AR Rahman to put up grand musical show in Los Angeles

After Hrs has learnt that AR Rahman is putting up a grand musical show in Los Angeles before the premiere of his forthcoming Hollywood venture.

It promises to be a first-of-its-kind event in Hollywood and the guest list includes Hollywood A-listers like Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, Owen Wilson and Sean Penn, besides David and Victoria Beckham, among others. Incidentally, they are all friends of actor Vince Vaugh, who has written the script of the film.

A source close to the development says, "For this grand musical night, Rahman will belt out numbers from his English movie Couples Retreat. Atlanta Soul singer PJ Morton has sung one track in the movie and will also feature in this event alongside Rahman. This will be very different from the usual formal premiere nights in Hollywood. Since the movie has an Indian collaboration, the idea was to add a lot of vibrancy, colour and music."

Rahman's special aide confirmed the news saying, "A big event is being planned in Los Angeles where the who's who of America will be present. The movie's premiere is definitely going to be a star-studded affair but we cannot share the complete guest list."

Courtesy: dnaindia.com

Rahman takes Tamil to Hollywood

For the first time in the history of Hollywood, a full-length Tamil song would feature in 'Couples Retreat', thanks to 'Mozart of Madras' A R Rahman.

The number 'Kurukuru Kan....' has been sung by Afro Nisha, whose voice has a striking resemblence to that of Rahman.

The Oscar award winning music composer said a few days back that his music for 'Couples Retreat' would be completely Western but with a touch of Indianess.

"There's no point in doing something I've already done. I've reached a stage where I've to do new things. There're so many avenues to be explored. So Couples Retreat will be their kind of music with my touch, done in my way," Rahman said.

Directed by Peter Billingsley, the comedy revolves around four couples who settle into a tropical island resort for a vacation. While one of the couples is there to work on the marriage, the others fail to realise that participation in the resort's therapy sessions is not optional. It stars actors like Jason Bateman, Vince Vaughn, Malin Akerman and Kristen Bell.

Courtesy: indiaglitz.com

A.R. Rahman inks with UMPG

A.R. Rahman, the singer-composer who walked away with two Oscars for his song and score work in "Slumdog Millionaire," has inked an exclusive, worldwide publishing pact, excluding India, with Universal Music Publishing Group.

The deal with Rahman -- whose Indian credits exceed 100 films and whose pic scores and soundtracks have sold more than 100 millions units worldwide -- includes large portions of his catalog as well as new music. Rights to the "Slumdog" music will be included in the UMPG deal.

"That fact that he is a two-time Oscar winner has really elevated his visibility and notoriety globally," David Renzer, chairman and CEO of UMPG, told Daily Variety.

The Rahman deal, Renzer said, fits the company's strategy of film and television music being "one of the key areas that we are focused on."

Rahman, who previously did not have an overall publishing deal, is finishing the music for Universal's "Couples Retreat," starring Vince Vaughn, and will soon be going into the studio with producer Jimmy Iovine, chairman of UMG label Interscope Geffen A&M Records, to create the music for an album featuring guest vocalists.