ho’ quite

appropriately after the song that brought home the Oscars. Other details about the show and its performers have not yet been revealed.

Courtesy: behindwoods.com

'Slumdog' dance an online craze

The stunning success of the "Slumdog Millionaire" movie continues to echo across the Internet by spawning a dance craze that has millions downloading various versions of that high-energy "Jai Ho (You are My Destiny)" dance that ends the film.
More than 60 videos are on You Tube alone, some from the movie but most home made by fans who are posting their own versions.
The best quality one is this remix from the film:

Next to the film version, the slickest version of the dance was the one performed by some professionals on Jay Leno's show as Oscar winner composer A.R. Rahman performed the song. Here it is:

Ellen Degeneres had the Slumdog cast on her TV show and she got them to demo it and teach the whole audience how:

Here's a beginner-level line dance walk through:

A half-dozen people have their kids doing Jai Ho dances. I'll spare you the invariably poor results.
Same with a long list of videos of couples and individuals who mistakenly think they have rhythm.
A bunch of kids in a church confirmation class from England did a version.

You get the idea. The dance is huge and getting even bigger because of Internet video sharing

Courtesy: freep.com

Rahman makes it to Billboard Hot 100 singles

When the Mozart of Madras, AR Rahman [Images], took home two Oscars [Images] at last month's 81st Academy Awards ceremony, it put an exclamation point on an exceptionally successful Hollywood awards season for India's favourite composer.
Amid the shower of awards and accolades, a clear verdict emerged: Tinsel Town has ackowledged and accepted Rahman's prodigious musical talents. In short, they understand why Rahman's name is magical for a billion-odd Indians.
But what about the common American? What does he know of Mr Rahman?
Quite a bit, actually.
In fact, Rahman has become the first Indian -- and by Indian, we mean born in India, raised in India and based in India -- to make it to the top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.
Yep, that's right: The release of the Pussycat Dolls version of his Oscar-winning song Jai Ho has quickly moved the single from number 100 to number 15 on the charts, with no sign of slowing [sales of both the original version of the song and the PCD's version are being combined by Billboard].
Of course, his current status as 'The Next Big Thing in Music' has made Rahman one of Hollywood's most wanted men. He andSlumdog Millionaire [Images] director Danny Bolye are reportedly being flooded with offers to collaborate again on celluloid.
And of all such rumours, there's none more juicy than this: Speculation in some insider circles has it that Boyle was recently asked to direct the 23rd James Bond [Images] film. And, given the tremendous success of Slumdog's soundtrack, it only makes sense to see Rahman and Boyle as part of the same package.
Wouldn't that be something?
Jai ho!


Courtesy: rediff.com

Rahman’s Jai Ho goes political

The Oscar winning song Jai Ho from the film Slumdog Millionaire will be used by the Congress party for its election campaign. Though other parties were contemplating on acquiring the rights of Jai Ho, Congress decided to act fast. Both the rights of the lyrics as well as the tune have been acquired. Jai Ho enamors everyone irrespective of the language and regional barriers and this has made the song a hot favorite among the political parties.

Courtesy: behindwoods.com

Michael Jackson falls for A R Rahman

India's double Oscar winner A.R. Rahman dedicated his awards to the younger generation as he returned home to a hero's welcome, with ace drummer Sivamani and his troupe providing a pulsating backdrop, and a large crowd of thousands dancing to the chant of Jai ho.

The awards, Rahman hoped, would change fans' approach towards Indian music and his career.

"It's a starting point in my career and will indeed make a difference in fans' approach towards good music," said Rahmanat the Anna International Air Terminal after returning from Los Angeles, where he bagged two golden statuettes for Slumdog Millionaire for Best Original Score and Best Original Song for Jai Ho.

"I am completely overwhelmed, touched, with the kind of reception I got... it is great to be back," he added.

With a broad smile, Rahman exuded love when he addressed reporters briefly.

"My award's message was said clearly in my acceptance speech. 'In my life, I always had a choice between love and hate and I chose love.' That is my philosophy in life and in music," Rahman said.


"I chose to live a life overriding differences between people, states, language and religion. My fans should do the same. Hollywood stars Michael Jackson and Penelope Cruz liked this attitude and told me its inherent love affected them deeply," Rahman said.

As fans congregated outside his home in the southwestern suburb of Kodambakkam, Rahman was keen to ensure that neighbours were not disturbed in the dead of night.

"Thank you for coming, but I will not disturb you so early. We will meet again. Remember we are in the early hours. I'm tired after a long journey, have to work in the morning and my children have to go to school," Rahman told applauding fans.

Also present at the airport to welcome the composer were state Information Minister Paruthi Ilamvazhuthi and offbeat actor R. Parthiban. The minister led a delegation from the state government's protocol department and gave the music maestro a welcome generally associated with heads of state.

While Sivamani's troupe performed, a little away was another team from Kerala playing traditional music to herald the return of the hero.

Commenting on his win, Rahman said: "When I won the second Oscar, I wanted to give a bigger message. We have a choice for love and hate for everything whether religion, caste, language - it is to choose love over hate whether in music or the philosophy of life.

"All the actors and directors in Hollywood loved the statement. Michael Jackson liked it too. It is not the highest point in my career, but it is a starting point of making a lot of difference.

"I hope my award inspires others as well," said Rahman.

Rahman will be felicitated March 1 by the Cine Musicians' Union, according to the body's press statement.

Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi, who will be discharged from hospital on March 1, may briefly attend the fete - not only in his official capacity but also as the elder statesman of the Tamil film industry, ruling DMK sources added.


Courtesy: ndtv.com

A R Rahman to be on Jay Leno show

In yet another instance of the worldwide acclaim garnered by ‘Slumdog Millionaire’, the movie's music director, Indian maestro A R Rahman is slated to perform live on one of America's most popular late-night talk shows, ‘The Tonight Show’ with Jay Leno.

The show, watched by millions worldwide, is considered to be among the definitive platforms for international recognition.
Rahman, has already won numerous international awards for his work in ‘Slumdog Millionaire’, including the BAFTA for Best Music Score, and has been nominated for three awards at the upcoming Academy Awards.
He will be performing on a stage graced by other musical greats like James Morrison, Celine Dion, Barry Manilow, Coldplay and Tracy Chapman. The song list for the episode remains a secret but the maestro is expected to play his Oscar-nominated song ‘Jai Ho’ from ‘Slumdog Millionaire’.
Rahman will be accompanied on the show by the leading lady of the film, Freida Pinto.


Courtesy: indianexpress.com

Pussycat Dolls to dance to A R Rahman’s 'Jai Ho'

After creating ripples in Hollywood, A R Rahman is gearing up to do a remix song for the all-girl American pop group Pussycat Dolls.

The Golden Globe winner and Oscar nominee, A R Rahman is the only Indian film musician to reach mammoth heights in international circuit. He is now going to remix-recreate his song ‘Jai Ho’ from Slumdog Millionaire sung by Sukhwinder Singh for a music video track by Pussycat Dolls.

This collaboration is being brought about by Rahman’s tie-up with American music producer Jimmy Lovine.


The Pussycat Dolls, a group of six fantastic, sexy females got their first success with their album PCD in 2005 and got Grammy nomination for their song 'Stickwitu'. The band comprises of lead singer Nicole Scherzinger, Melody Thornton, Ashley Roberts, Jessica Sutta, Kimberly Wyatt and Carmit Bachcr.

According to reports, the remix track of ‘Jai Ho’ is being produced by American singer and record maker Palow Da Don who has done albums with international artists like Will Smith, Fergie, Rich Boy and Usher.

The interest in ‘Jai Ho’ is sparked by its unique beat and melody which gives it the feel of a dance anthem.

Pussycat Dolls is a band famous for its steamy, sexy image, but Rahman seems to have no inhibition working with them.

Courtesy: apunkachoice.com