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The singer says that the audience for the ghazal form of music has only increased over the last few years. He added that he tries to improvise on this ghazals and this brings a lot of audience to his concerts. Interestingly, the singer only performs for a cause nowadays. |
To say that A R Rahman has had a busy day is nothing new but he had an extraordinarily hectic day on Saturday last week. In between giving the finishing touches to the score for Delhi-6 and taking in over a dozen congratulatory messages following three Oscar nominations for his work in Slumdog Millionaire, he was also getting ready to fly to Los Angeles to join fellow Oscar nominees at a formal dinner. The following interview with rediff.com's Arthur J Pais was conducted in his Chennai office.
How did you hear about your Oscar nominations?
I watched the live announcements on TV. You know they announce on TV just a few nominations including the best picture, director, script and the actors. The announcements were over and I switched off the TV and got ready for another working day at my studio in Chennai.
Just then I got a call from my agent in Hollywood, and I heard him say something about three nominations for Slumdog Millionaire. And I told him, Yes, I watched the TV and I know the film has received three nominations. He then said, you have received three nominations and in all the film had received 10.
You surely were expecting the nominations, weren't you?
I did not think seriously about the prospects. I am like the film's director Danny Boyle. You do your work and hope things work out well. Frankly speaking, I was very surprised that I got three nominations, two of them going for the songs. Some of my songs in Water and Rang De Basanti have made to the short list, and yet I was very surprised with the three nominations for Slumdog in two categories.
Why were you surprised?
I knew Jai Ho was a hit. I had heard about people cheering the song wherever the film has been shown. I though it would be okay to push for one song (for nominations) but MIA (who joined him in writing and singing O Saya) thought we should push that song too. And she proved to be absolutely right.
What happened to you when you heard of the three nominations for you? I was happy for all the nominations the film had received. And I felt people in India will continue to be proud of this film. I was feeling very gloomy and I was very upset before the nominations were announced. I could not understand why and how some people had made the film controversial. I was deeply disturbed by the controversies. I was hurt. I knew the film was made with good intentions, and it shows in every scene in the film.
I always believed that this film is about goodness triumphing over evil. It sent out the message that life was indeed worth living and that all of us can come out of the darkness.
I also knew the film was about pure love and that it also celebrated the human spirit. There is a lot of negativity around us but here is a film that showed that people can actually overcome the divisions among ourselves and go beyond the things that are hurting us. It is a film all Indians can relate to and we ought to be proud that we are associated with it.
Director Danny Boyle says he just could not believe how excited you were when he offered you the film.
(Laughs). I was very exhausted when he met me over a year ago. I thought I was not going to do a film for a few months. When I saw the rough cut of Slumdog Millionaire, I knew I had to do the film. He wanted me to do a few songs but I said I wanted to do more.
Like what?
He had wanted some old songs to be used in the film. For instance the Choli Ke Peeche number. I offered to create my own version and that is how Ringa Ringa came into existence. And I was going to do the background score, too.
And how many days did all this take?
This is one of the fastest works I have ever done for a film. The songs and the rest of the score were done in just about 15 days.
You have said that when you took up Slumdog, you had to sacrifice a couple of movie projects.True, especially Ashutosh Gowarikar's What's Your Raashee? We worked together for Lagaan, Swades and Jodhaa-Akbar. All three were acclaimed and all box-office hits.
What went through your mind when you jumped at Slumdog?
I knew one doesn't get such an offer every day, and that the film could touch many people. One never thought of it getting any nominations or turning into a big hit. The film was showing only in about 500 theatres in America, and now it has expanded (grossing about $56 million in less than three months). I also felt that having worked with Ashutosh three times, I needed a break. And he too felt the same way. We said we will work together some time soon.
Another composer might have worried that he (Gowarikar) might not return to him.
(Chuckles) I believe what is my share would always come to me, and what isn't mine will not be there.
Have you also missed out other films because you were busy with other assignments?
There are quite a few. I could not take up Dil Chahta Hai. Also, Bunty Aur Babli. But I am glad that Shankar (Ehsaan and Loy) were able to shine in these films. I love their work in these films.
When you received the Golden Globe for Slumdog Millionaire the first thing you did was thank the Almighty.
I believe in the saying that if you recognise God in the smaller gatherings, God will recognise you in the larger gatherings. I don't consider myself a religious person, but I am inclined to be spiritual. When I pray, I do it hoping to be a better person, a better spiritual person.
You have worked again with director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra recently.
I enjoyed working with him for Rang De Basanti and now we have completed Delhi-6. He is a visionary, and he is very focussed. He knows how to make the best use of a composer, and everyone associated with the film.
One of the much discussed songs in Delhi-6 is Bhor Bhaye and it uses the voices of Shreya and Bade Ghulam Ali Khan.
I heard Bade Ghulam Ali Khan's classic just about four years ago when I was buying classical Indian music at Rhythm House in Mumbai. I thought the song was divine. It was profound and yet it was accessible to anyone who had good musical sensibilities. There was no gimmicks in the song. I wondered why I had not heard it before.
What did you want to do with the song when you first heard it?
I heard it again and again and again. Then I discussed with Ashutosh Gowarikar the possibility of using it in Jodhaa-Akbar, but we could not find a situation for it. Here (in Delhi-6), it works very well. We have the song in his voice and we have Shreya singing the same song in such a way that you get the feeling that she (actress Sonam Kapoor) is learning to sing it.
The song Masakalli became a hit overnight.
It is a catchy song, and it is a matter of days that people get used to the other songs in the film. Mohit Chauhan and I had worked well in Rang De Basanti, and I wanted to work with him again. And this was an excellent opportunity. I felt he could bring freshness to the tune. There is laughter in the song, and an immediate appeal. The musical situations in the movie are quite interesting. Have you heard of a song that features pigeons, at least in recent films?
Tell us about the qawwali in Delhi-6.You listen to it carefully and you get to feel what Delhi-6 is about. I wanted Javed Ali for this song, and to give it some edginess, I added Kailash Kher's voice.
You also found an opportunity to sing the lovely Rehna Tu number.
(Chuckles). It is not always easy in the singer in me to persuade the composer in me. I think I was selfish but I wanted to sing Rehna Tu.
You use many voices in your films but we haven't heard songs by some of your favourites like Sadhana Sargam in your recent films.
(Chuckles). I think I am becoming forgetful like Ghajini. Some times what happens is that my assistants show me a list of singers and I pick from the list. Yes, I have not done justice in recent months to some extraordinary voices. I would, for instance, like to use Hariharan's voice more often. And I thought of this when I recently recorded a song with him for Rajnikant's Tamil film Robot.
You seem to enjoy a great deal working with Sukhvinder Singh, and now that Jai Ho is a big hit.
Working with Sukhi means you don't have to start from the first note. You can start at any level and work with him through the rest of the tune. He gets charged with a tune he really loves but one has to be careful while working with him (chuckles). He can meander. He loves to improvise. But there was no scope for such a thing with Jai Ho. The tune was set, and it was going to be pictured on dancers. And Sukhi surely enjoyed singing the song.
Courtesy: rediff.com
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| musician. The winner of this contest will get a guitar that is autographed by Rahman! Playback singers Unnikrishnan, Srinivas and Sujatha will be the judges in the show. Harini, Tippu, Karthik will share some important aspects about working with A.R. Rahman. The show will be telecast at 9 pm on the Republic Day. |
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| Mani’s brother in the film hands over the mangalsutra to the bride groom- a new face- who ties it around Priya’s neck. Following this, Prithiviraj shoots Priya Mani ensuing in a fiery action sequences between Vikram and Prithviraj. Vaiyapuri, the comedian plays a transgender in the film and his character is reported to be very crucial to the film. Ashoka Vanam is said to be inspired from the Hindu holy epic Ramayana. Suhasini Mani Ratnam is penning the dialogues for the Tamil version. |
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| Danny, Anil Kapoor, Javed Akhtar and Shabana Azmi, Shekhar Kapur, Vidhu Vinod Chopra and wife Anupama, Sudhir Mishra and Baba and Tanvi Azmi. | ||
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| The entire area surrounding the Satyam Theatre complex was swarmed with film personalities as many had made it a point to watch the preview of Slumdog Millionaire. The film was nominated for 10 Oscars and had already bagged three Golden Globe Awards. Those who made it to the event include A.R. Rahman’s mother, wife, daughter and sister, Narain and his wife, Kushbhu, Sundar C, Silambarasan, P.C. Sriram, Suhasini Maniratnam and Y.G. Mahendran among others. | ||
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After cashing in millions at the US box office, this Mumbai-based fairy tale is now here to woo millions of Indians. A young boy from the slums, Jamal Malik(Dev Patel) is on the verge of winning 2 crores from a 'Who wants to be a millionaire' contest (Kaun Banega Crorepati) But the host (Anil Kapoor) is too sure that a person from the slums cant possibly know all the answers, so he brings in an inspector(Irfan khan) who interrogates the boy; both are sure that he cheated. But only during the interrogation does the cop come to know of the life of Jamal, and how all the events that has happened in his life are the | ||||
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| Now coming to the Music by our Mozart Rahman who has also received the best original soundtrack Golden Globe and nods for this years Academy, is exquisite. When you see the movie you can sense Rahman's hard work in making each and every tune get along with the overall feel of the movie. Danny Boyle who is quite famous for his movies Trainspotting and 28 Days Later which became cult hits, has at-last given a blockbuster, a ticket to stardom has always eluded this master craftsman but this movie catapulted him to greatness. Dev Patel as Jamal Malik goes through the role quite easily. Freida Pinto also impresses even if she comes in a small role. Ayush Mahesh who acted as Jamal's younger version was a revelation. Irfan khan does his role in a dignified fashion, Saurabh Shukla is efficient as always, Anil Kapoor is passable. Overall, the movie is brilliant and lives up to the hype. If only the credit roll song sequence was pictured properly or removed, it could have elevated the movie much more. This tale about love has all it takes to become the biggest grossing foreign language movie in India. Verdict – Go for it!  | ||||
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| Beaufoy), Best Cinematography (Anthony Dod Mantle), Best Editing (Chris Dickens), Best Sound Editing (Tom Sayers), Best Sound Mixing (Ian Tapp, Richard Pryke and Resul Pookutty). A.R.Rahman has been nominated in two categories; Best Original Score and Best Original Song. The original song category has only 3 nominees and two of them are from Slumdog Millionaire (O saya and Jaye Ho), the third being from the animated film Wall E. A.R.Rahman reacting to the news on being nominated for Oscar said, "I feel really good. I am on top of the world. I thank God Almighty, all my fans and the musicians who have worked with me. It's an energy booster for all the people associated with the movie." Danny Boyle talking about the nominations said, "It's incredible, we see Hollywood and Bollywood moving closer. A.R.Rahman couldn't come to the meet. He is busy doing Delhi 6. Can you believe it?" An excited Anil Kapoor said, "It's a movie about Indians. It's a movie about us. I am very happy for A.R.Rahman. He is a genius. This movie is also going to do a lot of good to all the small technicians and actors who have worked very, very hard. It's their triumph" Slumdog Millionaire had created sensation a few days back after winning the Golden Globe Awards for Best Director, Danny Boyle, Best original score composer, A.R.Rahman and Best screenplay, Simon Beaufoy. With this, the hopes of a first Oscar for India have hit an all time high, the victory seems very much possible. So, keep your fingers crossed and hope for the best. The D-day is the 22nd of February. Let the Oscar come to India. | ||
| Slumdog Millionaire bags ten nominations for Oscars at a ceremony held at Los Angeles, USA. Director of the movie Danny Boyle has been nominated in the Best Director category. Screenplay writer Simon Beaufoy has been nominated in the Best Adapted Screenplay category. The movie itself - Slumdog Millionaire |  |
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A.R. Rahman returned to Chennai after receiving the Golden Globe Award at the awards ceremony that was held in the Beverly Hills in the United States of America. It may be recalled that Rahman won the Best Composer award for the movie Slumdog Millionaire. Being the first Indian to be honored with the award, Rahman received rave accolades from all quarters. Rahman was given a rousing reception at the airport soon after he returned with the award. Film personalities such as Rajnikanth, Shankar, Abirami Ramanathan, Rama Narayanan and others were the first to extend their wishes to him. And it is now time to felicitate A.R. Rahman. The South Indian Film Musicians’ Association honored Rahman with a silk shawl in a ceremony held recently. Those who participated in the function are: the Associations’ chairman Sarangapani, the general secretary Abu Gabriel and office bearers V.R. Sekar, P.G. Venkatesh and Kalyanasundaram. It is learnt that another felicitation ceremony under the auspices of Chief Minister will be held soon. |
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First time for an Indian, Rahman brought home the Golden Globe under the best Original Score category for the film Slumdog Millionaire, directed by the British director Danny Boyle. While billions of his fans all over the world rejoiced at the announcement, Rahman, in his signature style, mentioned at the award night that he dedicated the honor to all Indians. |
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last collaboration was the revolutionary movie Rang De Basanti, it just couldn’t get bigger than this. Let’s see if Delhi 6 can stand up to its huge expectations or not. Aarti... (Tumre bhavan mein) A devotional piece, which is so simple - which is what makes it so beautiful to hear. Not much of instrumental usage but the chorus put to good use make this a soothing listen. .  Arziyan... Another devotional song from Rahman about Allah. And this one will rank right at the top and a sure buy for all believers. The rich vocals by Jaaved Ali and Kailash Kher, some brilliant lyrics by Prasoon Joshi and immaculate use of instruments by Rahman makes this a special song which will melt even the hardest heart, and make it sway to the music. An answer to last year’s Khwaja mere Khwaja, so get ready to spread your hands slowly turn round and twirl with God. If only Rahman has himself sung this, it would have been a perfect rendition.  | |||
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On hearing the petition, the magistrate ordered Thapeshwar Viswakarma to file all the evidences substantiating his claims and adjourned the case to February 5th, 2009. It is worth mentioning here that A.R. Rahman, who had scored the music for the film and won the Golden Globe award. |
| The Rajnikanth starrer Endhiran, which has Aishwarya Rai Bachchan as his lead pair, is being produced by Sun Pictures on a whopping budget of Rs. 140 crores. Endhiran's director Shankar, known for his penchant for creating extravagant sets in his films, has erected a huge glass chamber to can just a few scenes of a duet. Sources close to the Endhiran unit |  |
| A.R. Rahman returned to Chennai from Los Angeles where he had received the Golden Globe award for the best music score for Slumdog Millionaire. He was given a rousing reception by his fans, who were waiting in droves at the airport. Rahman was accompanied by many of them right behind his car all the way to his residence. Speaking later, |  |
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| Bollywood actor Danny Denzongpa is the baddie in Endhiran. Danny Denzongpa shot to fame after his role in the Hindi film Qurbani became a huge hit. Yet another source close to the Endhiran team says that the unit is camping at a private engineering college near Chennai to can a few scenes that has both Rajinikanth and Aishwarya. Only the college students and staff are allowed inside the college to maintain privacy of the unit, our source adds. |
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| the Best Director award for Danny Boyle, Best Original Screenplay for Simon Beaufoy and the Best Motion Picture award. Ever since its release, Slumdog Millionaire has been receiving rave reviews and has already bagged several prestigious awards including the Los Angeles Film Critics Association (2008) and the Broadcast Film Critics Association's Fourteenth Annual Critics Choice Awards. The 66th Golden Globe Awards ceremony was held in Los Angeles. The movie is expected to hit Indian screens in January last week. |
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According to set sources, this song would be Abhishek's introductory number. Scored by A R Rahman, the lyrics are penned by Gulzar. Apart from the lead actors, nearly 500 junior dancers participated in the dance scene, who were trained vigorously by Ganesh before the commencement of the shoots. |
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| that Rahman has made Indian and Tamilians, in particular, proud. Others who sent him their wishes are Abirami Ramanthan, Rama Narayanan, Vairamuthu and AVM Saravanan. The widespread talk in Kollywood is that music of the same quality can be expected in films like Endhiran and Mani Ratnams’ Ravan for which A.R. Rahman scores the music. |
இந்திய சினிமாத்துறையின் புகழை உலகுக்கு உணர்த்தும் விதமாக, இசையமைப்பாளர் ஏ.ஆர்.ரஹ்மான் கொல்டன் குளோப் விருதைப் பெற்றார்.
Sun Pictures is all set to make director Shankar's dream of making it to Hollywood come true. It's on the verge of a tie-up with HBO which will see' Endhiran' being released in the West simultaneously.
'Endhiran' will be subtitled in English and released in Hollywood simultaneously, making it the biggest opening for the film industry. Rajinikanth's 'Sivaji' had raked in good money overseas and has made things easier for Shankar.
With promotion in full swing, the film is progressing well after having suffered due to the recent cyclone in Chennai. The crew is about to finish the shoot at VIT University College in Vellore. The next stop is Top Slip and Valparai and the crew will then move to Kulu Manali next year.
Meanwhile there are reports that say that a Benz car has been purchased for the film at a whopping cost of 90 lakhs. According to reports an important scene feautring Rajnikanth and Aishwarya Rai will be shot in a brand new high-end Benz car.
Superstar Rajinikanth is also said to be working out with a rigorous schedule, to fit the role of a scientist and a robot (the actor plays two roles in the film), and also to look slim fit enough to romance Aishwarya Rai.
Singer Yogi B who has made his presence felt in the Tamil film industry with some spectacular songs, has been roped in to sing a song for the mammoth production 'Endhiran' that stars superstar Rajinikanth and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan.
A. R. Rahman who is the music director of the film has confirmed to Indiaglitz that Yogi B has indeed sung a song for the film. Moreover, he added that the Malaysian singer was in his studio a while back with regards to Endhiran. A. R. Rahman was working for the Aamir Khan starrer 'Ghajini' at that time. Though Yogi B was there was Endhiran, his services were used for a background score 'Run' that features in 'Ghajini'.
Everything about 'Endhiran' is shrouded with complete secrecy as is the case with every Shankar film. 'Endhiran' produced by Sun Pictures will be ready for release in 2010.
Slumdog Millionaire, the rags-to-riches story of a Mumbai slum dweller, has bagged five prestigious prizes including the Best Composer Award for Indian music maestro A R Rahman at the Broadcast Film Critics Association's 14th annual Critics Choice Awards.
British Director Danny Boyle's Indian drama was a big hit at the award ceremony last night. It won Best Film, Best Director for Danny Boyle, Best Writer for Simon Beaufoy, Best Young Actor for Dev Patel and Best Composer for A R Rahman.
The Broadcast Film Critics Association's 14th annual Critics Choice Awards (BFCA), which took place at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium recently, is the largest film critics organization, with more than 200 members in the US and Canada.
Watch A. R. Rahman speak to the press….
