AR Rahman backs out of Abhi-Ash starrer

Months after Dhoon was announced, we heard that AR Rahman would not be composing the music for it any more. Dhoon is cinematographer Rajiv Menon’s Hindi directorial debut vehicle.

Toplining Aishwarya Rai and Abhishek Bachchan, the film, produced by Eros Entertainment, is a musical based on a couple whose professional lives affect their personal relationship.. and how they eventually sort out their differences.

According to an industry source, the work on the music was scheduled to start by now. Rahman had agreed to score the music for Menon’s film before Slumdog Millionnaire and his Oscar Awards.

“But after the Oscar nominations, Rahman had to commit to a couple of projects, which were priority over his films. But he hasn’t yet started composing for them,” our source informed.

The same source added, “After that, Mani Ratnam developed a heart problem and had to be hospitalised for a few days. Consequently, Ratnam’s Raavan with Abhishek and Aishwarya was delayed and Rahman had to reschedule a couple of his other assignments.”

In the interim, Menon was working on the final draft of his film and was scheduled to commence work on the music a little later. Now with Rahman’s dates being rescheduled, Menon is worried that the project will get delayed indefinitely.

So, he is considering other composers who will step into the Oscar winner’s shoes.

“Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy and Vishal-Shekhar are some of the names under consideration although Menon still hasn’t had a formal discussion with them,” our source added.

Menon refused to comment on his change of plans. All he said was, “It’s too early to say anything definite. Perhaps, in a month or so, I will be able to divulge some details.”

'Aamir is not difficult to work with'

Aamir Khan is going all out to launch his nephew Imraan Khan in Abbas Tyrewala's Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na, and has roped in the best to make the film successful.

That would, of course, include A R Rahman.

Rahman gave us a sneak preview of the music in his own voice. Listen to it here. He also spoke to Nithya Ramani and Syed Firdaus Ashraf about the film. Excerpts:

How does it feel working with Abbas Tyrewala?

This is a completely new team for me. So working with him was a little strange in the beginning. Then, we got used to each other. When the music was done, Aamir was happy and appreciated it. He said that the two of us made a good team.

Was it difficult working with Aamir and producer Mansoor Khan?

Aamir is not difficult to work with. It's just that when he gets excited about something, he likes the integrity of the same thing. And when something goes wrong, he wants to bring the integrity back. He likes to balance the whole project. He is a great producer.

Was Aamir involved in the music of his films?

We last worked during Rang De Basanti . I just get just feedback from him. He is more involved in the music of Gajini than any of his previous films.

Whats the best part about 2008 yet?

The best part of 2008 for me is the launch of my music conservatory. It's very important to me, and a completely different road. I am looking forward to this exciting venture.

What was your reason for opening this school?

The time has come to start, so that we could have an orchestra. We have got about 1,000 queries and managing director Selvakumar is in the process of replying to it. It is about musicians. Only if you have musicians, you can have composers. [We want] to create a pallate of players for future composers. If they don't have musicians, they will make music out of computers. By this, they might lose the joy of listening to live music and composing from that.

Are you scoring the music for Rajiv Menon's Dhun?

Yes, we are in the process of getting it finalised.

You were supposed to go to Cannes Film Festival this year. Why did you not go?

That was very strange. I saw it in the newspapers. I had other commitments, and they called me on a very short notice. So I could not go.

Courtesy: rediff.com

Ash-Abhishek in Sapnay director's next

Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai seem to have become an inseparable onscreen couple after marriage. After Guru and the upcoming Sarkar Raj, they will be seen together in Rajiv Menon's new film, Dhun. It will be produced by Eros Entertainment.

Dhun is a musical love story, and will feature eight songs.

"I want to bring out the essence of music and the unsaid emotions in this film. This film is especially for music lovers," said Menon, who has earlier directed films like the Kajol-Prabhu Deva starrer Sapnay and Mammootty-Ash-Tabu starrer Kandokondain Kandokondain.


Menon hopes that A R Rahman will score the music for his film.

But Menon refuses to talk about the film in detail. "I do not want to comment much about it because I am already facing trouble after revealing the title to a publication," he said.

When asked why he chose Ash and Abhishek, Menon replied, "After Guru, I narrated the script to Abhishek and he seemed interested. Ash also showed interest in the script, so I signed them up for Dhun. Whether stars are real life couples or not does not matter if they have the ability to fit into the character and pull it off well."

Menon worked with Ash and Abhishek in Guru, and claims that it is a pleasure being associated with them. "Both Ash and Abhishek are wonderful actors, and very committed," he said.

Before he turned to direction, Menon has worked in many of Mani Ratnam's movies, as a cinematographer. "Mani is a wonderful director. We have never had any creative differences. We always discuss scenes and situations before reaching the sets. We do not discuss anything on the sets but I still know how Mani wants the scene," he said.

But while he's all excited about his musical film, its the mythological and historical films that he hopes to direct some day.

Courtesy: rediff.com

A R Rahman's 10 best compositions

Recently, A R Rahman was asked, by The Hindustan Times, to shortlist his 10 best compositions. These are the films he chose:

Roja

The film starring Arvind Ramaswamy and Madhu made Rahman the darling of Bollywood. He was already a star in South India, but Roja marked his debut and led to a long-lasting impact on the Hindi film industry.


Rangeela

Urmila Matondkar redefined fashion for heroines with her gorgeous costumes in Rangeela. Aamir Khan was at his best, and Rahman's music was outstanding. Unfortunately, the film lost most awards that year to Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge.


Bombay

Mani Ratnam and Rahman paired up once again after Roja. Unfortunately, this film was mired in controversy as it explored the relationship between a Hindu boy and Muslim girl. Sonali Bendre, despite her brief appearance, will always be remembered for her Humma Humma.

Dil Se

Lyricist Gulzar and Rahman teamed up for this, one of the best albums of the 90s. The train song, Chhaiya Chhaiya, rendered by Sukhwinder, established him as a singer overnight. Unfortunately, the film was a disaster at the box office despite the music and Shah Rukh Khan playing the lead role.

Taal

It was an association between a Bollywood showman and the Mozart of the East. Subhash Ghai was riding high on the success of Pardes and paired up with Rahman instead of Nadeem-Shravan, who had composed songs for the earlier hit. The songs were huge, but the film did average business.

Kandukonden Kandukonden

It was a marriage between Bollywood heroines and Kollywood. The film had Aishwarya Rai, Tabu, Ajith and Mammooty. It was directed by Rajiv Menon and the songs were outstanding.

Zubeidaa

Directed by Shyam Benegal, this film yielded actress Karishma Kapoor's best performance to date. It was soon forgotten by audiences, but the songs continue to mesmerise.

Lagaan

The only Indian film to be nominated for a Best Foreign Film Oscar in recent memory. Lyricist Javed Akhtar and Rahman gave it their best.

Rang De Basanti

Only a genius like Rahman, coming from Chennai, can make singer Daler Mehendi sound the way he did in Rang De Basanti. A slow track from Lata Mangeshkar, Lukka Chuppi Bahut Hui, was also soothing.

Guru

In November 2006, when Aishwarya did Umrao Jaan with Abhishek Bachchan, there was no obvious chemistry between them. Three months later, when Guru was released, the couple performed a miracle at the box office. Guru became the first big hit of 2007, and the song Tere Bina sung by Rahman went on and on during the Abhi-Ash wedding.

14 years after Roja, Rahman proved once again there was no one quite like him.

Courtesy: Rediff.com