When the first visuals of the melodious romantic track, "Guzarish", from the Aamir Khan–Asin starrer, GHAJINI were aired, almost everyone was unanimous that the melodious number was rendered by the king of love ballads, Sonu Nigam. To an extent they were right, and to an extent wrong! Right in the sense that the hauntingly beautiful humming in the beginning of the soundtrack is indeed by Sonu and wrong because Prasoon Joshi's lovely lyrics have been sung by Javed Ali of "Jashn–e–Bahara", (JODHAA–AKBAR) fame.
Sonu is there only as a guest vocalist, lending his unique appeal to the song which can be called its USP as well as its highlight and also forms the background music in the promos. The extremely choosy and busy Sonu has made this (a sort of singing guest appearance!) an exception for the music maestro A.R.Rahman, whom he shares a great bond with ever since his DIL SE days right up to YUVVRAAJ .
The much anticipated GHAJINI audio is expected to be released/launched today.
Courtesy: glamsham.com
Showing posts with label Dil Se. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dil Se. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Spell Bound, Courtesy : A R Rahman
All roads led to St.George�s School grounds on sunday evening for A.R Rahman fans. The Times of India, Changing Notes concert was a tremendous and splendid event for the concert thirsty Rahman Fans... With the crowd of more than 50,000, the area was jam packed even before the scheduled time. The gates were closed by 6.30 and the late comers were not let in... Swaying to the music, grooved in the set-up!Rahman started the show by stating that the crowd and the cheering was awesome� With a terrific line up of singers and orchestra the show had no pit falls... The concert began with Ella Pugazhum - ATM and had all marvelous numbers by the maestro. Concluding songs were Antha Arabic Kadaloram � Bombay and the song which kindles patriotism amongst all Indians- Vande Maataram.
The who�s who of the music fraternity (especially those loyal singers of ARR) gave their power packed performance. A live show by our Chennai Mozart after a long gap proved to be a real treat for fans who were longing for such an event. The concert had Shivamani, Hariharan, Shankar Mahadevan, Blaaze, Nithyashree, Sadhna Sargam, Madhushree, Javed Ali, Naresh Iyer, Karthik, Aslam and chinmayee.
Shankar Mahadevan, Hariharan sang two of their hit numbers� The crowd went ga ga over Newyork Nagaram song by our very own A.R.R. Some of the note worthy performances were Munbe Va by Naresh Iyer and Chinmayee, Jaage Hain, Varaha nadhikkarai oram by Shankar Mahadevan, Dil Se by Javed Ali, Vaji Vaji song took the crowd to their feet by the stunning performance of Hariharan. , Girlfriend by karthick was also renditioned well.
Certain Hindi songs were also equally enjoyed by the fans� After all world is an oyster for ARR. Songs like Mayya Mayya, Rubaroo, Jashne Bahar, In Lamhon Ke, Chaiyya Chaiyya, were a huge hit among the audience.
Kannodu Kaanbadhellam, was a very special presentation by Nithyashree as she sat on the stage to present it in the typical carnatic way� Valayapatti Thavil and drums sivamani gave their bit of performance too without the singers. Steve on the guitars had a solo performance which was followed by Girlfriend song of Karthick.
The entire setup was amazing and so was the crowd. A land erected for the crazy fans of A.R Rahman. The lightings, the sound system, the stage setup, everything was just awesome and was done to perfection by the event coordinators.
Fans sitting next to me were more than delighted to even explain their happiness. He�s the best, that�s what most people said before, after and during the concert.
Courtesy: chennaionline.com
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Rahman's next album after 'Vande Mataram'
Way back in the late 90s, A.R. Rahman's audio album for Sony, 'Vande Mataram', rocked the nation. In fact, it rekindled the patriotic spirit of 'Vande Mataram' through its contemporary sounds and classy arrangements. The album also marked the first and sadly the last union of two maestros. Obviously we are referring to the man himself, A.R.Rahman and the late Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, the legendary sufi qawwali singer, whose replacement has still not been found in the music world.
Coming back to our headlines, especially for those music lovers who are wondering as to when the composer of works like ROJA, DIL SE, TAAL, LAGAAN........to the recent JODHAA AKBAR, will come up with another album, after the stupendous success of 'Vande Mataram'. Well, the long wait is more or less over and the good news is that music wizard A.R.Rahman is busy working on his next album. As per very reliable sources, almost a decade after 'Vande Mataram' , Rahman's next album should be out later this year, more details of which are expected soon.
Courtesy: glamsham.com
Coming back to our headlines, especially for those music lovers who are wondering as to when the composer of works like ROJA, DIL SE, TAAL, LAGAAN........to the recent JODHAA AKBAR, will come up with another album, after the stupendous success of 'Vande Mataram'. Well, the long wait is more or less over and the good news is that music wizard A.R.Rahman is busy working on his next album. As per very reliable sources, almost a decade after 'Vande Mataram' , Rahman's next album should be out later this year, more details of which are expected soon.
Courtesy: glamsham.com
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
'Each song in Jodhaa Akbar has its own potential'
The last song to appear in Jodhaa Akbar, Inn Lamhon Ke Daaman Mein, is one of the most haunting songs composed by A R Rahman.
But like many of his fabled compositions, this one will also take time to make a lasting impact. The song is used mostly in the background, as Jodhaa and Akbar make love for the first time.
The number is sung by Sonu Nigam, and Madhushree who, in recent years, has emerged as one of Rahman's favourites.
The composer says the song challenged him considerably.
"It comes in the climax of the film," he says. "It was very important to have the song right. If it is too slow, it will bring the whole energy down. If it is too fast, it won't do justice to the situation. The end of the film shows Jodhaa finally loving Akbar for the first time since their wedding."
He had to play 'a kind of dynamic composition where it starts on a soothing note, and then goes to the big chorus,' he says.
"It has a full journey in it," he adds. "I think it is very good."
Many cannot understand how a big historical film like Jodhaa Akbar has only five songs. Old classics like Mughal-E-Azam and Pakeezah have quite a few songs in them.
"Numbers don't count," Rahman answers bluntly. "Roja, Dil Se, Bombay and Guru each had five songs. The real songs in that film were five; others were used in the background.
"Each song in Jodhaa Akbar has its own potential," he continues. "So we kept them simple. We did not want to overload things."
The music of Jodhaa Akbar is not confined to songs alone, he asserts.
"Once the film is released, they (UTV, the film's producer) may release the soundtrack, with the theme of the film and other compositions," he says.
"I take composing the background music for a film to be a very serious business," he continues. "There are a lot of people, who do just five songs and leave it for someone else to compose the background. You need 20 times the energy (of composing songs) to produce the background score. You need three to four months."
The time he took to compose the background score for Jodhaa Akbar, he adds, he could have used to compose songs for five to six films.
"It (the background score) is a commitment to the movie," he continues. "It is all about artistic honesty. It also helps you grow musically. In this film, I loved doing the background music because of the depth of the subject and interesting situations."
But on many occasions, when a filmmaker tells him the film's story, he knows in his heart, that he should not take up the film.
"When I am doing a song," he says, "the director has to live with the song and when I am doing a film's background music, I have to watch the film and have to live with the film all my life."
That is why he rejects many films, he adds.
Working for the third time with Gowariker reinforced Rahman's admiration for the filmmaker.
"Very few people recognise the kind of warmth in music, the pulse, the soul of the music," Rahman says. "He is one of them. Mani Ratnam and Subhash Ghai also are like him. Ashutosh has the talent for spotting fine music. There are so many ideas that he has to consider while working on a film. But to pick the right things and give them to the people, to present them in a very dignified way, is very important to him.
"There is no use in us in composing beautiful stuff and then getting it thrown away, without any respect to the music," Rahman continues. "It is very important for a director to sit and like something, and challenge the composer from time to time. Ashutosh does it."
Courtesy: Rediff.com
But like many of his fabled compositions, this one will also take time to make a lasting impact. The song is used mostly in the background, as Jodhaa and Akbar make love for the first time.
The number is sung by Sonu Nigam, and Madhushree who, in recent years, has emerged as one of Rahman's favourites.
The composer says the song challenged him considerably.
"It comes in the climax of the film," he says. "It was very important to have the song right. If it is too slow, it will bring the whole energy down. If it is too fast, it won't do justice to the situation. The end of the film shows Jodhaa finally loving Akbar for the first time since their wedding."
He had to play 'a kind of dynamic composition where it starts on a soothing note, and then goes to the big chorus,' he says.
"It has a full journey in it," he adds. "I think it is very good."
Many cannot understand how a big historical film like Jodhaa Akbar has only five songs. Old classics like Mughal-E-Azam and Pakeezah have quite a few songs in them.
"Numbers don't count," Rahman answers bluntly. "Roja, Dil Se, Bombay and Guru each had five songs. The real songs in that film were five; others were used in the background.
"Each song in Jodhaa Akbar has its own potential," he continues. "So we kept them simple. We did not want to overload things."
The music of Jodhaa Akbar is not confined to songs alone, he asserts.
"Once the film is released, they (UTV, the film's producer) may release the soundtrack, with the theme of the film and other compositions," he says.
"I take composing the background music for a film to be a very serious business," he continues. "There are a lot of people, who do just five songs and leave it for someone else to compose the background. You need 20 times the energy (of composing songs) to produce the background score. You need three to four months."
The time he took to compose the background score for Jodhaa Akbar, he adds, he could have used to compose songs for five to six films.
"It (the background score) is a commitment to the movie," he continues. "It is all about artistic honesty. It also helps you grow musically. In this film, I loved doing the background music because of the depth of the subject and interesting situations."
But on many occasions, when a filmmaker tells him the film's story, he knows in his heart, that he should not take up the film.
"When I am doing a song," he says, "the director has to live with the song and when I am doing a film's background music, I have to watch the film and have to live with the film all my life."
That is why he rejects many films, he adds.
Working for the third time with Gowariker reinforced Rahman's admiration for the filmmaker.
"Very few people recognise the kind of warmth in music, the pulse, the soul of the music," Rahman says. "He is one of them. Mani Ratnam and Subhash Ghai also are like him. Ashutosh has the talent for spotting fine music. There are so many ideas that he has to consider while working on a film. But to pick the right things and give them to the people, to present them in a very dignified way, is very important to him.
"There is no use in us in composing beautiful stuff and then getting it thrown away, without any respect to the music," Rahman continues. "It is very important for a director to sit and like something, and challenge the composer from time to time. Ashutosh does it."
Courtesy: Rediff.com
Thursday, February 14, 2008
AR Rahman's favourite tracks from Jodhaa Akbar
“I like everything,” AR Rahman stated when I asked him to identify his favourite track from this week’s release, Jodhaa Akbar. India’s biggest and best music composer provides the music for the Aishwarya Rai-Hrithik Roshan historical romance. The shy musical genius was unable to name a specific number as his favourite when I insisted. After a thoughtful pause, Rahman replied again: “I like everything.”
The ‘Mozart from Madras’ was in London this week to launch the original cast recording CD of his latest international project, the West End musical, The Lord of the Rings. This is his second London West End project after the successful Andrew Lloyd Webber production, Bombay Dreams. How does Rahman feel about his global success? “It’s nice to be recognised from brand Bollywood to international composer.”
Matthew Warchus, director of the Rings musical, is clearly pleased with the Elizabeth composer. He told me at the reception that he would “happily work with Rahman on anything” as he has “an extraordinary musical voice.” Varttina, the co-composer of the music, was less knowledgeable when I asked him if he liked any of Rahman’s Tamil music. “That question is too specific for me,” the Finn admitted.
Fans new to Rahmans’ work should seek out the classic Hindi soundtracks of Roja, Bombay, and Dil Se and, of course, the melodic Jodhaa Akbar, now!
It’s not a historical
The wait is over! The aforementioned Jodhaa Akbar, the year’s most anticipated film, is here. The period romance tells the love story between the Moghul emperor Akbar and his Rajasthani Hindu princess bride, Jodhaa. Oscar nominated director Ashutosh ‘Lagaan’ Gowarikar is keen to deny that his latest film is a historical film. “Let it be clear that it is not a historical film. It is a good story told in an interesting manner. I’d say eighty percent is my imagination.” Is Gowarikar being defensive because recent Bollywood historicals like The Rising and Taj Mahal crashed at the box-office?
Courtesy: Timesonline.co.uk
The ‘Mozart from Madras’ was in London this week to launch the original cast recording CD of his latest international project, the West End musical, The Lord of the Rings. This is his second London West End project after the successful Andrew Lloyd Webber production, Bombay Dreams. How does Rahman feel about his global success? “It’s nice to be recognised from brand Bollywood to international composer.”
Matthew Warchus, director of the Rings musical, is clearly pleased with the Elizabeth composer. He told me at the reception that he would “happily work with Rahman on anything” as he has “an extraordinary musical voice.” Varttina, the co-composer of the music, was less knowledgeable when I asked him if he liked any of Rahman’s Tamil music. “That question is too specific for me,” the Finn admitted.
Fans new to Rahmans’ work should seek out the classic Hindi soundtracks of Roja, Bombay, and Dil Se and, of course, the melodic Jodhaa Akbar, now!
It’s not a historical
The wait is over! The aforementioned Jodhaa Akbar, the year’s most anticipated film, is here. The period romance tells the love story between the Moghul emperor Akbar and his Rajasthani Hindu princess bride, Jodhaa. Oscar nominated director Ashutosh ‘Lagaan’ Gowarikar is keen to deny that his latest film is a historical film. “Let it be clear that it is not a historical film. It is a good story told in an interesting manner. I’d say eighty percent is my imagination.” Is Gowarikar being defensive because recent Bollywood historicals like The Rising and Taj Mahal crashed at the box-office?
Courtesy: Timesonline.co.uk
Saturday, February 09, 2008
Rehman is Lord of the Rings
If sources are to be believed, renowned music composer A R Rehman will be going to London for the music launch of a play called Lord of the Rings. Lord of the Rings is a play adapted by the same Oscar award winning film. Rehman has done the entire score of this play.It is also believed that Rehman has approached Universal Music Company to release his album of Lord of the Rings . We spoke to Sunil D’Sa, Managing Director Sales, Universal Music who confirmed the news saying, “Yes Rehman is in talks with Universal to release the music of his LOTR album. But nothing has been finalized as yet.”
However our source informs us that the music launch will be in London and Rehman will be leaving for it in the last week of February.
Rehman who composed for Shekhar Kapoor’s Elizabeth: The Golden Age , is open to other Hollywood projects as well. He had earlier composed for the Broadway musical Bombay Dreams . His chartbuster composition Chaiyya Chaiyya from Dil Se was used as the end credits for Denzil Washington’s film Inside Man .
Here’s to another Global Indian .
Courtesy: Indiatimes.com
Wednesday, December 05, 2007
A.R. Rahman for Himmesh and Adnan
A R Rahman
In fact, in Kollywood, veteran composers like M.S. Viswanathan and Shankar (Shankar-Ganesh) have sung for other composers.
Of late, such trends haven’t been witnessed in the film industry. The reasons attributed, by the insiders, include ego clashes that might arise and erosion of fan base.
But composers themselves have never opined on those lines. News is that ‘Isai Gnani’ Ilayaraja had recently offered to sing for other composers. Rahman is now becoming hot property as a singer in Bollywood after his hit numbers in Guru, Swades and Dil Se. Himmesh Reshammiya, a self-confessed fan of Rahman, had announced that if ever wanted to sing for another composer it would be only be for Rahman. This composer/singer, known for his nasal twang, has asked Rahman to sing for him and close on his heels is Adnan Sami who has also made a similar request. Rahman when questioned on this said, “It’s extremely kind of them to think of me, but I can’t just sing like that. When I render a track, I cut myself off from other things. Even for a concert, a couple of days before it I don’t pursue my other music stuff, but just concentrate on the singing.” He also added that he hadn’t turned down their request but as he is working on an album, he can consider these offers only after completing it. Is he trying to be politically correct or is he just politely turning down these offers?
Courtesy: Behindwoods.com
Tuesday, December 04, 2007
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
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
Monday, November 26, 2007
Story is bigger than stars: Mani Rathnam
A good story idea and its distinct depiction on screen are more important than filming technique, director Mani Rathnam said.
“I believe that audience comes to watch a film for its story and not for its look on screen”, Mani Rathnam said while taking part in the International Festival currently on at Goa.
“It is more important for me to tell the story convincingly, backed by good performances from actors. A good story without the support of good acting will have no impact on people. However, story is bigger than stars”, he said.
The director, who gave us films like 'Nayakan', 'Roja', 'Bombay', 'Dil Se, Dalapathi', 'Anjali', 'Yuva' and 'Guru', said, “When one is writing he has to take inspiration from everyday incidents to get better story ideas. One must also read as much as possible to be able to give contemporary touch for audience to relate with the subject”.
Mani Rathnam introduced A R Rahman in the film industry as a composer. All his films starting from Roja in 1992 have music compositions of Rahman and the director now shares a special bonding with him.
“I have worked with two very classy composers - Ilayaraja and Rahman. Both are from two different schools of music composition. While Ilayaraja is more spontaneous in his response, Rahman takes time to think over tunes and story situation and labours over it”, he said.
According to him, Rahman, if pushed a little, is willing to think laterally.
Courtesy: IndiaGlitz.com
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