Latest News & Other Tidbits on AR Rahman (II) [Archive] - Page 4

pure bliss

2nd March 2009, 09:34 PM

[tscii:a9b5c1358b]RGV on ARR

I was making a Telugu film called Kshana Kshanam with a first-time music director called Keera Vani, now known as M.M.Kreem. One day at the recording studio while we were having lunch, Rickey, a rhythm programmer working with M.M.Kreem at that time, mentioned to me that I should work with this very talented keyboard player called Dilip. That was the first time I had ever heard of A.R.Rahman. I didn’t take Rickey seriously. Much later when I happened to listen Roja’s songs at Mani Ratnam’s home, long before the film released, I was blown away with the sheer originality of the songs’ orchestration and tunes. I immediately wanted to sign him for a film I was making with Sanjay Dutt called Nayak, and for Rangeela. But my investors preferred Anu Malik, as they felt the success of the music of Roja’s dubbed version was a fluke, and that this kind of music would not work in Hindi. The very fact that A.R was not signed by any top Hindi filmmaker after Roja is proof-enough, they reasoned. They said that Anu Malik was at the top of his form after Baazigar, and that we would get a much bigger price for the audio.

I bartered with them that I will sign Anu Malik for Nayak if they allowed me A.R for Rangeela. They agreed, but the plain truth behind it was that they were not really interested in “Rangeela” as Sanjay Dutt post “Khalnayak” was a much bigger star than Aamir at that time. After 20 days of shooting for Nayak Sanjay got arrested in the serial blast case and the film was shelved. (Much later the script of Nayak I made it as Sarkar).

Before A.R, I have worked with Ilayaraja, M.M.Kreem and Raaj Koti, and knew on a personal level many other music directors and their working styles. What struck me first when I met A.R was the incredible dignity with which he carries himself. There is neither an iota of arrogance nor a halo of pride which success invariably brings to people. After telling him the story of Rangeela, I showed him references of some Hollywood musicals, and described to him the visual style I was planning to capture the film in. Once he went through the situations, the compositions he came up with used to surprise me, though not always pleasantly. That is because his tunes were so original in his interpretation of the emotion of a situation that a conventional ear will take time to let it sink in. That I think is the reason one tends to like his music more and more as one listens to it again and again. A case in point is the Hai Rama song where my brief to him was that I wanted to shoot an erotic number, wherein more than the romance I wanted to capture lust in Urmila’s and Jackie’s faces. I said to him that when animals have sex they are not ashamed, or feel shy, as they are so completely lost in their own feelings for each other, and hence do not care about where they are and who is watching them. The visual of Urmila and Jackie circling each other in the Kuldhara ruins of Rajasthan was the key image I gave him.

After the brief I was subconsciously expecting him to come up with a tune, something on the likes of I Love You (Kaate Nahin Katthe Yeh Din Yeh Raat) in Mr. India. What he came up with was the Hai Rama tune, which sounded to me like some classical Carnatic raga, and my first reaction was that he had lost his head. But when I kept hearing it, it grew on me like an obsession, and I finally said that we will go ahead with the tune even though I was still unsure, deep inside, of how it would fit into the situation. But when he finished the entire track with the orchestration it was beyond my wildest imagination that an erotic song can be made to sound like that. He captured the intensity of the eroticism and the purity of its feeling in the beginning alaap, the cello themes, and through the wild tablaas which elevated the effect of the images I created, many times more than what they would have been otherwise.

One other trait I noticed about the difference between A.R and other music directors is that where the others pretty much dictate to the musicians and the singers about what they want, A.R interacts with them; in a manner of making each and every one of his solo musicians and singers feel as if it is their song and not his, thereby placing the onus on them to feel from within to get the best out of them. This I have never ever seen remotely practiced by any other music director.

Whereas most music directors record the final track first, with all the orchestration and get the singer to dub the last, A.R invariably gets the singer to dub on a base rhythm track first and does the orchestration later, as he wants the orchestration to rise from the depth of the feeling in the singer’s voice. That’s the reason why with every one of his tracks you can’t recognize where the music ends and the voice begins, and vice versa. Each and every instrument is made to be played with the same emotional depth as that is in the singer’s voice.

Not knowing technicalities of music I would think the phenomenon of A.R owes not only to his obvious talent but also to his incredible patience, focus, and dedication towards a song he is creating. The moment they finish recording a song, most music directors forget about it and move on to whatever else they are doing. A.R invariably keeps revisiting his song and effecting changes onto them (Read it as sculpting and polishing). Until a time the tracks have to leave for the audio company, he treats each and every song of his like his own daughter whom he is preparing for a marriage with the listener.

Also, A.R is the only artiste I have met who does not have creative arrogance. I mean that he never defends his work if it were to be criticized. He was recording The spirit of Rangeela theme in Chennai while I was shooting in Mumbai. When he sent the track to me I didn’t like it, at first hearing. Not just me but the entire unit didn’t. I called A.R and told him that it was not working. Without a second’s pause he said he will work out something else, and this he said after having worked on the track for more than a week.

As I was playing the spirit theme in my car over and over again, at some moment it hit me like a thunder bolt, and I told him that I must have been out of my mind not to have liked it in the first place. He smiled and said “I knew you would like it eventually”.

The aesthetics of his song tracks are beyond compare to any other music director’s. What I mean by aesthetics is, if the melody is the story, the various instruments and the way they are recorded, played, and their inter-volume levels and tones would be like art direction, cinematography etc. So purely in melody one might still feel a difference in their own individual favourites, of what they like more and what they like less, but his aesthetics are always perfect irrespective of the overall effect of the song.

I can never forget a line of Rahman’s, which he said to me while at his studio, “I’ve decided that whatever goes from here has to be good”. He said it with neither arrogance nor extreme confidence. It was just so very simply said just as a decision he took and that single sentence made me understand A.R’s greatness, more than his music itself. I have known many including myself who said, thought, and wished the same, but with the exception of A.R I have yet to meet a single man who practiced it and continues to practice it. Jai Ho![/tscii:a9b5c1358b]

Ramakrishna

2nd March 2009, 09:52 PM

RGV :notworthy:
Thanks a lot Pure bliss

littlemaster1982

2nd March 2009, 10:12 PM

RGV :notworthy: :notworthy:

Pure Bliss :ty:

jaiganes

2nd March 2009, 10:44 PM

Awesome writeup by RGV. Perfect description and to date the best depiction of ARR's way of working his magic.

kamalsurya

3rd March 2009, 09:06 AM

3 of ARR's works in Singapore Polytechnic's Library

http://www.lib.sp.edu.sg/search~S0?/aRahman,+A.+R./arahman+a+r/-3,-1,0,B/exact&FF=arahman+a+r&1,3,

I know the National Library has ARR's Bombay Dreams. They probably would have SDM by now. :notworthy: :notworthy: :notworthy: Tt's my sch man!!!Lol

You're in Singapore? :shock:

Yep :roll: Why so shocked?? :o

kamalsurya

3rd March 2009, 09:21 AM

]Rahman himself speaks about Mr. A R Rahman

When asked what music means to him, he says "Many things. Its hard to define: bread and butter, peace, happiness, and devotion. When you are working on a piece and it turns out to be good its like a moment of magic. It gives you a lot of happiness when you think that millions are listening to your music. Its also a whole process- making it likeable to myself first andthen taking it towards perfection. Music is beyond description and without boundaries. We have to keep expanding our horizons and make room for new things. take a small butterfly or insect - if you look at it closely you discover so many new things. When I do something, I want to be original. I sit, just blank my mind and pray. and I come up with something. Mostly its good and gets approved. It could be so simple and even a child could have composed it, but to give it soul that's what's important. Music is a spiritual thing not a formula. If a music artiste wants to blossom into a full-pledged person, it's not enough if he knows only classical music; nor it's enough if he's well-versed only in raagaas and techniques. Instead, he should be a knowledgeable person interested in life and philosophy. In his personal life there should be, atleast in some corner of his heart, a tinge of lingering sorrow."

A R Rahman:
"I am surprised when good things happen. I am cool when something bad happens, also. I trust God and in that way helps me to get rid of unnecessary things like jealousy, greed and all that stuff. Although I'm not fully out of it, at least I am almost at the surface of getting out of it. These things kind of give me a security for doing music. I don't have to worry if whether I'll be good, if I'll be successful, I'll be a failure or if I'll be thrown out or anything like that. Your almost like a vacuum, straight about everything. Which gives you a completely sublime, lonely feeling apart from others."

A R Rahman:
Never one to boast or brag about his accomplishments, he credits all his inspiration and success to Allah. "I am whatever because of my parents' prayers to Allah. I am whatever I am because the prayers I pray conscientiously, sincerely and with full faith five times a day. I will be whatever I am only because of Allah, I know it. He has given me everything. He can take everything away and I accept His decision without any questions, without a murmur. Allah is my everything. I am just an infinitesimal creation of His. He has created me for a specific mission. I will be committing a sin if I don't fulfil that mission. That's my only belief. That's the only thing that matters to me. I don't care for all the other temptations of the world. I am born for music. I live for music. I will live for music till the very end. That's Allah's will. That's all I Know."
Rahman says. "The problem is, you can create only as long as you have the gift, only as long as the almighty wishes. After that, you can stand on your head, it still won't come. If God wills it so, it may happen to me too. I can take that. I belive that every individual, even an atom, can move only with the will of God. I don't take credit for doing all this. If I did, then I would fall flat. '' "Destiny has been the biggest influence in my life. Without the will of God I would have never reached where I have. That's why I believe I am like a boat in a river without a sail and a firm destination".

A R Rahman:
Apart from the Almighty he credits all his success to his mother who encouraged him to take up music when his interest lay in electronics. His maxim is that only total dedication and concentration to one's profession can help in producing good work. Rahman is certain that this dedication must increase with fame. Rahman makes his presence felt again despite maintaining a low profile in public life. It is well known that he is seldom seen at social gatherings, film parties or functions.
"Fans, VIPs wanting to meet you, functions, parties - the moment you stop making good music all will stop. The only formula is - yes, we are back to it - total concentration on the work." All this success has not uprooted him from his roots, "Beyond what people achieve and strive for the only things that are really important are - personal values, family and friends." Ever the great improviser he never stops till he is fully satisfied. "If an album is to please all age groups, go beyond current fads, it must have a couple of memorable melodies. 'Hai rabbas' don't satisfy me. They make hits but are soon forgotten. You want to do something that lasts.''

A R Rahman:
In response to all the acclaim he has received, he says "It's a great responsibility. I am trying my best to combine traditional and contemporary styles. But sometimes the result isn't in my hands at all. It depends on the film and the director. Trends come and go but I have to keep doing my own thing.". "You have to learn from the inside out. None can teach you, none can make you spiritual. There is only teacher and that is your soul."

For Rahman, who eats music, thinks music, breathes music and lives music, the bottomline is that his music should reach out to the soul of humankind. Rahman says:
"I know there are many people who say I don't know what music is. There are so many who say that what I create is not music. But I know the people are with me. The people love my music. I know Allah is with me all the time while I am creating and with Allah by my side I know nothing can go wrong. My music comes from somewhere deep within me. I could have created any kind of music but I create only that kind of music that comes from within my being. My music has a mission. It has to reach the bodies, the souls of the millions for whom I strive to create my music, music that springs from deep within me. I am a within man more than without. It is the language of the heart and the soul together that makes my music. And I don't have to make great efforts because my kind of music does not come by force or necessity. It has to flow from within me. That's the only way I know how to create. There's no other way. Let the people who don't like my music say what they want, I say again and again. Allah be with them. It is this music which he helps me create which appeals to both the body and the soul that is going to be one of the greatest forces that will help people from all over the world come closer, become one in body and soul in the millennium to come. I am working on that music for the future."

Once Rahman quoted his favourite prayer which he frequently makes while offering Namaz.....
"O God, if I worship thee for fear of hell, burn me in hell, and if I worship thee in hope of Paradise, exclude me from Paradise, but if I worship thee for thy own sake, grudge me not thy everlasting beauty."

Revealing that he discovered his singing style in "Roja'', Rahman claims that the film taught him what music was really all about and what he had to give to the rest of the world. While it is important for Rahman to compose music albums or film music with "like-minded" people, it is equally important that he must enjoy his music. "My ultimate goal is that people should enjoy my music," says Rahman.

About the difference between composing music for films and composing as well as singing for a music video, Rahman says: "While making a film, you have to be married to the script and also give your individual touch. Now that my latest music video is completed, I feel truly liberated in the sense that I had complete freedom to express myself. It was certainly a better experience."

Stating that two years ago, his friends discussed with him the idea of creating an album for people stricken by tuberculosis and poverty, Rahman says: "I wrote lyrics on the lines `Are you Searching for a Reason to be Kind'. Director Bharat Bala filmed the song in Los Angeles. Besides highlighting the fact that charity does not necessarily mean money or materialistic things, the song is about praying for people who are suffering."

On the importance of religion in his daily life, Rahman says: "Religion teaches a person what his or her real self is, why he has been created and it also tells a person about his relation with his father, mother, wife and daughter. For me religion is a personal journey to other things."

Surprisingly, Rahman does not watch many Hindi films. "I watch a lot of Chinese, Korean and Iranian films with sub-titles,'' he says.

joe

3rd March 2009, 11:10 AM

I know the National Library has ARR's Bombay Dreams. They probably would have SDM by now.

Tamil books ,movies ,audio CDs are available in Ang Mokio regional library more than the national library ..Only Ang Mo kio library has seperate room for Indian (Tamil) section .

ajaybaskar

3rd March 2009, 02:30 PM

[tscii:29a88f50b4]Oscars elevate Rahman's brand value to Rs 10 crore

Mumbai: The two Oscar trophies have added about Rs 8 crore to A R Rahman's brand value for the ad world. Now, Rahman is offered a whopping Rs 10 crore for saying a ‘yes' to associate himself with a brand.

Rahman agreed to endorse Apple at a price of Rs 10 crore, sources said.
Another bigger deal is on the cards, according to the sources.

As of now, he endorses Airtel and Worldspace, besides the social cause of spreading awareness about tuberculosis.

Rahman was always a brand, but after this success at the three most prestigious awards in a row [Golden Globes, BAFTA, Oscars], he is now the most wanted entity in both cinematic and brand space.

According to the ad world biggies, there's a lot of curiosity about him. He says 'no' more often than he says 'yes'.[/tscii:29a88f50b4]

ajaybaskar

3rd March 2009, 02:36 PM

Dear All, Enjoy Downloading Nippuravva BGMs from the below mentioned link Its a very special movie, as the BGMs alone were done by ARR, where as the Music was done by Bappi Lahiri. So, you can get to hear his tunes which in no way would have resembled to any of the tunes from the movie's songs scintillating.

http://www.mediafire.com/?jn0n2znzkmi

Source: Vithur,yahoogroups

pure bliss

3rd March 2009, 04:28 PM

G.M on ARR during the interview with rediff.com

You have got A R Rahman to score music for two of your films -- Chennayil Oru Mazha Kalam and Vinnaithandi Varuvaya. How did he agree to do both the films?

I don't know how he agreed. I narrated the idea to him, and he agreed. Perhaps he liked the ideas.

I am a big fan of Rahman and I have a collection of all his albums. I always wanted to work with him. He has already composed for both my films.

Now, an Oscar winner is composing music for your films; a real bonus?

Actually, with or without the Oscars, Rahman is Rahman and his music is always a bonus for your films. I don't think him winning the Oscar will make any difference to music. But yes, commercially, it will work more.

dinesh2002

3rd March 2009, 05:59 PM

A.ANAND

3rd March 2009, 07:10 PM

steveaustin

3rd March 2009, 09:23 PM

ரஹ்மானுக்கு பாராட்டு விழா-கருணாநிதி தலைமை

http://thatstamil.oneindia.in/movies/news/2009/03/02-karunanidhi-plans-grand-felicitation-rahman.html

littlemaster1982

4th March 2009, 01:21 AM

[tscii:e51f742f2b]Rahmaniat (http://www.outlookindia.com/full.asp?fodname=20090309&fname=Cover+Story&sid=1&pn=1)

And so it is that a shy, diffident man arrives on the world stage with a bang

By Namrata Joshi and Lata Khubchandani

February 22, 2009: India rejoices as A.R. Rahman lifts two Oscars at the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles.

Flashback to 1992: India is taken by storm when Mani Ratnam’s unassuming film, Roja, gets everyone hooked to its fresh, irresistibly lilting soundtrack. The film debut of a shy jinglemaker, it bags Rahman the national award for best composer, and years later gets picked as one of Time magazine’s 10 best soundtracks of all time.

The two milestones to the left span a 17-year-long journey that has not just been about personal achievement but also about spearheading a musical revolution, breaking old moulds and setting new trends, giving a fresh face to that much-reviled entity called Hindi film music.

All this managed almost with a remote control, in the peace of A.R. Rahman’s famous recording studio in Kodambakkam, Chennai.

Tamil film music had been flourishing thanks to the genius of Ilaiyaraaja, when Rahman stepped in and took it in another direction. In Bollywood, however, things were not as happy. "He came in at a time when Hindi film music had become a parody of itself," says composer Vishal (of the Vishal-Shekhar duo). Rahman’s arrival brought to it a new vigour, vitality and finesse, broadening the narrow horizons in which Bollywood melodies operated. He showed new possibilities and creative ways of making a song, bringing in fresh sounds, voices and instrumentation. "He took music on an entirely different path," says composer and singer Shankar Mahadevan.

Such has been Rahman’s influence that many contemporary music composers openly acknowledge that they owe their careers to him. "I had only heard R.D. Burman; for me the whole cheesy ’80s music was just noise; I didn’t want to get into film music at all. But after Rahman, it became okay to head for the film industry," says Vishal. Music director Shantanu Moitra found the courage to leave advertising for films because Rahman showed that there was a place for "melodic and contemporary" sound in Hindi films.

Rahman began to be noticed abroad too. Mihai Chirilov, Romanian film critic and artistic director of the cutting-edge Transilvania International Film Festival, remembers watching Ashutosh Gowariker’s Lagaan in Locarno’s majestic Piazza Grande back in 2001. "What blew me was the sophistication of Rahman’s music, the sharpness of its beats and orchestral richness, that was miles removed from the Bollywood music I had been exposed to," he says. No wonder people took to it across the world, and Rahman went on to collaborate with the best of talent—from Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan (for Gurus of Peace) to Andrew Lloyd Webber in Bombay Dreams, his biggest shot in the global entertainment arena before Slumdog Millionaire. "Classical music has always received respect worldwide, but Rahman took our film and popular music on to the global map," says music composer Salim (of Salim-Suleiman fame).

In his own unique way, the shy and deeply spiritual man who creates music from the silence surrounding him has reached across and interacted with the entire world. "His music knows no boundaries," says filmmaker Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra. Having defied localism with his easy mobility between the south and the north, he has now effortlessly bridged the global East-West musical divide. "He understands the global pulse," says classical musician Anil Srinivasan, "his songs work as well in Paris as in Mali or in NY."

There have been other film composers who have looked westwards for inspiration, but the cross-cultural pitch did not define their work as acutely as it does Rahman’s. Having a strong grounding in diverse forms of music, his creations show a medley of musical influences—from jazz and rock to gangsta rap and Asian Underground. So it is that a hip-hop groove uplifts a folksy Genda Phool in Delhi-6, just as reggae rhythm spliced through a simple tune and turned it into the very catchy Chinna chinna asai in Roja. From Arabic to jazz to Sufi to bhajans, just a single Rahman album (Delhi-6) can encompass his magically eclectic approach and ability to harmoniously mix different genres.

"He uses Western instruments to echo Indian sounds whereas the others are doing just the opposite," observes Chirilov. Take his favourite—Chhaiyyan Chhaiyyan from Dil Se. "It’s not just ear candy or instantly catchy. It is refreshingly modern in the way it updates the traditional Indian rhythms to more contemporary sounds, without making them sound like cheap disco or techno tracks," says Chirilov.

Whatever the influences, the Indian core has always remained significant in Rahman’s music. As Time magazine film critic Richard Corliss said of Roja, "The astonishing debut work parades Rahman’s gift for alchemising outside influences until they are totally Tamil, totally Rahman." Or as Anu Malik puts it, "He turned world music into Hindi music."

In many ways, then, Rahman’s career reflects the journey of modern India. He has been the right man at the right place and the right time. Rahman’s career took off just when India opened its doors to the world—he could be said to be a true child of liberalisation and globalisation, confident about its identity yet open to diverse influences. He is both global citizen and patriotic Indian. In Roja, he might have worked with reggae rhythms but he also came up with a very stirring patriotic track—Bharat hum ko jaan se pyara hai. His work with bhajans, Sufi music and gurbani also reflects the influence of the syncretic Indian tradition.

With two Oscars, a Golden Globe, a Padmashree, four national and 21 Filmfare awards behind him, 43-year-old Rahman has become synonymous with musical excellence—and with exciting experimentation and innovation too. "He has made it easier for us to try out new stuff," says Salim. This has been Rahman’s other significant contribution—opening the door to new voices, new sounds and even a new way of writing and phrasing lyrics. Amazingly for a man who does not understand Hindi or Urdu, lyrics took a fresh turn under his baton. "He was not committed to the mukhda/antara format of a Hindi song—he chose to make antara the mukhda," says Malik. This offered new challenges to lyricists. "He liberated us and allowed us to experiment by breaking the fixed structure of the song," says lyricist Gulzar. The free-flowing and meandering tune in Rehna Tu in Delhi-6 made Prasoon Joshi discover a new way of writing lyrics.

Existing moulds were broken in other ways as well. Mani Ratnam broke the Ilaiyaraaja monopoly when he gave Rahman a break in Roja, and Rahman, in turn, broke the monopoly of star singers by introducing a range of fresh voices. Once upon a time, a Kishore Kumar would be the one and only voice for a Rajesh Khanna or an Amitabh Bachchan.

However, with Rahman, an Aamir can sing in several voices—be it Shankar’s or Javed Ali’s. Rahman gave primacy to the song, not the voice singing it or the actor enacting it. "He made many dreams come true, made many careers take off," says Chennai-based playback singer Chinmayi Sripada. "It became like the IPL of music, anyone could shine and make it big," comments music composer Shaleen Sharma.

"Whenever Rahman listens to somebody, the voice registers in his mind, and when he has a song fit for that voice he calls you," says Harshdeep, who sang the shabad gurbani for him in Rang de Basanti.

Having heard Mohit Chauhan at a Channel V concert in 1998, Rahman turned to him for Khoon Chala in Rang de Basanti. As a composer, he is unusually open to give-and-take from his singers. The laughter in Masakalli, for example, was Chauhan’s own suggestion, which Rahman decided to retain. "He has a vision and has the art of drawing out the best from the artiste," says singer Naresh Iyer.

One way he does it is through generosity to those he works with. Sivamani, who has played for Rahman since Roja, recalls how every artiste who works for him is acknowledged on the CD covers. "Naveen who plays the flute, Javed Ali who does the guitar, became individual performers under him," says Srinivasan.

His studio is said to house a range of instruments from across the world and he has introduced several of them in film music. In Masakalli, for instance, he has revived the accordion. Cello, harp, sarangi, electric violin and a variety of percussion instruments—all have found a place in Rahman’s music.

A great sound engineer and mixer, Rahman has also leveraged technology to bring in new clarity and detailing to music. He is known to record an entire song with just one singer, and later back it with music. "He works with the textures of voice. If the voice is thin, he fills up with instruments like a low cello," says music composer Shantanu Moitra. "He has a magician-like quality in the way he transforms a song by adding layers to it; its complexity comes across with deceptive simplicity," says filmmaker Srinivas Bhashyam. No wonder a Rahman song grows on you with each listening.

Rahman also displays a rare understanding of the context in which his music is set, absorbing the characters, the situations, the emotions in a film before composing. In the lathicharge sequence in Rang de Basanti, for instance, he chose to go with a hauntingly simple Khoon Chala instead of a dramatic percussive track, and managed to create an ironic, melancholic atmosphere for the sequence. For Bombay, he had used a simple violin track for the moving riot sequence.

It’s always difficult to pin down in words the appeal of a Rahman song. It speaks to different people in different ways. The best of music eventually is not about perfection but passion. It is not just about the intricacy of sur, taal or laya but capturing a feeling, touching the listener’s core. If good music is all about a song becoming a listener’s best friend, then Rahman has made us richer by many.
[/tscii:e51f742f2b]

A.ANAND

4th March 2009, 11:00 AM

ஜெய் ரஹ்மான்!

http://www.uyirmmai.com/ContentDetails.aspx?cid=993

A.ANAND

4th March 2009, 07:50 PM

[tscii:b0fe1c7574]ரஹ்மானின் 'ஜெய் ஹோ'வுக்கு சிக்கல்
-கட்சி பாடலாக்குகிறது காங்கிரஸ்?
ஏ.ஆர்.ரஹ்மானை ஆஸ்கர் வரை கொண்டு சென்றது ஜெய் ஹோ என்ற பாடல்! அந்த மேடையில் அவர் பாடியதையும், சென்னைக்கு வந்த ரஹ்மானுக்கு இதே பாடலை பாடி ரசிகர்கள் பிரமாண்ட வரவேற்பு கொடுத்ததையும் யாராலும் அவ்வளவு எளிதில் மறந்துவிட முடியாது.

புரதான சின்னமாக இருந்தாலும் சரி, புகழ் பெற்ற அம்சமாக இருந்தாலும் சரி. அதில் கரித்துண்டால் ஒருவரியாவது எழுதி அதன் புனிதத்தை கெடுக்கவில்லை என்றால், நமக்கெல்லாம் து£க்கமே வராது. இப்போது அதே மாதிரி காரியத்தை செய்திருக்கிறது காங்கிரஸ். இவர்களது கரித்துண்டு கிறுக்கல்களுக்கு ஆளாகியிருப்பது ரஹ்மானின் புகழ் பெற்ற 'ஜெய் ஹோ' பாடல்!

பாராளுமன்ற தேர்தல் நெருங்கி வரும் நேரத்தில், இந்த 'ஜெய் ஹோ' பாடலை தனது பிரச்சாரத்திற்கு பயன்படுத்திக் கொள்ளப் போகிறதாம் காங்கிரஸ். இப்பாடலின் உரிமையை வாங்கி வைத்திருக்கும் நிறுவனத்திடம் பேசி சம்மதிக்க வைத்திருக்கிறார்களாம். இதற்காக பெரும் விலை கொடுக்கப்பட்டதாகவும் தகவல்கள் கசிகிறது. இனிமேல் ரஹ்மானே பாட நினைத்தால் கூட, அதற்கும் கட்சி முத்திரை குத்தி காயப்படுத்தி விடுவார்கள் போலிருக்கிறது.

ஒட்டுமொத்த இந்தியாவே ஜெய் ஹோவை முணுமுணுக்கும் நேரத்தில், வாய்க்கு மேலே தார்பூச முயற்சிக்கும் இந்த தேசிய கட்சிக்கு எதை பூசி எதிர்ப்பை காட்டுவது?

-ஆர்.எஸ்.

[/tscii:b0fe1c7574]

littlemaster1982

4th March 2009, 07:52 PM

Doesn't ARR have the rights for 'Jai Ho'? Congress :curse:

jaaze

4th March 2009, 08:00 PM

Doesn't ARR have the rights for 'Jai Ho'? Congress :curse:

yaen namma ARR ku mattum ippadi? :sigh2:

Thalafanz

4th March 2009, 08:03 PM

Anand, enna ithu??? :banghead:
Namma ooru PKR-kum Jai Ho pAdiduvOmA... :lol:

jaaze

4th March 2009, 08:04 PM

Anand, enna ithu??? :banghead:
Namma ooru PKR-kum Jai Ho pAdiduvOmA... :lol:
yaaru PKR?

kamalsurya

4th March 2009, 08:22 PM

[tscii:a64d423b53]
The titles like “Mozart of Asia”, “Music Genius” and “Music Wizard” etc… have been given to Rahman out of love and respect by the media.

Now A.R.R is going to get a new title.

One which is a real honour for his talent and achievements as it is going to be given by a reputed educational institute.

Anna University in Tamil Nadu has decided to award an honorary doctorate to Rahman.

The university syndicate decided on the world famous composer’s name for the doctorate and the governor has given his approval.

Rahman will be awarded with the doctorate in Media Sciences.

Anna University which is named after the DMK party founder C.N. Annadurai is giving the doctorate as part of its centenary year celebrations.

:clap: :clap: :clap: 2009 Seems to be non- stop honours for the ' Morzart of Madras' :clap: :clap: :clap: [/tscii:a64d423b53]

shocker

5th March 2009, 12:30 AM

I posted this thing about Rahman's doctorate a couple of days back.
Good news.

Scale

5th March 2009, 02:14 AM

I have requested IR forum Mod to stop attacking ARR ATTACK <erased> becoz ARR got Oscars (http://scalerevolves.blogspot.com/)

And thats my response to Mr. Sadanad Menon for his disdained article on outlook

irnet

5th March 2009, 02:38 AM

from RGV blog abr ARR..
nice....http://rgvarma.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!5187B91811914FB4!9226.entry

Scale

5th March 2009, 01:39 PM

This interaction might have impressed ARR to invite RGV and played Maa Tujhe Salam inorder to acquire first-hand opinion. RGV too bemused its too awkward to listen and may backfire heavily for such an incongruous attempt given that it was 50th years of independence and it was his Ist private album as well. But ARR was quiet confident and convinced Bala & Kanika to proceed with the video. Boy, That video was patriotically breathtaking. Ist time you see ARR on music video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJ399KOoNRA) is such an auspicious moment and I still remember that day.

A.ANAND

5th March 2009, 02:28 PM

[tscii:b6f513bd75]Grand Celebrations of felicitating A.R. Rahman
IndiaGlitz [Thursday, March 05, 2009]

Well, if Cliff Richards was alive now, he would've gone irresistible picking guitar and rendering his best spell of ¡¥Congratulations and Jubilations. Yeah! It¡¦s an unending downpour of appreciations our Madras Mozart is surmounted with. Recently, A.R. Rahman was honored by his beloved mentors and versatile musicians for accomplishing his feat of global recognition.

Now, Tamil film industry¡¦s filmmakers, producers and every technician have planned out for a gala celebration of honoring Rahman. It has been stated that the grand occasion held at Nehru Stadium on March 28 will have not just Tamil film personalities, but whole lot of Bollywood and other more celebrities are expected.

Former President APJ Abdul Kalam would be gracing over the occasion as the chief guest¡K As it¡¦s time on for the Lok Sabha Elections, film unit members are sure about not inviting any politicians as the dais may accidentally turn into a podium of indirect propaganda.

[/tscii:b6f513bd75]

A.ANAND

5th March 2009, 02:30 PM

[tscii:c0dfb625cf]Danny Boyle-A.R.Rahman in Bond¡¦s next?
IndiaGlitz [Thursday, March 05, 2009]

A scintillating buzz across the globe is about a source revealing that Danny Boyle has been asked to direct James Bond¡¦s 23rd Film. It¡¦s a high-season for British Filmmaker Danny Boyle who stunned the world with his impeccable story of the ¡¥Slumdog Millionaire¡¦. In fact, the filmmaker was a bit distressed as there were no takers for this film as they felt it wouldn¡¦t do good business at the box office. Nevertheless, the mantra of ¡¥Rags to Riches¡¦ has become a hit yet again with Danny¡¦s able direction, as the film fetched the international awards the crew never even dreamt about.

Post-Oscar triumph, the director has been flooded with offers left right and centre from top production houses one of which is with Barbara Broccoli, producer of James Bond¡¦s 23rd Film. Talks suggest that it was co-producer Callum McDougal who suggested Danny as both of them have shared a good rapport for a very long time. As a matter of fact, Callum who produced Danny¡¦s ¡¥Beach¡¦ was fascinated by his working style.

Says one of the sources, ¡¥Danny¡¦s intense involvement with the motifs he drops on his script papers is unbeatable by any of the contemporary filmmakers. For sure, he would offer a new-dimensioned James Bond and it¡¦s something about turning spotlights of entire globe if Danny is there in Bonds¡¦ family¡¦.

And not only does the story end there, if Boyle signs up for this flick, undoubtedly don¡¦t we all know who the music director for the film would be? Uh-huh! None other than the ¡¥Mozart of Chennai¡¦ our very own A.R. Rahman, as both have already planned to work on another international project that¡¦s expected to be based on the organized crime in Mumbai.

Hold your breath until the official announcements are made. And just imagine Rahman re-tuning James Bond¡¦s signature music that¡¦s a universal theme.

Just can¡¦t wait to hear more right. So are we!

[/tscii:c0dfb625cf]

A.ANAND

5th March 2009, 02:47 PM

cine musicians honor ar rahman

http://www.behindwoods.com/hindi-tamil-galleries/a-r-rahman-04/a-r-rahman-01.html

Jyothsna

5th March 2009, 03:47 PM

Rahman's interview in this week Kumudham, and article on felicitation in Anandha vikatan..

Roshan

6th March 2009, 01:43 PM

Rahman's interview in this week Kumudham, and article on felicitation in Anandha vikatan..

Please post the articles here . Thanks :)

ajaybaskar

6th March 2009, 10:20 PM

https://www.airtelcallhome.com/ics_war/rehman/index.htm

ajaybaskar

8th March 2009, 12:46 AM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7VRmp9ffdo

Source:yahoogroups

Roshan

8th March 2009, 02:01 PM

Ajay, idhu SUN TV program links'a?

jaaze

8th March 2009, 02:03 PM

Ajay, idhu SUN TV program links'a?
:notthatway:
Porumai, roshan
The programme is still going on in India

:wink:

Roshan

8th March 2009, 02:04 PM

Ajay, idhu SUN TV program links'a?
:notthatway:
Porumai, roshan
The programme is still going on in India

:wink:

:P :oops:

ajaybaskar

8th March 2009, 10:39 PM

@Roshan..

http://www.youtube.com/user/arrahmanworld

Roshan

9th March 2009, 09:02 AM

@Roshan..

http://www.youtube.com/user/arrahmanworld

naNRi naNRi naNRi :notworthy:

A.ANAND

9th March 2009, 02:22 PM

A R Rahman to compose for James Bond's next?

NDTVMusic.com
Monday, March 09, 2009 12:27 PM (New Delhi)
Pics: B'wood beauties floored by Rahman
Play: A R Rahman quiz
Congratulate Rahman
Watch: Oscar nominated Jai Ho
Special: A R Rahman
Watch: Rahman does it again in O Saya

The super success of Oscar winner Slumdog Millionaire has been so overwheming that the lucky pair of Danny Boyle and A R Rahman are being flooded with offers.

Grapevine has it that Danny Boyle has been asked to direct James Bond's 23rd film. And since Rahman composed such great music for Slumdog Millionaire, it might just be that the music maestro also gets roped in for the project.

According to unconfirmed reports, Barbara Broccoli, producer of the next James Bond film has approached Danny Boyle for the project.

"Danny's intense involvement with the motifs he drops on his script papers is unbeatable by any of the contemporary filmmakers. For sure, he would offer a new-dimensioned James Bond and it s something about turning spotlights of the entire globe if Danny is there in Bonds family," says a source.

While rumours may be running rife about Rahman being a part of the Bond project, one thing is certain - if Rahman does it, the next James Bond soundtrack would surely be a super duper hit. Jai Ho!

http://music.ndtv.com/Music_Story.aspx?id=ENTEN20090086381&type=musicindia

pure bliss

9th March 2009, 09:58 PM

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 and Slumdog 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!

rediff.com

pure bliss

10th March 2009, 09:29 PM

[tscii:71ebf2f190]thought of sharing few points on ARR which i frontline magazine

SPB

SPB recalls the recording session of “Thanga thamarai magalae” for Minsaara Kanavu. “It required a tone that reflected the feelings of someone totally smitten and intoxicated by love. The character singing the song in the film is on a high after finding his girl.” And if you thought SPB’s rendition conveyed the mood perfectly, he says: “I only tried my best to imitate Rahman, who sang it for me. The imitation fetched me a national award,” he laughs. “He gives singers a lot of liberty, yes. He would ask us to improvise and sing the same line in as many ways as possible. But finally, he would have made you sing it the way he wanted it. He is extremely efficient when it comes to making singers deliver,” adds SPB.

P.Suseela

The veteran singer P. Suseela is full of praise for Rahman. It must have been quite a dream for Rahman to work with his favourite singer. “Even one song can be proof enough for one’s mastery. Listen to ‘Kannukku mai azhagu’ [Pudiya Mugam]. What a melody!” she says

S.Sivakumar

S. Sivakumar, who has been Rahman’s sound engineer for nearly 15 years, says: “Listen to ‘Jiya Jale’ [Dil Se], you will notice the sound of an anklet. It is actually Lataji’s bangles that Sir had recorded.” Similarly, Harini was once laughing in the middle of a recording session. That chirpy laughter made its way into “Suthi suthi vandeeha…” (Padaiyappa). “It sounds so natural”.

Anyone can sound great in Rahman Sir’s music. It is only when we sing live that you realise that it is his supreme use of technology that brings out the best in every voice,” says an upcoming musician. “I was flattered listening to my voice the first time I sang for him. For a moment, I was so proud of that “divine voice”, the singer laughs.

[/tscii:71ebf2f190]

littlemaster1982

10th March 2009, 09:38 PM

:ty: Pure Bliss for sharing. Is this from the latest issue of Frontline?

shocker

10th March 2009, 11:09 PM

Why is everyone assuming Danny Boyle will go for Rahman for the music. Danny Boyle has worked with many other composers producing successful films aswell.
As far as I know, the next James Bond film is not being filmed in India.
Just wondering what leads to this conclusion?

(p.s it would be awesome if AR actually did end up doing music for the next Bond film)

pure bliss

11th March 2009, 12:09 AM

LM,

yeah the latest version

thineshan54321

11th March 2009, 01:39 AM

hi guys, i know there is barely enough time to keep up with ARR presently with news/interviews/shows etc on ARR pouring non-stop. But I kindly request you all to take 6 minutes of your time to listen to a song I made after seeing all the suffering experienced by civilians in Sri Lanka. This is also the reason why I was not too active in this forum lately. As fans of one of the greatest composer in the world, I request every one of you to listen to this track and give me an honest opinion. Out of everyone, I trust your opinions the most so please do give it a listen and comment at http://forumhub.mayyam.com/hub/viewtopic.php?p=1719867#1719867

Thanks in advance.

thamizhvaanan

11th March 2009, 04:50 AM

shocker

11th March 2009, 05:03 AM

The general view is that it is possible although not likely.
Again, I sincerely hope A R does do it...

Thalafanz

11th March 2009, 06:28 AM

thineshan54321

11th March 2009, 06:51 AM

A.ANAND

11th March 2009, 08:31 PM

A. R. Rahman honoured at UK Asian Music Awards
- Planet Bollywood Special Correspondant

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
London, Mar 11 (PTI) Double Oscar-winning musician A R Rahman was honoured with the B4U Outstanding Achievement trophy at the UK Aisan Music Awards 2009 here. The musician was given the award for taking Asian music to the global platform.
Rahman recently won two Oscars, one BAFTA and a Golden Globe award for his music in the British-Indian film "Slumdog Millionaire", a first for any Indian musician.

The UK Asian Music Awards recognise the achievements of Asians in the field of music.

Jay Sean scooped the award for Best Male act and Best Urban act at the ceremony on March 5 while rapper MIA won the award for Best Female act, a release said.

Rishi Rich won the award for best producer and commitment to the scene, and Bobby Friction took home the trophy for best radio host. Other winners included Gurdaas Maan, H Dhami and Jazzy B.

The ceremony was hosted at the Royal Festival Hall in London

ajaybaskar

11th March 2009, 10:19 PM

http://inhome.rediff.com/movies/2009/mar/09when-i-met-rahman.htm

Mahen

12th March 2009, 11:18 AM

Scale

12th March 2009, 02:38 PM

idhaye oru ARR directoro illa fano sollirundha threada create panni kaali pannirupaaingha.

More than Bala I strongly inculplate such interviewers asking "Is ARR suitable for your kind of films" BS! (How dare he asked that!) Bala sensibly replied to a similar question when asked to compare Vikram & Surya because he worked together but this absurd statement proves he is yet another "arrogant fanatic" who will never come out of *** tanks.

"'Where will your journey end? Where is your limit?''

:rotfl: I think I have answered it!

lancelot

12th March 2009, 03:08 PM

sorry for posting this here guys,
but does anyone hav the song Dil Kisi Pe Jab AaJaye by - Sonali Vajpayee?

sorry again

hehe
:D

jaaze

12th March 2009, 03:18 PM

A.ANAND

12th March 2009, 03:32 PM

Bala on Rahman..

A R Rahman has just won the Oscars. You have never worked with him. Will you work with him? Is he suitable for your kind of films?

I can't predict the future. But one thing is sure. Rahman's music would not have worked for my films, from Sethu to Naan Kadavul.

:twisted: This is an insult...Bala i love your films but you deserve :hammer: :hammer: :hammer: :hammer: :hammer: for that statement..

http://specials.rediff.com/movies/2009/mar/10slde1-bala-on-naan-kadavul-god-and-faith.htm

he not insult rahman,avarudai'yya film story -ikku arr music porunthathu innuthan solla vararu!sethu and naan kadavul movie-ellam music-ikku periya scop onnum perisa illa!athan unmai!raja bgm thavira.so don't worry with bala's comment! :D

jaaze

12th March 2009, 03:38 PM

he not insult rahman,avarudai'yya film story -ikku arr music porunthathu innuthan solla vararu!sethu and naan kadavul movie-ellam music-ikku periya scop onnum perisa illa!athan unmai!raja bgm thavira.so don't worry with bala's comment! :D

I agree with u Anand :D
Interviewer-a thaan :hammer: pannanum

A.ANAND

12th March 2009, 03:43 PM

Brand Rahman goes sky-high

After winning two Academy Awards, AR Rahman's brand value has skyrocketed to Rs.10 crore. Sources in the industry are saying that the Indian composer and musician has recently bagged an offer from Apple for this sum, which insiders indicate is around Rs.8 crore more than what he was getting previously.

A source told the DNA, "It is being hugely gossiped in the circuit that Rahman is being offered by international companies a sum of something around Rs.10 crore. He certainly has become the most sought-after celeb in the ad world if he is getting such a high figure. The Oscars is the reason behind this."

However, a close aide of Rahman states, "This news is highly speculative. It is true that Rahman is associated with Apple, but that's because T Selvakumar (who is the managing director of Rahman's KM Music Conservatory) is associated with Apple." Meanwhile, AR Rahman featured on the Filmfare Power List at No.8.

http://www.planetra diocity.com/ musicreporter/ gossip.php? gossipid= 1030
__._,_.___

A.ANAND

12th March 2009, 09:10 PM

Rahman makes it to Billboard Hot 100 Singles

IndiaFM | Thursday, 12 March , 2009, 11:49

The one name that stands out in the Indian music scene is none other than the musical genius, AR Rahman. Following his double win at the Oscars, the entire Indian industry has been put on the international map of tunes.

Slumdog and Rahman are top winners at Oscars

However, the best as they say is reserved for the last, though Rahman has been felicitated by the big guns, how many of the commoners have heard of him? This was the exact question that has been answered with the recent announcement of the Billboard Hot 100 list of songs. Making another first was the musical maestro again as he was voted as the first Indian musician to be listed among the top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100 Singles.

Rahman, you make us proud!

This comes after the recent release of the Pussycat Dolls version of his Oscar-winning song Jai Ho which quickly moved the single from number 100 to number 15 on the charts, with no sign of slowing down.

A R Rahman`s homecoming

http://sify.com/movies/bollywood/fullstory.php?id=14869018

pure bliss

12th March 2009, 09:42 PM

[tscii:d389d06af2]Golden Global Rahman - B.Rangan

HOW COULD AR RAHMAN BECOME THE FIRST Indian musician to hold an Oscar? This
rhetorical question arises from the signs, over the years, that if the genius
from Chennai found his way to global recognition, it would be through the
Grammies. That was the international award I thought he'd win first, this
restless pop-rock explorer whose far-flung voyages of musical introspection have
consistently reshaped the landscape of the film song. There was the unmatched
finish in his albums, for instance – the kind of sonic spit-polish we've
encountered only in international records. Then there were the influences that
shaped Rahman – Osibisa, Jim Reeves, Switched-On Bach, Chick Corea, Vangelis and
Dave Grusin, none of which appear, at least at first glance, capable of being
co-opted into the traditional five-minute film song.

Even Rahman's early days – the days leading up to August 1992, when the sounds
of Roja exploded in Tamil Nadu, causing fissures and cracks in the existing
compositional model (the symphonic orchestral model, exemplified by the
monolithic might of Ilayaraja), and the eventual breaking away of a new musical
subcontinent – pointed not so much towards a film composer as some sort of
incipient rock star. First, Rahman's classmates roped him into a band for
inter-school cultural competitions, introducing him to rock and Deep Purple and
Pink Floyd. Then came Roots, the band Rahman formed with musicians like
Sivamani, where he procured a sequencing gear and began to compose experimental
pieces. Then L Shankar came calling, asking Rahman to back his band, Epidemics.

Rahman even complained to Rolling Stone, a little more than a year ago, about
the lack of opportunity in the pre-Roja days, coming off like a sweaty little
man whose palms were callused from pushing against a giant boulder. "It was
frustrating. It was only film music. To liberate yourself from this and go to
another space was impossible. A normal person would never relate to what we
wanted to play." And look at him now, cradling two Academy Awards in his arms in
the manner of a proud father posing with newborn twins. It's still only "film
music" – but he has liberated it and gone into the other space he so desired,
the global pop-rock space. And, miracle of miracles, the "normal people" he
referred to, those happy, willing slaves to traditional models of film music,
have snapped their shackles. They now wave cigarette lighters in unison with
Rahman's rhythms.

I would be lying if I said I saw this moment. It was the eighties. Hindi film
music was, for a large part, stricken by drought. But down in Tamil Nadu, the
decade was marked by a ceaseless downpour, thanks to Ilayaraja, a benevolent
monarch who doled out musical riches to his subjects with unstinting largesse.
And yet, there was a question that hovered in the air – unasked, unanswered. MS
Viswanathan, the magician before Ilayaraja, sprinkled fairy dust on the melody
line, causing it to burst into miraculous shapes and forms. Ilayaraja,
subsequently, breathed life into the interstices. With his staggering gift for
arrangement, he ensured that no part of a song was left untended, even the parts
behind the vocals, and especially the parts between the stanzas. So the question
we were asking – even if we weren't aware, then, that we were asking it – is
what else could be done with the film song.

With his breakthrough in Roja, Rahman answered that question. And he did so by
reshaping the dynamics of the acoustics, something that could never have been
done in the era of live recording. The sound just before Rahman (that is,
Ilayaraja's sound) was characterised by weight, by the twinning of a melody line
with a contrapuntal groove. Rahman's sound, on the other hand, was the very
definition of lightness. It was as if the tune was floating in an amnion of
ambient music, as if the melody lines were freed from instrumental underpinnings
and this weight was redistributed in the surroundings. It was as if the very
atmosphere were aquiver with sound. No one had heard anything like it – not in
Tamil Nadu, and not in India, as Roja went on to enslave a nation.

It was a young sound, a modern sound, and – though we didn't know it then – a
global sound, even if, for a while, it appeared that Rahman's music could only
be cotton candy, spun sugar that's sweet on the ears but with barely any
nutrition. There was, for instance, Kangalil enna eeramo (Uzhavan, 1993), where
the soaring melody lines were tethered to a bouncy, pizzicato percussion, or
Usilampatti penkutti (Gentleman, 1993), where Rahman proved that it was possible
to rustle up a rustic ambience without invoking Ilayaraja. These were beautiful
numbers, but they did not especially point towards a composer capable of true
greatness. There was something almost antiseptic about these songs – they were
too refined, too polished, too perfect. We loved these songs because they were a
welcome change, but little did we suspect that Rahman was just warming up.

In 1995, with Rangeela, Rahman accomplished something no composer from the South
had – he successfully crossed over to Hindi cinema with a set of original
compositions. A number like Kya kare kya na kare, for instance, sat perfectly in
a Mumbai milieu, empathetically tuned to the tossed-off angst of a tapori torn
between being in love and admitting to being in love. And back home, Rahman was
dazzling fans with his facility with symphonic arrangements – in Strawberry
kanne (Minsaara Kanavu, 1997), whose operetta texture was just right for the
onscreen battle-of-the-sexes banter – and even swing jazz, in Kannai katti
kollaadhey (Iruvar, 1997). With the irresistible guitar riffs that kicked off
the latter, and the delightful percussion that changed colour on alternate sets
of a four-count beat, the thundering chorus – Viduthalai ("Freedom") – appeared
to be a triumphant cry of liberation from traditional modes of creating film
music.

And then, sometime towards the end of nineties, Rahman's music began to achieve
the kind of burnished glow that only comes from the perfect balance of personal
creativity and public satisfaction. Overnight, the composer got rid of the
awkward pauses that would sometimes bring the mood of a song to a grinding halt
(the suspended-in-time sitar strains after the mukhda of Pyaar yeh in Rangeela,
for instance). He ironed out his tune transitions. He smoothened out his
interludes, the one thing he never appeared to give much thought to earlier. I
still recall how startled I was by the astounding Jiya jale (Dil Se, 1998),
where a plaintive sarangi bracketed the opening line of the antara without
interrupting for a second the rhythm of the piece, or Rut aa gayi re (1947
Earth, 1998), whose magnificent second interlude bristled with
borderline-menacing strings that evoked Prokofiev's Montagues and Capulets.

And where Rahman's earlier numbers were (mostly) merely catchy and fun, his work
at this point became gifts that kept on giving. Each time you heard a song,
you'd unearth a new layer, and yet, if you didn't want to dig all that much,
they were still – well – catchy and fun on the surface, which translated to
off-the-charts popularity. And there was always a balance. For every upbeat
Kahin aag lage (Taal, 1999), there was a wistful Nahin saamne, with a gentle
tom-tom rhythm adding to the melancholia, as if even the percussion were too
drained for anything more animated, and if playfulness marked the mood of
Kaadhal sadugudu (Alaipaayuthey, 2000), the ticking heart of the film was
contained in Snehidhane, where Rahman poured his soul into delineating the sweet
sorrow inherent in a relationship where man and woman were united by marriage
and yet separated by distance.

And now, it appears Rahman has completed his transition to the other extreme,
with albums that are increasingly more personal, more idiosyncratic, and,
therefore, infinitely more fascinating. Towards the end of Barso re (Guru,
2007), the low-throbbing hum of a lightsabre made an unexpected appearance, and
in Style (Sivaji: The Boss, 2007) – an instance of Rahman's experimentation at
its eccentric best – the mood was as if an eighties electro-pop band like
Kraftwerk were slowed down to a crawl and layered with raucous bursts of hip-hop
before the whole thing were rendered in Japanese (thanks to the layering of the
lyrics, which were all but incomprehensible). There's very little in his music
that's instantly catchy and fun anymore, because Rahman is no longer just making
soundtracks; he's painting soundscapes.

Over the years, our concept of the Film Album has been a collection of songs of
five to six different moods, and the skill of the composers was revealed in the
way they worked around these limitations. It's not that they never experimented,
but these experimentations seldom interfered with the surface of the song – and
so the casual listener still came away with something to hum after one round of
radio play. But Rahman doesn't seem to care about any of this – which is really
the only way for a pure musician to work. (Of course, you could argue that a
music director for a movie can't afford to be a "pure musician," and you would
be right in a way.) The sound of Rahman, today, is the sound of a musician
trying to break free. (Now you see why I thought he'd bring home a Grammy,
rather than two Oscars?)

And that's why, unsurprisingly, the only constant of a Rahman album is the
difference. In one youthful romance, you could get a sprightly sparkler of a
love song, something relatively traditional like Kabhi kabhi Aditi (Jaane Tu Ya
Jaane Na, 2008), whose surprise lies mainly in the rhythm, which kicks in like
an afterthought, well into the second line, changing, in an instant, the texture
of a number that you thought was going to be coloured primarily by whiny
pickings on an acoustic guitar. Whereas in another youthful romance, Rahman
could spring, out of nowhere, a song like Paravaigal seyyudhe (Sillunu Oru
Kadhal, 2006), setting the words to spunky, sprightly, bite-sized bebop riffs,
as if a brassier version of his own Vennila (Iruvar) were routed through Dizzy
Gillespie's Oh-Sho-Be-Do-Be.

Even when Rahman's music isn't what you expect, even when it doesn't find its
way to that sweet spot, you almost always catch a whiff of creative
restlessness, that refusal to settle for easy reconfigurations of past hits when
that could be all that the marketplace demands – and in that respect, he is the
true successor of RD Burman, another restless experimenter whose sound defied
the sameness of much of his competition. That's why it's surprising that Time
labelled Rahman the Mozart of Madras, instead of going with someone like
Schoenberg – to pick a name out of the classical music canon – who did much to
veer music away from pre-established styles. That is Rahman's great achievement,
that he pioneered a style that's entirely his own.

Rahman finished what RD Burman began, but couldn't complete because of the times
he lived in. One of the reasons Rahman's genius has shone through so unfettered
is that he arrived on the musical scene when the country was expanding, when the
world was shrinking, and when he could be exactly who he wanted to be without
worrying if enough listeners would get his music – whether in the North or in
the South. During the age of MSV and Ilayaraja, Tamil film music was for Tamil
Nadu and the Tamils scattered worldwide. Very few non-Tamils had a clue what
this music was all about because the film industry, the music industry, the
country, and indeed the world, was split up into isolated pockets of locally
consumed culture.

The audience for the music of those older composers was a vertical cross-section
of Tamil Nadu, percolating from the cities downwards to the tiny little
outposts, and it is a mark of the genius of MSV and Ilayaraja that they were
able to incorporate so many sounds and so many genres into their music, while
still satisfying what you'd call the least-common-denominator listener, the
Tamil equivalent of someone from the North who tapped his feet to massy
Laxmikant-Pyarelal numbers. But today, thanks to the Internet and a gaggle of
news channels traversing the breadth of the nation in search of stories – can
you imagine a Tamil masala movie named Sivaji, starring a Tamil hero named
Rajinikanth, becoming a nationwide sensation even ten years ago? – the world is
clued into what is happening at our doorsteps, and when we raised a toast to
Rahman, it was only a matter of time before rest of the nation, and subsequently
the world did too.

Rahman is the product of a generation that never existed earlier – the global
Tamilian, if you will, and by extension, the global Indian. And when it came to
the "sound" of his music – rooted yet not specifically so, Indian yet not
alienatingly so – he had the extraordinary latitude of not having to depend on
the earlier top-down model, the vertical model of listeners inside a state. He
could, instead, get the same numbers of listeners (and perhaps more) thanks to a
horizontal model, spread out across the surface, the cream, the upper crust of
the state, the country and the world. He can, today, afford to appeal only to
the equivalent of the consumers of multiplex movies. Because even if there
aren't enough buyers for his kind of global music – think Hey, goodbye nanba
(Aayitha Ezhuthu, 2004) – inside Tamil Nadu, the numbers are more than made up
for by music enthusiasts across the country, and around the world.

This global market has allowed Rahman to experiment with his sound, and it has
allowed his genius to unfurl on his terms. Today, Rahman need not concern
himself about the pan-Indian viability of – to take an example from his
outstanding soundtrack for Delhi-6, released this February – the
Sting-meets-Steely Dan ethos of Rehna tu. This is a global sound that is not
going to find favour in the interiors of an India whose films (at least from
Bollywood) have increasingly oriented themselves towards the tastes of upscale
urbanites – and Rahman wouldn't have been able to put out such a tune, say,
twenty years ago. (Even if he wanted to, the director would have balked.) Such
phenomenal freedom – to do exactly what one wants to do, and to be accepted and
celebrated for the same – is a consequence of the global age Rahman is in.

Before Rahman, when composers wanted to stretch, when they wanted to exercise
the muscles atrophied by the monotony of film music, they branched out into
non-film albums. In the mid-eighties, for instance, Ilayaraja came out with How
To Name It and Nothing But Wind, and RD Burman collaborated with Jose Flores on
Pantera. But today, (multiplex) Bollywood has become so experimental that Rahman
can explore non-film-style music within the context of a film album. I suspect
an interesting trend will emerge if we move away from the cities and conduct
polls on the kind of music the people in the interiors are really swaying to. I
doubt, for instance, that they would have the patience or the inclination to
subscribe to the famous dictum of needing repeated listenings to get someone's
music – but the fact is that Rahman doesn't need to factor these considerations
into his compositions. He can just be himself.

The evolution of Bollywood is the other factor that has aided the evolution of
Rahman. Considering that he is among the most collaborative of composers, the
most accepting of the humbling notion that one needn't always know everything,
it is fortunate that a significant portion of his energies are channelled
towards gilding the visions of Bollywood filmmakers who are ambitious, who
understand the value Rahman brings to their films, and who do not mind giving
him the space and the time and the collaborative creative inputs to bring out
the best in him. Where a composer from an earlier era may have burned out
because of having to conjure up, for the millionth time, a generic love song or
a generic estrangement number, these directors have kept Rahman's creative fires
burning.

Then, of course, there's the dizzying panoply of technology that's taken for
granted today, which has helped the recording style become a part of Rahman's
sound. Earlier, the tabla was just a tabla, and a voice was available in just
one timbre. But today, a tabla is simply an input for a console that can render
it practically unrecognisable, practically a spanking new instrument. The
composer can, quite literally, play God – and no song need ever sound like an
earlier one any more. In Masakkali (the hit track from Delhi-6), for instance,
there's a periodic flight of violins, which adds a fantastic, out-of-nowhere
texture to the number. But it's not violins. It's not a full-bodied
string-section sound, in that it's been tempered (and tampered with), using
technology. Rahman's vocabulary – and by extension, the vocabulary of those who
followed – is completely different from that of earlier composers from the
live-music generation (and subsequently, more in tune with a global market).

There's, of course, a flip side to this global sound, and that's that everyone
in the globe has access to its building blocks, something that Rahman
acknowledged while speaking to Rolling Stone. "[At the time of Roja], that sound
was just mine. Now people are sharing that sound. So to do something is not just
about a different sound anymore." Perhaps inevitably, today, the lines between
the top composers (Rahman, Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy, Vishal-Shekhar) are increasingly
beginning to blur. When the compositional style is "Indian," it's easier to
identify, say, Arziyaan (Delhi-6) as a Rahman creation, for no other composer
whips up such a spiritual fervour. But it becomes murkier when we're talking
pop-style compositions – like Kabhi kabhi Aditi, or Kahin to hogi (also from
Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na, which sounded like a throwback to eighties' acts like Paul
Young and Peter Cetera).

But Rahman's best compositions are uniquely his, if only for the dense (and
daringly ingenious) layering. In another approach to his craft that is light
years distanced from those before him (where the entire composition needed to be
envisioned in advance), Rahman approaches music like an editor would approach a
movie, or a precocious child a Lego set. He records all the takes, picks what he
wants, and splices the bits into the final composition. It is, perhaps, no
accident that AR Rahman is the first Indian musician to get global recognition –
because his is the first instance of a truly global sound, from global processes
engineered with global technology. Earlier, in the case of pioneers, the
oft-employed cliché was East-meets-West, but the genius of Rahman is that, in
his hands, East is West. The twain has met.

Rahman is a composer who's always two steps ahead of technology, so the workings
of his phenomenal mind will always find more creative modes of expression. The
future, therefore, looks limitless. With those Oscars in hand, he could find
doors opening for him in Hollywood. But it is still the traditional symphonic
score that drives most Western films, so Rahman could do worse than seek out a
few "non-exotic" projects, so that he doesn't become the go-to guy only when a
"Bollywood-style" Jai Ho number is required. But all that can wait. Let's just
savour his win for now. This is a moment that's not likely to be repeated in our
lifetime, at least not through projects made within our country. The wise minds
that submit our films for Oscar consideration (in the foreign film category)
routinely place their bets on losers, so even that solitary Oscar doesn't look
likely. And this only makes Rahman's double win more special – a global
recognition for a truly global musician[/tscii:d389d06af2]

jaaze

12th March 2009, 10:08 PM

wow. longest post in hub I suppose :)

jabarullah

13th March 2009, 10:11 AM

watch our hero acting...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3dtShq9r-U

SoftSword

13th March 2009, 02:01 PM

wow. longest post in hub I suppose :)

and i hav read all of it in one go without gettin bored...
when i finished it... i was surprised on myself...

littlemaster1982

13th March 2009, 02:04 PM

MADDY

13th March 2009, 04:06 PM

wow. longest post in hub I suppose :)

and i hav read all of it in one go without gettin bored...
when i finished it... i was surprised on myself...

It is by Baradwaj Rangan (http://www.desipundit.com/baradwajrangan/2009/03/12/ar-rahman-the-road-to-the-oscars/). One of his previous articles about ARR was little :x He has made amends with this one :P

here too, he has taken subtle digs at thalaivar and his fame........problem with brangan and some of the pundits in the hub is they are "purists" and purists-naale namakku allergy.........avingala naan "tomato puree" rangela kooda use panradhu illa.......they are still stuck in the world of acoustic arrangements and natural instruments...........they cant see the soul/beauty in electronica..........fusion-nna ippadi dhaan pannanum-nnu rules vekkura saadhi avinga ellam..........

enakku idhellam kooda problem illa- he calls himself a "self-proclaimed" rahman fan - nee yaaara vena iruda, aana nee rahman fan-a illaya-ngradhu nee ezhudhura 10 lines-a vechhu naa kandipudichhiduven.........

equanimus

13th March 2009, 05:24 PM

complicateur

13th March 2009, 05:29 PM

AhA! eq. munthikittAru...
MADDY,
Plus pundit, purist-nu ellAm thitturathu remba over. :)

crajkumar_be

13th March 2009, 05:32 PM

:shock:
Maddy,
This is 'an' ultimate tribute to Rahman and after reading this i thought deep down BR is more of an ARR fan (also looking at this recent posts on the Other)

I mean if at all you have to nail "digs" in the article, it is definitely not against Rahman... :roll:

And whats with this extremely hostile posturing? :roll:

sarna_blr

13th March 2009, 05:55 PM

Plum

13th March 2009, 05:56 PM

Aw! eq, compli peru ellam parthuttu indha threadkulla vandha...
Baradwaj Rangan is getting it from both sides - ange avar blog-la IR fans kacharanga, Rahman-ai overa pugazhnduttarunnu. Inge ARR fans kacharanga. The bloke just cant win :-)

eq put it neatly as usual.
compli, maddy ungalai dhaan thittinara purist-nu?

CR, illai, Baradwaj remains an IR fan primarily but is much more of an ARR fan than any other IR fan I know. But "you are with us or against us" logic apply pannina, then we'll have to come to the same conclusion as Maddy!

Ramakrishna

13th March 2009, 06:43 PM

watch our hero acting...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3dtShq9r-U

Wow..Thalaivar Hindi ellaam paesuraaru :thumbsup:

MADDY

13th March 2009, 06:45 PM

CR,Compli, equa, Plum - enakku ennamo, baradwaj rangan and most blog writers have a "hidden" motive when they write good things abt ARR......i always think, they establish themselves as "neutral" with such blogs and finally say "i'm neutral but IR is the best, u know being neutral i score more points over you" :lol: all neutral guys consider IR as the best, cinema-nna ennannu therijavan, instruments-naa enna-nnu therinjivan, blog ezhudha therinjavan-nnu ippadi branch aayitte poittu iruppanga.........

couple of points that BR wrote abt how ARR's genius shone becos of "globalisation" just confirmed my doubts........LM too had some problems with his blogs on ARR - so im not the only one......

and most of such people who take a hidden potshot at ARR come from "purists" family........generalisation is wrong - but then, there are too many exceptions :)

A.ANAND

13th March 2009, 06:55 PM

கமல் படத்தில் ஸ்ருதி பாட்டுவெள்ளிக்கிழமை, மார்ச் 13, 2009, 18:23 [IST] இலவச நியூஸ் லெட்டர் பெற

மேலும் புதிய படங்கள் கமல்ஹாசனின் தலைவன் இருக்கின்றான் படத்தின் தீம் பாடலை அவரது மகள் ஸ்ருதி கமல் பாடவுள்ளாராம்.

தந்தையின் படத்தில் ஸ்ருதி பாடுவது புதிதல்ல. ஏற்கனவே ஹேராம் படத்தில் அவர் குரல் கொடுத்துள்ளார். சமீபத்தில் வாரணம் ஆயிரம் படத்திலும் தனது குரல் முத்திரையைப் பதித்தார் ஸ்ருதி.

இந்த நிலையில், தலைவன் இருக்கின்றான் படத்தின் தீம் பாடலை ஸ்ருதி பாடவுள்ளார். ஏ.ஆர்.ரஹ்மான்தான் இந்தப் படத்தின் இசையமைப்பாளர் என்பது குறிப்பிடத்தக்கது.

இதற்கிடையே, தலைவன் இருக்கின்றான் படத்தில் வரும் டிவி ரிப்போர்டர் கேரக்டரில் நடிக்குமாறு ஸ்ருதியை அவரது வட்டாரம் நெருக்கி வருகிறதாம். இந்த ரோலுக்கு இதுவரை எந்த நடிகையையும் போடவில்லை கமல். எனவே ஸ்ருதிக்கு நடிக்கும் வாய்ப்பும் இருக்கவே செய்கிறது.

WOOOW!ARR IS MD 4 KAMAL'S 'THALAIVAN IRUKIRAN'! :thumbsup:

MADDY

13th March 2009, 07:00 PM

enakku idhellam kooda problem illa- he calls himself a "self-proclaimed" rahman fan - nee yaaara vena iruda, aana nee rahman fan-a illaya-ngradhu nee ezhudhura 10 lines-a vechhu naa kandipudichhiduven.........
Maddy,
I must express my complete disagreement with your definition of a "fan" here. I've often pointed this out, but your logic that an artist's "fan" has to pay his or her utmost respect ("mudhal mariyAdhai," if you will) to that artist, is extremely simplistic to say the least. (It would just fall apart if we expand the "universe" of the debate.) I'm a huge fan of Bala, but that automatically does not at all mean that I think he's the greatest Indian filmmaker ever. Irrespective of who I think is the greatest Indian filmmaker, I'd still be a big fan of Bala, wouldn't I?

first of all, thanks for still having hope on me/my opinions :lol: ok, when it comes to IFM, IR and ARR are just indomitable peaks, i cant think beyond them..........so, if i'm a fan of ARR i have to consider ARR as the best - i dont think i can be a fan of ARR and still think IR is the best - i dont think it works here....... :)

i think ARR and IR are completed opposite philosophies - "a person being a IR fan but still respects ARR from all angles and vice-versa is just <out of my syllabus>" :lol:

Plum

13th March 2009, 07:03 PM

Maddy, the only thing that matters from your POV is what you think - you are not going to get the same exact degree of fandom for Rahman from anyone else in the world. For all the brotherhood here, Scale's degree of fandom would differ by certain amount from yours. Konjam apdi ipdi thaan iruppainga. Solpa Adjust madkondri. ICC maadhiri 15 degree flexion limit vechunda, ellam sariya poyidum, naangalum 'legal action' limit-la vandhuduvom unga paaravaiyila :-)

BTW, Baradwaj is a genuinely 'neutral'(not a word I like but vera edhuvum ganbagam varalai describe panna). He engages with anything(movie, music) he comes across and analyses objectively. Truly the most objective person (when it comes to IR-ARR) that I have had the opportunity to interact across forums and real-life.

A.ANAND

13th March 2009, 07:07 PM

Leave me alone: AR Rahman

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Entertainment/Leave-me-alone-AR-Rahman/articleshow/4259300.cms

A.ANAND

13th March 2009, 07:09 PM

A.R. Rahman at the CavinKare Ability Awards

March 13, 2009

The 7th CavinKare Ability Awards 2009 is scheduled to be held at the Lady Andal School Campus, Chetpet, Chennai on Saturday, March 14, 2009. Aimed at honoring the achievers with disabilities, the event will be held at the Sri Mutha Venkatasubba Rao Concert Hall. The jury, comprising for A.R. Rahman, Revathi, Mohan Giri, N. Murali and Radhamohan, will select the winners based on their performances.

The event will also feature an exclusive fashion show,

choreographed by noted fashion choreographer Sunil Menon. Celebrities from different walks of life and disabled individuals will showcase the creations by popular designers in the show. Special arrangements for the disabled at the venue have been made.

http://www.behindwoods.com/tamil-movie-news-1/mar-09-02/a-r-rahman-13-03-09.html

MADDY

13th March 2009, 07:15 PM

Maddy, the only thing that matters from your POV is what you think - you are not going to get the same exact degree of fandom for Rahman from anyone else in the world.

nah - i have met of hordes of thalaivar fans who are much intense than me......they dismiss people like even maniratnam's comments as pro-IR.......

For all the brotherhood here, Scale's degree of fandom would differ by certain amount from yours. Konjam apdi ipdi thaan iruppainga. Solpa Adjust madkondri. ICC maadhiri 15 degree flexion limit vechunda, ellam sariya poyidum, naangalum 'legal action' limit-la vandhuduvom unga paaravaiyila :-)

:lol: i know people find it a bit silly with my "on-off" logic but trust me - it works and works vice-versa too......dont trust a ARRahman fan's opinion on IR and his music completely :lol: but the difference is, ARR fans dont project themselves as neutral (but if u see one, bring him to me :evil: :lol: )

BTW, Baradwaj is a genuinely 'neutral'(not a word I like but vera edhuvum ganbagam varalai describe panna). He engages with anything(movie, music) he comes across and analyses objectively. Truly the most objective person (when it comes to IR-ARR) that I have had the opportunity to interact across forums and real-life.

i have some reservations on BR.......i dont agree to him being called "most objective"

Plum

13th March 2009, 07:21 PM

maddy, too many generalisations. Sociology-ngara subject-aiye puratti pottudava polirikkepa :-)
I called BR the most objective I have met - you might have met other ones - so it loops back to the first sentence of what I said in my last post.

raagas

13th March 2009, 07:31 PM

i think ARR and IR are completed opposite philosophies - "a person being a IR fan but still respects ARR from all angles and vice-versa is just <out of my syllabus>" :lol:

I dont see why it is difficult to like two opposite schools of thought. I like traditional attires as well as Jeans. I like home cooked south-Indian meal, as well as continental food as well as fusion (Paneer Pizza). i Like Indian films as well as international films.I like indian classical as well as western classical. Or even blues and world music. I like IR music as well as ARR music.
We can always enjoy things, as long as they are good, and more importantly, as long as we dont compare them with each other and expect.

equanimus

13th March 2009, 07:41 PM

first of all, thanks for still having hope on me/my opinions :lol:
ellAm oru karuththup parimARRam thanE...

i think ARR and IR are completed opposite philosophies -
Ah... how is that? Are you referring to their respective styles? Surely there's a big difference between "different" and "opposite?"

"a person being a IR fan but still respects ARR from all angles and vice-versa is just <out of my syllabus>" :lol:
Maddy,
See, there's a bit of a problem with the choice of words here. I'm not saying that I am a "fan" of Raaja and "respect" ARR (taking myself just as an example). There seems to be something slightly backhanded about the word "respect" as it is used here. What I'm saying is that I'm a huge fan of both, and also that Raaja is clearly the greater artist to my mind. I've never felt the need to mince words in this respect. Personally, I find it weird when people express shock or surprise when I gush about Rahman's songs, just because I openly say that I prefer Raaja!

equanimus

13th March 2009, 08:00 PM

but the difference is, ARR fans dont project themselves as neutral (but if u see one, bring him to me :evil: :lol: )
I don't believe in any notion of "neutrality" in appreciating art, Maddy. I say what I like. That's my perspective. What is really neutral about it? (How can anyone be a fan of someone and still be neutral towards him or her? appuRam ennaththukku visiRaNum?)

complicateur

13th March 2009, 08:21 PM

Plum - I cannot be sure who MADDY was referring to by the 'purist' connotation. Whomsoever it may be I doubt they would want to be segregated from the rest of the 'populace' by the conferring of such pointless 'praise' as 'purist' or 'pundit'.

MADDY - Eq. has already posed the question but I shall repeat - why 'opposite' as opposed to 'different'? In fact I might even go so far as to say that while musically they are vastly different, philosophically they may be closer than we suspect.

And as always eq. makes an excellent point about neutrality as regards art. There is only 'like' and 'indifferent' as far as a piece is concerned.

MADDY

13th March 2009, 08:33 PM

I dont see why it is difficult to like two opposite schools of thought. I like traditional attires as well as Jeans. I like home cooked south-Indian meal, as well as continental food as well as fusion (Paneer Pizza). i Like Indian films as well as international films.I like indian classical as well as western classical. Or even blues and world music. I like IR music as well as ARR music.
We can always enjoy things, as long as they are good, and more importantly, as long as we dont compare them with each other and expect.

hey did i say i stop eating idlis or stopped liking them :lol: i love IR's music, but my heart is with ARR's music........i think we can like so many things but u can call only one the best.....

equa, i got ur point - i think u do like ARR music and consider being a fan of his but think Raaja is greater......i dunno if u consider bach or mozart greater than raaja, i certainly consider them as benchmarks (really, who am i to consider them :lol: ) but i'm interested in ARR's works more than their works........they could be greater artistes(only bach and mozart not IR) than ARR but my heart is still with ARR.......his music appeals to me the most than anyone else's - and i'm ARRahman fan - can u say that ? try to tell me

equanimus

13th March 2009, 09:06 PM

his music appeals to me the most than anyone else's - and i'm ARRahman fan - can u say that ? try to tell me
No, but I can say I'm a Rahman fan. I'm not that familiar with a Mozart or a Beethoven at all (Bach ellAm suththam!) to compare their works with Raaja or Rahman. The crucial difference is of course that both Raaja and Rahman are "local boys" in our view, and hence our greater interest towards them. Here again, we two are on the same boat!

A.ANAND

14th March 2009, 01:31 PM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I12uB7vo2M8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pu4E6hYcFyY

A.ANAND

14th March 2009, 01:41 PM

'Rahman had no airs at all'

March 13, 2009 11:59 IST

We asked readers if they had ever met Oscar winning composer A R Rahman [Images], and we got quite a response.

Arvind Narayanan writes in to say that he ran into Rahman twice in a day. He shares his memories:

I met A R Rahman twice at the Mumbai [Images] airport last September.

While I landed in Mumbai in the morning, I saw a crowd at the car pickup area. When I got closer, I realised that Rahman was being mobbed for autographs.

I waited my turn and even though I was one of the last in the queue, he was gracious enough to sign an autograph and pose for a photograph with me.

I wanted to talk to him but held back as he was looking hassled. Plus, he was busy speaking and texting on his mobile.

Later, when I went to the airline lounge, I ran into Rahman again. He was sitting all alone, waiting for a flight to Chennai. I sat next to him and spoke for about 10 minutes. He was very polite and humble and answered my questions patiently. I would have continued talking but there were a few more fans who wanted to talk to him so I bid him goodbye.

Looking back, I realised that he had no airs at all. He was such a nice gentleman. It was a dream come true for me.

Keep those memories coming in. The world would love to hear about Rahman.

A.ANAND

14th March 2009, 01:44 PM

pure bliss

14th March 2009, 05:14 PM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I12uB7vo2M8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pu4E6hYcFyY

thanks anand

keyboard la kai vilayaduthu

Yathu

14th March 2009, 10:13 PM

A longtime Bollywood icon, he has composed some of the most stunning film music ever recorded. Now, his work is going global: the chart-topping soundtrack for Slumdog Millionaire, which won Oscars for best original score and best original song, has made him an instant hit with Western audiences. Submit your questions for A.R. Rahman below, then look for the interview in an upcoming issue of TIME magazine.

http://10questions.time.com/2009/03/10/ask-ar-rahman/?apage=4#comments

ajaybaskar

15th March 2009, 09:23 AM

[tscii:d194b8bd17]Unplugged: A R Rahman

His music is everywhere; but his personal life lies ensconced within the walls of his two-storey bungalow in Kodambakkam! We try to dig out AR Rahman lesser-known facts about the fiercely private musician AR Rahman

-Nine-year-old Dileep Kumar a.k.a A R Rahman slept late, played carrom and hated waking up at 7 a.m to practice at the piano!

-Asked to leave school due to lack of attendance, he quit studies at the age of 15.

-When Rahman’s sister fell seriously ill in 1988, Pir Qadri, who cured her, advised the family to convert to Islam and they did!

-Dileep had a choice of seven names during his conversion. He chose Allah Rakha Rahman.

-Call it a filmi coincidence, his name was Dileep Kumar before he converted to Islam and his wife’s name is Saira Bano!

-His nickname is Isai Puyal.

-Rahman is closest to his mother Kasturi who converted to Kareema Begum.

-A true believer, he offers namaaz five times a day.

-Is superstitious about starting work according to the prayer time in the place of worship close to his heart!

-The maestro loves eating rasam-rice. When busy, he eats lunch at 5 p.m and dinner after midnight!

-Rahman lives in a small two-storey bungalow in Kodambakkam.

-He has three kids Khatija (13), Rahima (10), and son Ameen (5).

-His mother spotted Saira at a dargah and sent a marriage proposal right away!

-Saira Banu is the sister-in-law of Tamil actor Rahman and the daughter of a Chennai-based businessman from Kutch.

-The musician's wife likes to “dress him up” for important occasions; he is mostly dressed in black. AR Rahman (AP photo)More Pics

-Rahman loves to shop for music records at the Virgin Records store in New York. Once he landed in NY at 2 a.m and dashed off to the store.

-In Chennai, Rahman takes his family and friends to a Thai joint located behind The Park Sheraton.

-Rahman's long-time associate drummer Shivamani once cooked fish curry for him in London while he was working on Bombay Dreams. Rahman loved it. He's a non-veg but has suddenly stopped eating prawns.

-His Man Friday Swamidurai, fondly called Swami, has been with him since the begining of his career.

-As a bachelor, he used to often use the abbreviation LFA, which stood for ‘Love Failures Association’!

-Rahman usually sees his children off to school before he sleeps after working nights!

-He does not let his wife or children inside the studio when he’s working.

-Khatija doesn’t like her dad signing autographs in school and has asked him not to come there.

-Rahman’s son shares his birthday with him.

-The old keyboard that he used to play as a teenager is still displayed in his studio.

-A master with instruments, he likes dismantling parts and assembling them.

-A good mimic, he loves to imitate lyricist Vairamuthu, who in turn mimics Rahman’s style of walking!

-Rahman usually works in the night but he’s made an exception for SP Balasubramaniam whose songs have all been recorded before 10 pm.

-He likes listening to songs based on the raaga Sindhu Bhairavi.

-When Subhash Ghai once told Rahman during the music of Taal that he would once win an Oscar, Rahman laughed and reply that Indians can’t.

- Jai Ho was initially composed for Yuvvraaj! [/tscii:d194b8bd17]

A.ANAND

15th March 2009, 12:03 PM

[tscii:c2885fc16d]THE INSIDERS
Font Size Dipti Nagpaul D¡¯Souza
Posted: Mar 15, 2009 at 1113 hrs IST
RAISING THE BAR
RAISING THE BAR
Agartala girl becomes first female to win Indian Idol!
Being called 'Ustad' by Ravishankar my biggest award: Zakir
Bhimsen Joshi: Living legend in Indian classical musicMeet the reclusive managers, technicians and singers who make up Team Rahman
T. SELVAKUMAR, 45,
MANAGING DIRECTOR OF
RAHMAN¡¯S MUSIC SCHOOL
In the early 1990s, when Bollywood was just beginning to rave about a phenomenon, A.R. Rahman met music programmer T. Selvakumar in Chennai. Both were musicians trained in the alchemy of sound, both shared their hopes of setting up their own studios one day. As Rahman¡¯s stock rose in filmdom, Selvakumar notched up a reputation in the Indian music industry as a master technician. Soon, he got into the business of supplying high-end music technology equipment. ¡°That¡¯s when our acquaintance changed to friendship,¡± says the man who has helped Rahman set up his many state-of-the-art studios. To him also goes the credit of setting up the first and only Apple-certified music, special effects and film editing technology training institute in the country.

Selvakumar was one of the few people who knew about Rahman¡¯s dream of setting up a music school. ¡°He wanted to start a school of music technology but I insisted he couple it with teaching.¡± One day in 2007, Rahman decided that the time had come. ¡°And when AR wants something, he wants it right away. He asked me if I would manage it for him and I didn¡¯t see why I should refuse him,¡± he says.
A regular day at the school sees Selvakumar taking classes in audio and video technology and ironing out numerous administrative hassles. He also continues to deal in Apple equipment. Whenever the company launches something new, Rahman is his first client. ¡°AR¡¯s one of the two most tech-savvy musicians in India,¡± he states, proudly. Who¡¯s the other? ¡°You wouldn¡¯t expect this: Ilaiyaraaja.¡±

Music Production courses
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Remit2India.com/IndiaMoneAds By GoogleNOEL JAMES, 48, MANAGER
Over two decades ago, Noel James was playing the piano as a lounge musician at a hotel in Chennai when a certain jingles composer walked in. ¡°Rahman heard me play and asked if I was interested in working with him.¡± James agreed. That was the beginning of a partnership that has lasted to this day. James has since grown to become Rahman¡¯s manager and chief public relations officer. He occasionally assists the composer in stage shows and handles much of his coordination ¡ª with musicians, clients, talent and even the media. The road to Rahman, it could be said, goes through James.
Born and brought up in Mumbai, James got hooked to music at an early age. After graduating from Loyola College, Chennai, he got a degree in violin from the prestigious Trinity College of Music, London. ¡°I played in a band called Jumping Jewels, handling the vocals and guitar. That was before I went solo,¡± he says. He worked part-time with Rahman initially but became a permanent member of the team, singing the jingles and helping him with production.

Being Rahman¡¯s manager has meant that James does not get much time for his own music¡ªexcept when he plays at church. He has no regrets though. ¡°God sends messiahs to earth, whether it is Jesus Christ or Prophet Mohammed. It has been quite a while since He sent someone. I believe A.R. Rahman is such a messiah who works through his music,¡± says James, for whom familiarity has only brought more appreciation towards Rahman, the musician and the man.

DEEPAK GATTANIi, 46, CONCERT MANAGER
Behind every power-packed Rahman concert is Deepak Gattani and his team at Rapport Global Events. ¡°We manage his live entertainment business but the relationship isn¡¯t a client-service provider one,¡± he says. Gattani first met Rahman through singer Hariharan, another client. Since that meeting, he has handled all of Rahman¡¯s tours and performances, and more recently, has been managing Rahman¡¯s endorsement portfolio as well.
Whenever Rahman is in Mumbai, Gattani finds himself seated next to him. ¡°But being with him doesn¡¯t mean that he¡¯ll talk anymore than he usually does,¡± he says with a laugh. ¡°His concerts have to be technically high-end, with something different each time. Working for him means making no mistakes and planning in advance.¡± Gattani is dogged by international clients¡¯ proposals for Rahman concerts after his Oscar win. But, as of now, his priorities lie with organising Rahman¡¯s first-ever live concert in Kerala, scheduled for May.

S. SIVAKUMAR, 41, CHIEF SOUND ENGINEER
A novice who had just finished a diploma in sound engineering in 1992, S. Sivakumar got his first break when he was appointed assistant audio engineer at a reputed studio in Chennai. The designation was deceptive. The actual work assigned to the young man was to stand and wait in the machine room and change tapes once each roll was over. Then Rahman happened. ¡°I had been working for about six months or so when A.R. Rahman came to the studio to do the mixing for Puthiya Mugam. He wanted an assistant and asked my seniors if I was interested. That was 15 years ago and I have been with him since,¡± he says. A native of Thanjavur, the rice bowl of Tamil Nadu, Sivakumar is now one of the noted names in sound engineering in India, the main man behind Rahman¡¯s AM Studio and his chief sound engineer. He has worked in all Rahman films since Gentleman in 1993 and was a part of the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical Bombay Dreams.
According to Sivakumar, Rahman¡¯s contribution goes beyond just transforming film music in India. He was also the first composer to include the names of all those who worked on the project on the audiotape/CD jackets ¡ª an acknowledgement of many backroom operators like Sivakumar, who would otherwise be invisible to the world outside studio walls.

K.J. SINGH, 47, SOUND ENGINEER
He doesn¡¯t sound his age and Rahman thinks the sound engineer¡¯s voice bears a hint of a European accent. ¡°He keeps teasing me that he¡¯ll soon find me a voice-over project overseas,¡± says Singh with a laugh. But the camaraderie between the two took time to develop. Singh says when he first met Rahman five years ago during a concert, the composer would just stand next to him without saying a word. ¡°He¡¯s shy and doesn¡¯t waste words. There have been times when I would turn to find him standing behind me for 10 minutes! It felt strange, but later realised that¡¯s how he is,¡± says Singh. ¡°But once he gets to know you better, there are no reservations. You¡¯re family and he¡¯s open to sharing all his knowledge.¡±

The technician has done numerous Rahman concerts and films, starting with Rang De Basanti and recently Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na and Delhi-6. The two were first introduced by the latter¡¯s chief sound engineer, the late H. Sridhar. Rahman noticed the two friends shared a good wavelength and often brought them together for his projects. ¡°I think AR noticed how seamlessly we both worked. If both Sridhar and I had handled a project, one could not make out whether a track was managed by him or me. Rahman made good use of that.¡± Based in Mumbai for a decade now, the sound engineer likes to explore new talent and, at the same time, work with the old. His clientele boasts of names like Hariharan, Indian Ocean, Rabbi Shergill and G.V. Prakash, Rahman¡¯s nephew. Singh is most looking forward to his trip to Chennai next week. He is determined to make the maestro throw a party for each award he has won for Slumdog Millionaire. ¡°He can space out the parties but he can¡¯t escape them,¡± he says with a wink.

SRINIVAS, 49, SINGER
In 1988, a chemical engineer travelled to Chennai from Coimbatore for a day so that he could sing for Ilaiyaraaja. It broke Srinivas¡¯s heart that he had to lost the opportunity to a throat infection. But another southern genius¡¯s success gave him hope and he approached Rahman soon after the success of Roja. Rahman took a liking to Srinivas and asked him to move to Chennai. In 1994, Srinivas shifted base and started lending his voice to advertisement jingles and devotional albums. It was only in 1996, that he gained recognition with the song Manna Madurai from Rahman¡¯s Minsaara Kanavu. Then came En uyire in Mani Ratnam¡¯s Uyire (the Tamil version of Dil Se), which was his first big hit.

Now a big name down south, Srinivas has since worked closely with the composer. ¡°I never knew I could compose, but watching A.R. inspired me. He¡¯s in a different world altogether when he works. And to him, work on a song only begins once he¡¯s composed it. From there, it evolves with his many editions and improvisations,¡± he says. Of late, due to his busy schedules, Rahman has entrusted Srinivas with the responsibility of supervising the vocals during recordings. ¡°Many would find it strange and menial but it¡¯s an honour to help him out,¡± says the singer who has to take out time from his packed schedule of recordings and reality shows. ¡°But AR is always a priority over others.¡±

RAQEEB ALAM, 38, SINGER AND LYRICIST
His story is straight out of a Bollywood flick: playback singer and lyricist Raqeeb Alam was born into a family of teachers in Bihar but books held no charm for him. Instead, he spent all his waking hours listening to music or singing. While in college in Chennai, he became a part-time singer. It was during a show that he met lyricist P K Mishra, who liked him and introduced him to AR in 2002. But when he met the musician, he got so nervous, he ¡°couldn¡¯t sing beyond a line.¡± The two, however, kept in touch.

Once, Rahman was scheduled to meet Deepa Mehta for a session for Water. Sukhwinder Singh, who was supposed to write and sing a song for the film, had left for Varanasi because of an emergency. Desperate for a replacement, Rahman called Alam. ¡°I wrote 10 mukhdas of which they selected one and then I wrote the whole song,¡± he says. After its recording, political controversy delayed Water by four years. ¡°But the patience paid off. The song got good reviews when the film released and was later nominated for an Oscar. I didn¡¯t win the award but had won AR¡¯s confidence.¡± Alam has since written and sung many songs for Rahman, primarily the Hindi translations of his Tamil albums. His most memorable is Ek mohabbat, which Rahman sang for the campaign to include Taj Mahal in the Seven Wonders Of The World project. The latest feather in his cap is Ringa Ringa, which he wrote for Slumdog Millionaire.

VIJAY MOHAN IYER, 32, LABEL MANAGER
It requires some amount of prodding to get him talking. Vijay Mohan Iyer, who manages Rahman¡¯s K M Musiq label, prefers to remain behind his idol¡¯s shadow. ¡°I¡¯m sure you can skip writing about me. Why not write about AR?¡± he repeats after every question. But here¡¯s the story: The Mumbai boy first met Rahman on his 18th birthday in Chennai. ¡°But nothing worked out in terms of music. I returned, got back to studies and took up a job. One day, eight years ago, I found myself seated next to my idol on an eight-hour flight to London,¡± he says. They got chatting and struck up a friendship. ¡°The desire, of course, was to work with him in some way or the other. I guess persistence pays. One day, he just asked me to meet up and briefed me about a project he had in mind; and that was the K M Musiq label.¡± Iyer has held his dream job for three years and he didn¡¯t mind uprooting his life from Mumbai to a laidback Chennai. ¡°I missed the city but AR¡¯s is a different world.¡±

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/the-insiders/434152/0
[/tscii:c2885fc16d]

ajaybaskar

15th March 2009, 03:44 PM

[tscii:cf9436e790]ஆஸ்கார் நாயகன் ஏ.ஆர்.ரஹ்மான்

பத்து மாதங்கள் மடியில் சுமந்து,
அத்தனை வலியில் தன்னை மறந்து,
ஒரு சேயைப் பெற்றெடுத்து,
மறு நிமிடம் தாயாகிறாள் பெண்.
ஆனால் நீயோ,
பல வருடங்கள் உனக்குள் சுமந்து,
உழைக்கின்ற நேரம் மறந்து,
இரட்டை ஆஸ்கார்-களை இனிதே பெற்று,
இசைக்கே தாயாகிவிட்டாயே!!!

காற்றை இசையாக்கினாய்!
நீரை இசையாக்கினாய்!
நெருப்பை இசையாக்கினாய்!
இப்படி நீ எல்லாவற்றையும் இசையாக்க,
இன்றோ! உலகமே சேர்ந்து,
உன்னை விதையாக்கி,
இசைக்கே விருதாக்கிவிட்டதே!!!

சென்னை கலை நிகழ்ச்சியில்,
விண்ணைத்தொட்ட உன் இசை நிகழ்ச்சியில்,
என்னை மறந்து நான் ஆடிய பொழுது,
நீ ஒரு கலைஞன் என்பதை உணர்ந்தேன்...

உன் காந்தக்குரலில்,
நீ சாந்தமாக பேசிடும் பொழுது,
அந்த சப்தம் கூட சங்கீதமான பொழுது,
நீ இனிமையானவன் என்பதை உணர்ந்தேன்...

ஆனால் இசைப்புயலே!!!
இத்தனை பாராட்டையும் பெற்று,
இத்தனை புகழையும் பெற்று,
'எல்லா புகழும் இறைவனுக்கே'
என்று நீ சொன்ன பொழுது தான்,
நீ மனிதன் என்பதை உணர்ந்தேன்...

உன் பெயர் சொல்லப்பட்டதும்,
என்னை மறந்து துள்ளி குதித்தேன்;
தமிழைத்தாண்டி,
இந்தியாவைத்தாண்டி,
ஏன் இந்த உலகையே தாண்டி,
ஒரு திறமை ஜெயித்திருப்பதை கண்டு…

சப்தங்கள் அத்தனையும் சந்தோஷப்படுகின்றன!
எங்களை இந்த ஏ.ஆர்.ரஹ்மான்,
சங்கீதமாக்கிவிட்டாரே என்று!!!

கவிதைகள் அத்தனையும்,
காதோரம் வந்து சொல்கின்றன,
மௌனமான இந்த வரிகளுக்கு,
மரியாதையை உருவாக்கிவிட்டாரே என்று!!!

இசை ஈன்றெடுத்த இன்னிசையே!!!
உனக்கென்று தனி ஒரு
வாழ்க்கை வரலாறு தேவையில்லை,
உன் இசைக்குள் உயிர் வாழும்,
பல கவிகளின் கரங்களில் கசிந்த,
கவிதை வரிகள் சொல்லும்,
திறமையில் உருவான,
உன் திடமான வரலாற்றை...

இந்தியா பெற்றெடுத்த இசைப்புயலே!
சங்கத்தமிழ் பெற்றெடுத்த சங்கீதமே!
ரோஜாவில் பூத்திட்ட,
இசையுலக ராஜாவே!

மனிதன், இசையை மறந்திடும் வரை,
மனித இனத்தை,
இவ்வுலகம் இழந்திடும் வரை,
உன்னை எவரும் மறந்திடவும் முடியாது,
மறைத்திடவும் முடியாது..

கவரி மானுக்கு அதிக ரோஷம்,
எங்கள் ஏ.ஆர்.ரஹ்மானுக்கு,
இசையே என்றும் சுவாசம்.

மறையட்டும் இவ்வுலக இசையின் வறட்சிகள்;
மலரட்டும் உன் சங்கீதப்புரட்சிகள்;
இதுவே இந்த புதுக்கோட்டை ஷண்முகம்,
உன் இசைக்கோட்டைக்கு எய்திடும்,
அன்பான வாழ்த்துக்கள்.....

From Orkut[/tscii:cf9436e790]

Roshan

15th March 2009, 09:37 PM

[tscii:c2057a4ed3]

-A good mimic, he loves to imitate lyricist Vairamuthu, who in turn mimics Rahman’s style of walking!

8-) [/tscii:c2057a4ed3]

jaaze

15th March 2009, 09:39 PM

[tscii:016868b858]

-A good mimic, he loves to imitate lyricist Vairamuthu, who in turn mimics Rahman’s style of walking!

8-) [/tscii:016868b858]
:cool2:

shocker

16th March 2009, 02:08 AM

Dragun

16th March 2009, 02:34 AM

thineshan54321

16th March 2009, 07:35 AM

You know what bothers me a lot these days about TFM...
How are new composers going to be able to find a name for themselves and develop their own styles when AR is just too good and seems to have done everything.
Even now, when I hear a new song from a new composer, I automatically think, 'Is this guy trying to be the next AR'

Just a thought.

ARR is ever-changing, which is why its hard to out-innovate him! But composers can develop their own styles. Listen to DevD by Amit Trivedi. It has a clear ARR influence in many spots, but it also has its own style.

also i find dharun having a very unique style as well as niru with a very grand orchestral style. but what makes ARR ARR is the fact that he not only has one style but has a lot of styles. from classical to rap to dance, he just can do anything. thats what makes ARR so powerful and there needs to be someone who would be completely different. just like how if MSV is 1d, Illayarajah is 2d and ARR is 3d. i dont mean to say one is inferior to the other but they have an extra dimension that makes them unique. we need a composer who would develop that 4th dimension and that is very challenging. it might be possible that ARR will be that person as we saw a complete shift in his style recently after bombay dreams but that shift is still not enough to re-revolutionize music.

A.ANAND

16th March 2009, 02:38 PM

அஜ்மீர் தர்காவில் ஏ.ஆர்.ரகுமான்!திங்கள்கிழமை, மார்ச் 16, 2009, 12:57 [IST] இலவச நியூஸ் லெட்டர் பெற

அஜ்மீர்: பிரபல இசை அமைப்பாளர், ஆஸ்கர் விருது பெற்ற ஏ.ஆர்.ரகுமான் நேற்று அஜ்மீர் தர்காவில் தனது குடும்பத்தினருடன் பிரார்த்தனை செய்தார்.

அங்குள்ள கவாஜா மொய்னுதீன் ஹசன் சிஸ்டி மகான் நினைவிடத்தில் மலர்ப்போர்வை போர்த்தி வேண்டுதலை நிறைவேற்றினார்.

ஆஸ்கார் பரிசு வென்றதற்காக பிரார்த்தனை செலுத்த வந்ததாகவும், இது முழுக்க முழுக்க தனது தனிப்பட்ட வருகை என்றும் ஏ.ஆர்.ரகுமான் நிருபர்களிடம் தெரிவித்தார்.

தொடர்ந்து நிருபர்கள் கேள்விகளைத் தொடுக்க, சற்று எரிச்சலடைந்த ரஹ்மான், கூட்டங்கள், விழாக்கள், பத்திரிகையாளர் சந்திப்புகள் என தனக்கு சலிப்பு ஏற்பட்டு விட்டதாகவும், சிறிது காலத்துக்காவது தன்னைத் தனிமையில் விடுமாறும் ரஹ்மான் கேட்டுக் கொண்டார்

shocker

16th March 2009, 05:07 PM

also i find dharun having a very unique style as well as niru with a very grand orchestral style. but what makes ARR ARR is the fact that he not only has one style but has a lot of styles. from classical to rap to dance, he just can do anything. thats what makes ARR so powerful and there needs to be someone who would be completely different. just like how if MSV is 1d, Illayarajah is 2d and ARR is 3d. i dont mean to say one is inferior to the other but they have an extra dimension that makes them unique. we need a composer who would develop that 4th dimension and that is very challenging. it might be possible that ARR will be that person as we saw a complete shift in his style recently after bombay dreams but that shift is still not enough to re-revolutionize music.

I'm sure he will think of something

A.ANAND

16th March 2009, 05:56 PM

A R Rahman features in Akon's music video

Bollywood Hungama
Monday, March 16, 2009 5:09 PM (Mumbai)
Pics: B'wood beauties floored by Rahman
Play: A R Rahman quiz
Congratulate Rahman
Watch: Oscar nominated Jai Ho
Special: A R Rahman
Watch: Rahman does it again in O Saya

Double Oscar winner A R Rahman will now be seen in the music video of Akon's hit single, Beautiful.

The music maestro will be seen for a couple of secongs, posing with a bevy of models and smiling in his trademark coy way.

Besides Rahman, the video also features American pop singer Colby O'Donis and Canadian hip hop artist Kardinal Offishall.

After the double Oscar triumph, one must say Rahman is indeed making his presence felt on the international music arena slowly and steadily.

http://music.ndtv.com/Music_Story.aspx?id=ENTEN20090087731&type=musicindia

A.ANAND

16th March 2009, 05:57 PM

[tscii:d49abb93ae]No ¡®Jai Ho...¡¯ for city

http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=No+%E2%80%98Jai+Ho...%E2%80%99+fo r+city&artid=IEvd%7CxLu4Ss=&SectionID=lMx/b5mt1kU=&MainSectionID=lMx/b5mt1kU=&SEO=A.R.+Rahman&SectionName=tm2kh5uDhixGlQvAG42A/07OVZOOEmts[/tscii:d49abb93ae]

A.ANAND

17th March 2009, 12:37 PM

Recording the string section for 'The Journey Home.'

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4mebCn9X7A

ajaybaskar

17th March 2009, 10:50 PM

One more from BD

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhJzott82mE

ajaybaskar

17th March 2009, 11:01 PM

ARR Game for all Rahmaniacs...

http://www.mediafire.com/?mdnmy0jydoy

jaaze

18th March 2009, 08:01 AM

ARR Game for all Rahmaniacs...

http://www.mediafire.com/?mdnmy0jydoy
:omg: It's similar to the Bush game (throw a show at him)
I don't feel good throwing awards at him, even if its for fun

A.ANAND

18th March 2009, 11:54 AM

[tscii:27ebc08873]Killing them softly...

Deepa Natarajan

"I shouldnt do something to disappoint the audience as well as myself"
A R Rahman

His silence speaks volumes, and his peaceful smile can melt millions of hearts. But everyone knows music maestro Allah Rakha Rahman is known for more than that. With soulful notes that strike a magical chord with the audience, time and again, it wouldn¡¯t be incorrect to say that whatever he touches, turns into gold. The Oscar-winner took time out in between a shoot to speak to Metrolife.

The Oscar frenzy is yet to die down with the entire world wanting for more of the man. So, what does he think of his journey so far? He thinks a lot and smiles, ¡°The progress has been good, but very strange actually.¡± He treasures the National Award he won for Roja as much as the Academy Award. ¡°It was an honour to win the National Award for my first film itself,¡± he says. ¡°But winning an Oscar feels nice too as it was the first film I got nominated for.¡±

One thing that the genius is careful about, is to not disappoint his fans. ¡°I am very careful about not doing things,¡± he smiles and adds, ¡°Because I shouldn¡¯t do something to disappoint the audience, as well as myself. I want to satisfy myself as an artist.¡±

Currently, the man is working on the music of three films ¡ª Mani Ratnam¡¯s Ravana, Shankar¡¯s Enthiran (Robot) and Anthony D¡¯Souza¡¯s Blue. ¡°The music of these films will be similar to what I have been doing all these years,¡± is all he says. How does he feel about Jai Ho making its way to the Billboards. ¡°It was planned because we wanted to keep the Slumdog fever going. That¡¯s why the Pussy Cat Dolls was chosen for it,¡± he replies.
One can¡¯t help but ask him about his experience of working with Kylie Minogue in Blue. ¡°Kylie is like a child,¡± he says. ¡°She is very sweet. I actually wanted to make her sing in Hindi but I fell ill at that point of time.¡± He adds, ¡°That song was recorded just a day after the BAFTAs.¡± The soft-spoken man has had a close association with Bangalore. ¡°I get so angry when people perform here and don¡¯t come to Chennai,¡± he jokes. Is he referring to any artiste in particular? ¡°No, I am just joking,¡± he laughs. ¡°But there is a great creative vibe here.¡± He recollects the time he performed in the City. ¡°I played here only once, under very strange circumstance, with the rain falling over a crowd of thousands.¡± So when do the fans in Bangalore get to see him perform again? ¡°Oh, very soon,¡± he pauses, and laughs mischievously, ¡°Once the recession is over.¡± But he assures that he will perform in the City soon.

It¡¯s been a long journey for Rahman. Ask him to recollect one memorable moment, he thinks about his pilgrimage to Ajmer Sharief, ¡°It was more awkward actually. It was supposed to be a secret visit with family, but the moment I got down there, I got a shock seeing hundreds of people,¡± he says. And finally, which album of his, has been the closest to his heart? He answers softly, ¡°Roja.¡±

http://deccanherald.com/Content/Mar182009/metro-wed20090317124607.asp

[/tscii:27ebc08873]

A.ANAND

18th March 2009, 01:27 PM

[tscii:3b34911ba7]Music of the soul

MEERA SRINIVASAN

A.R. Rahman¡¯s journey from being a young lad who was enticed by the keyboard to becoming a world-class musician is marked by a rare grit.

MIKE BLAKE/REUTERS

A.R. Rahman with his two Oscars at the 81st Academy Awards ceremony in Hollywood on February 22..

¡°I FEEL like a slate waiting to be written on.¡± These were the words of Allah Rakha Rahman, after he was honoured by the Rotary Club in Chennai last June. In less than a year, so much has got written on the ¡°slate¡±, one would think. But ask him, ¡°Oh, this is just a beginning. There is so much more to do,¡± is what he said after returning home with the two Oscars for Slumdog Millionaire (Best Score and Best Song).

No matter how many coveted awards flood in, Rahman will remain the same, a simple musician humbled by the magnificence of music. ¡°The spirit of his music is in his total devotion to the art; it is a complete surrender,¡± says Srinivas Krishnan, mentor at Rahman¡¯s K.M. Music Conservatory. ¡°We often talk about M.S. Subbulakshmi¡¯s music, which is an example of that kind of devotion.¡±

Rahman¡¯s journey from being a young lad, who was enticed by the keyboard, to becoming a world-class musician is marked by perseverance and a rare grit.

These were, perhaps, in his genes, for his mother Kareena Begum is herself an inspiring model of courage and determination.

¡°Our father passed away when Rahman was about 10. Things were not easy at home. But my mother made sure that we did not feel our father¡¯s absence and brought us up with so much love,¡± says Rahane, the eldest daughter of the family.

On the day Rahman, his wife Saira and his mother returned to their Kodambakkam residence after the Oscars, Kareena Begum, who was greeted by excited well-wishers, merely smiled and said: ¡°It is God¡¯s grace.¡±

Rahman, who also believes that every success of his is a divine gift, converted to Islam in the early 1990s. It is said that an inexplicable sense of reassurance and comfort that the words of a saint created in Dilip Kumar (as Rahman was then known) persuaded him to take a new path as Allah Rakha Rahman.

Listen to his ¡°Anbendra mazhaiyile¡± (Minsaara Kanavu), ¡°O palan hare¡± (Lagaan) or ¡°Khwaja mere Khwaja¡± (Jodhaa Akbar). In all the three tunes, binding the lyrics on different faiths, there is a common underlying melody that conveys submission. ¡°Music and religion are the only important things for him,¡± says Fathima, Rahman¡¯s younger sister.

With these two guiding forces, Rahman plunged into the media industry, with tunes that came like the fresh breeze. ¡°It was so unbelievably new, different and ahead of its times,¡± says Trilok of Trish Productions, which made the Leo Coffee advertisement with Rahman¡¯s score.

The strains from that veena and flute, in the predominantly melodious piece, had the stamp of a genius and highlighted the influence classical music had on him. It was Trilok and Sharada of Trish who later introduced Rahman to film director Mani Ratnam, for an association that was to produce some of the best melodies and stylish numbers that Kollywood can boast of.

S. Subramanium

A.R. Rahman with his mother, Kareena Begum, at a function in New Delhi in July 2006. ¡°It is God¡¯s grace,¡± the mother said about the son¡¯s achievement, on their return from Hollywood.

Rahman and Mani Ratnam

In 1992, Rahman¡¯s national award-winning music for Roja was a revelation. Suddenly, everyone¡¯s ears tuned in to the magic of ¡°Chinna chinna aasai¡±. The brief vocal prelude to ¡°Kaadal rojavae¡± was powerful and the mischief in ¡°Rukkumani rukkumani¡± made listeners blush. ¡°Pudu vellai mazhai¡± virtually took one to snow-covered mountains and ¡°Tamizha Tamizha¡± introduced Hariharan¡¯s voice to the world of films. Ever since, whenever Rahman and Mani Ratnam teamed up, audiences knew that they were in for a musical extravaganza. Be it Thiruda Thiruda, Bombay, Dil Se, Iruvar, Alaipayuthey, Kannathil Muthamittal, Ayitha Ezhuthu or Guru.

Several such associations blossomed, not just with directors who were willing to experiment with a new kind of music but also with veterans, whose films were known for phenomenal numbers scored by celebrated music directors. Somehow, for Rahman, each and every combination began to work, be it with Shankar, Rajiv Menon, S.J. Surya, K. Balachander or Bharathiraja. Meanwhile, Rangeela had invaded Bollywood¡¯s music territory and from then on, most of Bollywood¡¯s best numbers were to come from Rahman. His music had also become enough of a passport to the West. Andrew Lloyd Webber¡¯s Bombay Dreams led to more associations abroad and the Oscars were imminent. When Rahman received the Oscars, it was seen as an acknowledgement of the hard work that a little boy had put in for years. And now, the music director has, indeed, done the full circle, from Kollywood to Bollywood and Hollywood, while modestly emphasising that his journey has just begun.

It is this genuine modesty that is going to take him further and further, says the playback singer S.P. Balasubramaniam (SPB). ¡°When people taste a little bit of success, the manner in which they speak, walk and their body language change. But with Rahman, I know for sure that he will remain this way no matter how many awards he receives.¡±

SPB recalls the recording session of ¡°Thanga thamarai magalae¡± for Minsaara Kanavu. ¡°It required a tone that reflected the feelings of someone totally smitten and intoxicated by love. The character singing the song in the film is on a high after finding his girl.¡± And if you thought SPB¡¯s rendition conveyed the mood perfectly, he says: ¡°I only tried my best to imitate Rahman, who sang it for me. The imitation fetched me a national award,¡± he laughs. ¡°He gives singers a lot of liberty, yes. He would ask us to improvise and sing the same line in as many ways as possible. But finally, he would have made you sing it the way he wanted it. He is extremely efficient when it comes to making singers deliver,¡± adds SPB.

SPB has given thousands of scintillating numbers over the years. But when one such singer, and one of the best playback singers ever, sings for Rahman, it can only get more special.

The veteran singer P. Suseela is full of praise for Rahman. It must have been quite a dream for Rahman to work with his favourite singer. ¡°Even one song can be proof enough for one¡¯s mastery. Listen to ¡®Kannukku mai azhagu¡¯ [Pudiya Mugam]. What a melody!¡± she says. Not surprisingly, even legendary music directors such as M.S. Viswanathan eagerly sang for Rahman in films such as Sangamam and Kannathil Muthamittal.

It was not just the legends that he worked with. Rahman has the credit of introducing a new breed of talented and versatile musicians to the film industry. From Harini and Karthik to Chinmayi, many youngsters decided to take to playback singing as their profession, in the wake of the ¡°Rahman effect¡±.

Rahman¡¯s strength is not in music alone. As someone who pioneered the use of synthesisers and multi-tracks, he has a great sense of technology and has been able to use the best of it in his music. ¡°Anyone can sound great in Rahman Sir¡¯s music. It is only when we sing live that you realise that it is his supreme use of technology that brings out the best in every voice,¡± says an upcoming musician. ¡°I was flattered listening to my voice the first time I sang for him. For a moment, I was so proud of that ¡°divine voice¡±, the singer laughs.

Rahman is also a master in identifying talent and bringing it to his studio. Be it a senior Hindustani musician, a Western classical expert or a young Carnatic musician, ¡°if he thinks a particular voice will suit a particular mood or actor, it will be so right. You won¡¯t know until you see the final output,¡± says another close associate of the composer. Rahman¡¯s search stops not just with the voice. He records casual tones and sounds made by the singers and uses them aptly in the song.

Rahmanesque

S. Sivakumar, who has been Rahman¡¯s sound engineer for nearly 15 years, says: ¡°Listen to ¡®Jiya Jale¡¯ [Dil Se], you will notice the sound of an anklet. It is actually Lataji¡¯s bangles that Sir had recorded.¡± Similarly, Harini was once laughing in the middle of a recording session. That chirpy laughter made its way into ¡°Suthi suthi vandeeha¡*¡± (Padaiyappa). ¡°It sounds so natural¡±.

Rahman thus emerges as a magician who can concoct brilliant mixtures with his innate musical abilities, acquired ease with technology, and enviable way with artists. At the end of it all, he leaves his fans in awe. Being Rahman and being unaffected must be quite a challenge, and that he manages in style. With Rahman having conquered achievements that many dream of, there is only one more thing to look forward to, a lot more of his music..

[/tscii:3b34911ba7]

ajaybaskar

18th March 2009, 09:34 PM

http://www.opennetguru.com/hot-topic/432-buy-ar-rahman-t-shirt-from-opennetgurucom

A.ANAND

19th March 2009, 03:40 PM

Ghajini biggest musical hit of last year and Delhi 6Khamis, 19 Mac, 2009 11:08

http://boxofficeindia.com/showProd.php?itemCat=128&catName=VmlldyBGdWxsIENoYXJ0

http://boxofficeindia.com/showProd.php?itemCat=286&catName=MjAwMC0yMDA5

A.ANAND

19th March 2009, 03:42 PM

[tscii:536ed34515]A R Rahman to be new face of Star Aviation
D GOVARDAN
Chennai

STAR Aviation, the Indian aviation wing of the Dubaibased conglomerate, ETA Star Holdings, is
all set to sign up Oscar winner, A R Rahman as the brand ambassador for the soon-to
-be-launched regional airline operations.
Star Aviation has already received the go ahead from the civil aviation ministry for operating
its regional airlines service in the country. The airlines, which is scheduled to start its
operations sometime next month, will initially operate brand new fleet of three Embraer 170
aircrafts.

¡°We are firming up our plans for the airlines and flight schedules. The launch of the service
will happen in about a month¡¯s time,¡± a senior Star Aviation official told Financial Chronicle.

¡°We have held discussions with Rahman. But, yet to sign a formal agreement with him,¡± he said,
on A R Rahman becoming the Brand Ambassador for this fledgling airline. A for mal agreement is
likely to be signed over the next couple of days, it is learnt.

Star Aviation will be the first corporate to sign up A R Rahman as its brand ambassador, after
he won the Oscars. He had earlier represented a few brands, including Airtel, in the past.

The designated regional airline will initially cover seven cities, mostly in south India, from
its Chennai hub. These are Bangalore, Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram, Madurai, Hyderabad,
Vishakapatnam and Ahmedabad.

The ¡®full service carrier¡¯ will offer a ¡®single class configuration¡¯ of seats, as already being
successfully done by Paramount Airways, based out of Madurai. And it is also adopting a similar
approach by opting for a mix of leased and owned aircrafts.

While the initial focus is expected to be south, Star Aviation will eventually spread to other
Indian cities as well. Though regional airlines are not permitted fly between two major metros
across regions, Star Aviation will still be able to connect Chennai with Bangalore and
Hyderabad, besides operating flights to most tier-II cities in the region.

The multi-billion Dubaibased ETA Star Holdings has interests which pans across industries
including real estate, hospitality, automobile, power sector and shipping services.

The group¡¯s Indian operations are headquartered in Chennai and it has already forayed into real
estate, shipping, insurance and power sectors in India, besides restaurants.

[/tscii:536ed34515]

A.ANAND

19th March 2009, 05:14 PM

H Sridhar Memorial - A R Rahman speaks

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MD2XxAa-3IE&feature=related

ajaybaskar

19th March 2009, 10:41 PM

[tscii:868ceb1370]Offishall hip hop

Mumbai: His tracks Dangerous with Akon and Numba 1 with Rihanna from his latest album Not 4 Sale have become a rage around the world and have hit the city's dance floors too.

Kardinal Offishall is one of the few hip hop artists who has been successful in creating a distinct identity for himself in the last year which was crowded with several me-too hip hop artists.

In the city to perform at Hard Rock Café this evening for the VH1 hip hop hustle, Kardinal has come to be known as one of the best live acts. Also, what stood out last year were the reggae and dance hall hip hop artist's successful collaborations with friends like Akon and Rihanna.

"I can't really speak on behalf of others but a lot of people collaborate with some artists who are successful or in the public eye. I only collaborate with artists whose music I believe in because it's a reflection of me."

He says about today's rappers, "You really have to have the skill level to rap. Most are very ordinary. Also, you should be original stuff and make your own identity else you'll get lost in the crowd."

Kardinal has been Akon's friend for many years now and the connection they share spills onto the music they create too. "We have been friends for too long. The business aspect has come in only recently. It was great to be signed by his music label. He gives me a lot of musical freedom. And whatever we work on comes out great and very naturally," he says.

Kardinal also happened to meet AR Rahman when Rahman came to shoot for a cameo for Akon's Beautiful video (featuring Colby O'Donis and Kardinal Offishall). "AR Rahman is Akon's friend. And the two wanted to do some work together. I was introduced to him during the shoot for Akon's video. Everyone knows Rahman. I have heard his music."

[/tscii:868ceb1370]

ajaybaskar

19th March 2009, 10:43 PM

[tscii:494dbb82c1]Airtel digital TV brings A R Rahman to Bangalore

MUMBAI: Bharti Airtel Limited today announced the first winner of its mega promotion ‘Bring Home the Magic’ for its DTH service – digital TV. Mohammed Rafi, an Engineer from Bangalore, is the lucky Airtel digital TV customer who hosted Airtel Brand Ambassador A R Rahman at his home.

Congratulating the winner, Mr. Deepak Srivastava, CEO – DTH, Bharti Airtel, said, “Airtel digital TV has redefined the digital home entertainment experience in the country. This promotion is an endeavor to get closer to our customers and to bring home our core service proposition of service, trust and quality. With this unique offer, we are giving our customers the opportunity to experience magical entertainment at home with their favourite stars and thousands of other exciting prizes.”

An ecstatic Mohammed Rafi said, “When A R Rahman won the Oscars, I had a dream of being able to congratulate him in person. This dream is now a reality thanks to Airtel digital TV. This day will forever remain truly unforgettable.”
[/tscii:494dbb82c1]

crajkumar_be

19th March 2009, 10:49 PM

[tscii:35227c1aad]Airtel digital TV brings A R Rahman to Bangalore

MUMBAI: Bharti Airtel Limited today announced the first winner of its mega promotion ‘Bring Home the Magic’ for its DTH service – digital TV. Mohammed Rafi, an Engineer from Bangalore, is the lucky Airtel digital TV customer who hosted Airtel Brand Ambassador A R Rahman at his home.

Congratulating the winner, Mr. Deepak Srivastava, CEO – DTH, Bharti Airtel, said, “Airtel digital TV has redefined the digital home entertainment experience in the country. This promotion is an endeavor to get closer to our customers and to bring home our core service proposition of service, trust and quality. With this unique offer, we are giving our customers the opportunity to experience magical entertainment at home with their favourite stars and thousands of other exciting prizes.”

An ecstatic Mohammed Rafi said, “When A R Rahman won the Oscars, I had a dream of being able to congratulate him in person. This dream is now a reality thanks to Airtel digital TV. This day will forever remain truly unforgettable.”
[/tscii:35227c1aad]

:shock: Machakkaaran!

A.ANAND

21st March 2009, 12:57 PM

[tscii:3d7ab64931]Scoring “Slumdog Millionaire” with Logic: An Interview with A. R. Rahman

http://www.apple.com/logicstudio/action/arrahman/[/tscii:3d7ab64931]

A.ANAND

21st March 2009, 01:07 PM

[tscii:2676b2a82b]Bolly Good Music

By Andrew Stephenson - BollySpice.com
20 Mar 2009

Hot on the heels of the Pussycat Dolls version of 'Jai Ho', where Nicole Scherzinger does her stuff in a most admirable way, is news that AR Rahman is also working with Akon on his new single Beautiful. The fusion between Bollywood and western beats doesn’t end there, however, as Snoop Dogg, who worked with Akshay Kumar on Singh is Kingg has also announced he will be sampling 'Jai Ho' and other Bollywood rhythms for his song 'Snoop Dogg Millionaire' which will appear on his Malice in Wonderland album. Indian singer Tanvi Shah will also be on the track.

In 'Jai Ho – You Are My Destiny', Nicole and her troupe can be found in full Bollywood costumes, walking through an electric train and doing the full Slumdog Millionaire thing in the train depot with a huge cast of supporting dancers. AR Rahman pops up in cameo shots in the video and in later scenes Nicole is seen in a crystal shower.

Oscar-winner AR Rahman has not deserted India of course and he has a slew of new movies lined up which will enjoy his music, including Ravaan, the Abhi-Aish movie; Endhiran, also with Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Satyagrahi. His music can be heard currently on the soundtracks of Slumdog Millionaire, Delhi 6, Ghajini and Yuvraaj.

Kylie Minogue has also been talking warmly of her experience of working with AR on Blue, the underwater movie starring Akshay Kumar, Katrina Kaif, Lara Dutta and Sanjay Dutt. "It was an incredible experience,” she says, "I met AR Rahman at the BAFTA Awards in London last month. I couldn't believe I was doing a song with him in Bollywood so soon after.”

Interesting fact: Before converting to Islam, AR’s name was Dileep Kumar like the famous actor. Before marriage, AR’s wife was called Saira Banu – like the actress!

[/tscii:2676b2a82b]

A.ANAND

21st March 2009, 01:08 PM

'Rahman has divine powers'

March 20, 2009 12:35 IST

We asked readers if they had ever met A R Rahman [Images], and we got quite a response.

Rajith Ramnivas writes in to say how someone's loss became his gain. He shares his memories:

I am such a crazy fan of Rahman Sir that even my wife jokingly says that I love his music more than her! She loves his music a lot too. I was in Standard 8 when Roja [Images] was released. I loved those songs and one of my biggest aims was to meet Rahman Sir. I was even ready to get a job as his driver!

Anyway, my chance came during the Sharjah concert last April. Four days before the concert, there was a contest on a radio station, Meet and Greet A R Rahman. Unfortunately, I didn't win.

So I bought VIP tickets for the concert.

On the day of the concert, I got a call from the radio station asking me to go to the concert venue at 2pm. One of the winners could not attend because of a change in timings, and my name was selected instead.

I just couldn't believe it! I reached the venue with my wife at 1:45pm. But there was a change in the timings again, so we would get to meet him after the concert.

The concert started on time, and I really enjoyed it. When it was over, we were asked to go backstage to meet him. There were a lot of people so we couldn't reach him. Then someone told me that Rahman Sir was asking for me! We went to his room. His manager let us in.

The room was big with some sofas. Sitting on one of them was the great man. He was drinking water from a small bottle. He saw me and asked me to come in.

I couldn't control myself. I fell down at his feet, held his legs and cried. I told him that I loved him very much. He comforted me by saying, ' I know, I know.'

He helped me to my feet and I hugged him. I got tongue-tied. I couldn't ask him anything. He asked me where I was working, how long I've been married and my wife's name. I couldn't reply at all because I was not hearing anything. I was in another world. My wife prompted me and then I started answering. I was in a dream.

After meeting him, I realised that he has divine powers. He is very humble and simple.

Keep those memories coming in. The world would love to hear about Rahman.

http://movies.rediff.com/look/2009/mar/20/rahman-has-divine-powers.htm

A.ANAND

21st March 2009, 01:17 PM

Galatta Cinema celebrates Rahman
Kaanchan [March 19, 2009, 6:00:49 PM]
Have you bought the March issue of Galatta Cinema yet? Well, the month is running out and the store around the corner must be running out of issues, so you better hurry and get your copy now! The easier way of course, is to log on to www.galattacinema.com and subscribe for the magazine, so you will not have to go through the hassle of running to the shop every month! The online subscription will prove cost-effective as well if you do it now, because the cover price will increase from next month. So subscribe now!

The March issue is extra-special because it's all about women's power and the man who is right on top of the world now, A.R. Rahman. Every magazine and newspaper has covered ARR's life till most of us could recite it verbatim. But we have gone to great lengths to present you his success story from a different perspective! We do have the fact file on his journey to the Oscars and his zillion awards on the way, but we also have exclusive inputs from his friends, family and singers, trivia that you would never have heard of and quotes from greats all over the world on A.R. Rahman. The man has himself uttered some precious words that you get to read and treasure in our March issue.

Every A.R. Rahman fan just has to get his/ her copy of the magazine. Hurry, before it's too late!

A.ANAND

21st March 2009, 01:55 PM

தேர்தலில் 'ஜெய் ஹோ' தவறில்லை-ரஹ்மான்வெள்ளிக்கிழமை, மார்ச் 20, 2009, 14:49 [IST] இலவச நியூஸ் லெட்டர் பெற

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asia.wsj.comஆஸ்கர் விருது பெற்ற பாடலான ஜெய் ஹோவை மக்களவைத் தேர்தலில் பயன்படுத்துவதில எந்தத் தவறும் இல்லை. எனக்கு அது சந்தோஷமான விஷயம்தான் என ஆஸ்கர் நாயகன் ஏ.ஆர். ரஹ்மான் கருத்து தெரிவித்துள்ளார்.

ஏ.ஆர்.ரஹ்மானுக்கு ஆஸ்கார் விருதை பெற்று தந்த 'ஜெய் ஹோ' பாடலை தங்கள் தேர்தல் பிரசாரத்துக்குப் பயன்படுத்தப்படுகிறது காங்கிரஸ் கட்சி. இதற்கென பெரும் விலை கொடுத்து இந்த பாடலின் உரிமையை டி சீரிஸ் நிறுவனத்திடமிருந்து காங்கிரஸ் கட்சி வாங்கி உள்ளது. நாடெங்கும் காங்கிரஸ் தலைவர்கள் பேசும் கூட்டங்களில் இப்பாடலை போடுகின்றனர்.

இதற்கு பாஜக உள்ளிட்ட எதிர் கட்சிகள் கடும் கண்டனம் தெரிவித்துள்ளன.

'ஸ்லட்டாக் மில்லினர்' படம் இந்திய ஏழ்மையை அம்பலப்படுத்தும் படம். அதில் உள்ள விஷயங்கள் அனைத்தும் உண்மையே. நாட்டை அந்த நிலைக்குக் கொண்டு போய்விட்டது காங்கிரஸ். அந்த கட்சிதான் சுதந்திரம் அடைந்து இத்தனை ஆண்டுகள் ஆன பிறகும் இந்திய மக்களை குடிசைகளிலேயே வைத்துள்ளது. ஆக இப் படத்துக்கு ஆஸ்கார் விருது கிடைப்பதற்கு காரணமே காங்கிரஸ்தான். ஆனால் ரஹ்மானின் பாடல் இந்திய மக்களின் பொதுச் சொத்து. அதை காங்கிரஸ் மட்டும் உரிமை கொண்டாடுவது தவறு என விமர்சனம் செய்துள்ளது பாஜக.

இந் நிலையில் 'ஜெய் ஹோ...' பாடலை தேர்தல் பிரசாரத்துக்கு பயன்படுத்துவது பற்றி ரஹ்மானிடம் கருத்து கேட்டபோது,

ஜெய்ஹோ... பாடல் தனிப்பட்டவருக்கு சொந்தமானதல்ல எல்லோருக்கும் பொதுவானது. எல்லா இடங்களிலும் இப்பாடல் பயன்படுத்தப்படுகிறது. பேஷன் ஷோக்களில் போடுகின்றனர். சிங்கப்பூரில் நடந்த சில நிகழ்ச்சிகளிலும் இந்த பாட்டை பயன்படுத்தியுள்ளனர்.

தேர்தல் பிரசாரத்துக்கும் இந்த பாடலை கொண்டு போய் இருப்பது சந்தோஷமான விஷயம்தான். எந்தக் கட்சி பயன்படுத்தினாலும் சந்தோஷமே...

நான் எந்த அரசியல் கட்சியையும் சார்ந்தவன் அல்ல. யாருக்கும் தேர்தலில் ஆதரவு தெரிவிக்கவும் இல்லை. வாக்காளர்கள் திறமையான வேட்பாளர்களை தேர்வு செய்து ஓட்டு போடுவார்கள் என்ற நம்பிக்கை எனக்கு உள்ளது என்றார் ரஹ்மான்!.

jaaze

21st March 2009, 02:33 PM

//சிங்கப்பூரில் நடந்த சில நிகழ்ச்சிகளிலும் இந்த பாட்டை பயன்படுத்தியுள்ளனர். //
:shock: :shock: :shock:

Enna, enge, eppo? :shock:

shocker

21st March 2009, 03:22 PM

Wow at the guy meeting AR...magical

A.ANAND

23rd March 2009, 01:43 PM

making of kaise mujhe song-ghajini 2008

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZnG0gXx2HQ

shocker

23rd March 2009, 09:20 PM

I'm sorry but that video is amazing.
Thanks for linking

shocker

23rd March 2009, 09:27 PM

The guys face at 5.07 when Benny goes off is hilarious

littlemaster1982

23rd March 2009, 09:37 PM

Maybe he should try the big banners then. How about doing the Yash Raj and Karan Johar brand of cinema? “Sure, why not? Provided I can get to do it, my style,” he laughs. “I like people who break the mould, like Rahman.”

A mention of Rahman makes him gush. “Have you heard his Delhi 6 song ‘Rehna Tu’ and ‘Dafatan’? Forget Slumdog Millionaire, if the Oscar guys heard these numbers, they would come here and award him.”

Not surprisingly, he is among the millions gripped by Rahmania. “I would dedicate my success to him. He has inspired me to think different, create new sounds and go against the rules. Now let’s see where it takes me!”

Amit Trivedi (Music Director - Dev D) about AR Rahman. (http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?page=article&sectid=26&contentid=2009020120090201032751767cdc2d9b&sectxslt=)

Link via Orkut ARR fans Community (http://www.orkut.co.in/Main#CommMsgs.aspx?cmm=16502&tid=5297785474665606421)

shocker

23rd March 2009, 10:16 PM

Haven't even heard of Amit Trivedi

kamalsurya

23rd March 2009, 10:16 PM

[tscii:4518f59600]
Andrew passes his congratulations on to AR Rahman, following his double Oscar glory
Andrew congratulates AR Rahman

AR Rahman pictured at the Oscar ceremony

Andrew Lloyd Webber has heaped praise on AR Rahman after winning two Academy Awards for his music in the hit film Slumdog Millionaire.

Andrew, who collaborated with AR Rahman on the 2002 smash-hit musical Bombay Dreams, said: "I am absolutely delighted that A R Rahman, one of the world’s great composers, has been recognised at the Oscars. I am very proud to have presented his work Bombay Dreams in the theatre."

Rahman picked up the Oscar for best original score before scooping the best song Oscar moments later. The awards took Slumdog's tally to eight for the evening, with Danny Boyle winning the best director Osca[/tscii:4518f59600]

thamizhvaanan

23rd March 2009, 10:18 PM

Haven't even heard of Amit Trivedi

http://forumhub.mayyam.com/hub/viewtopic.php?t=12426&highlight=

shocker

23rd March 2009, 11:59 PM

whaaaa
This guy seems to be immense according to that thread!

I agree, this guy could be another ARR! Dev.D songs are awesome. I still haven't heard Aamir songs yet, though I recently bought the DVD.

and

could be the successor to ARR in the future
Doubt it

thamizhvaanan

24th March 2009, 12:58 AM

Listen to the songs Shock... its worth it.

Whether he is a successor of ARR or not, is a matter of debate and hyperboles.

shocker

24th March 2009, 01:23 AM

Okay I listened.
http://www.musicindiaonline.com/music/hindi_bollywood/s/movie_name.10407/music_director.2991/

Yeah the music sounds amazing. Sounds like YSR composition/arrangement style with AR's mixing technique. With that said not every track is great, fair enough there were like 15 tracks.

Part of me doesn't think, but knows he has the right equipment and right team behind him. But it still takes a lot of talent. Might be hard to believe, but the increase in technology makes it harder for composers nowadays, because there are so many options and ways of doing things. And it is still hard to make a good song even when using the presets and things, as you can hear by some of the older composers trying modern methods.

There is a lot of talent out there with ability to do better than this, and I want it to be heard. Hopefully there will be an increase in Indie films, so some other composers get a chance. This is just the beginning of a new era of composers.

Prepare yourselves!

thamizhvaanan

24th March 2009, 01:40 AM

Shock, technology is just a tool after all... One's who make a mark are those who mastered the tool.

If you want to totally annihilate the role of technology, you might want to listen to music of trees and rocks. Every acoustic instrument is a piece of technology fine tuned to sound in the best way possible. Likewise a keyboard or computer software is still a tool.

I ll tell you, I know how to mimic so many effects that ARR does in his songs using a software called Fruity loops. Likewise, a guitar player can play any of the notes that IR has made in his songs. Clearly the challenge doesnt lie in using the technology, it is rather about how it is used. So, eventhough everyone sits infront of a console and synthesizers they dont become ARR.. ultimately it is their stuff which shines.

Coming to this guy Amit trivedi.. I dont think he can compared with YSR. For all that I have enjoyed of YSR I still think he is predictable and cliched. Yet je might fool some ppl into thinking that he is experimenting by playing some regular tunes on synth sound never heard before.. but still that is not The thing. What this guy Amit has managed to do... he has incorporated variety of genres, he has infused hard core rock, he used loops but you can feel the ingenuity in them.. you can find minor cues, subtle variations, certaiin phase shifts that makes listening to the songs all the more enjoyable. It feels more organic than cliched.

Just listen to "Payaliyaa".. that will be a testimony to what this guy is... Certainly I m among those who look forward to his future works.

shocker

24th March 2009, 02:07 AM

Yeah, my main conclusion was that he has used the technology properly. And you have further added to my point but I still think that using the technology is hard in itself (I did not mean turning on a reverb; actually using it musically and making it work in the song).
Fruity loops can only mimic the effects AR uses as much as the Dell Adamo mimics the Macbook Air. It is not the same thing.

While i was writing that post, I thought, someone is bound to pick up on the YSR comparison and you did. Anything is experimental. For someone who has not played the violin, playing the violin is experimental. In this way Yuvan playing a new synth sound is experimental as it's new. The timbre and tone of the sound are as important as the melody. If he is introducing new sounds, then that is good, you cannot knock him for it.

I think that Amit is still predictable. There were pleasant developments but no suprises or twists that caught me off guard in a good way.
I agree with you that he uses loops well in a few songs (not all).
The main thing I like, and that he has in common with AR is the organic feel to his music, as you said.
The mixes aren't too clean, there is something warm and analogue about them, which a lot of composers don't bother their engineers with these days as they do everything in the computer.
Leading on from that point, a lot of the sound of the music and the influences is to do with the team of engineers that work with the composer. They give a lot of ideas, and probably do a lot of the sound design.

I am not being arrogant by the way, just being very critical and having an interesting discussion.

Also let me clarify: by technology I am refering to computers, sequencers and effects.

thamizhvaanan

24th March 2009, 02:21 AM

Further discussions can be held on Dev D thread :D

shocker

24th March 2009, 02:35 AM

:D i'll stick to the tfmpage and the AR discussions!

A.ANAND

24th March 2009, 01:41 PM

Karen David: The Chennai Sessions

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8WQoeRnJ3Ow&feature=channel_page

A.ANAND

26th March 2009, 12:30 PM

Making Of Rahman's Visit To Airtel Contest Winners

http://www.bollywoodhungama.com/broadband/video/Advertisements/HSb62V73/3/Making-Of-Rahman-s-Visit-To-Airtel-Contest-Winners.html

King of Music World A R Rahman visits the ordinary man

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JoZyLVAn0vg

Mani Ratnam's Raavan

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Db77Rs9k8C0&feature=related

A.ANAND

26th March 2009, 12:40 PM

Mohit Chauhan sings Masakali Live at Felicity 09

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RW5ygzjYf8I

SoftSword

26th March 2009, 02:19 PM

many thanks anand...

A.ANAND

26th March 2009, 08:47 PM

many thanks anand...
No..no..it's my kadamai! :lol:

jaaze

26th March 2009, 09:27 PM

many thanks anand...
No..no..it's my kadamai! :lol: :) :thumbsup:

ajaybaskar

26th March 2009, 10:45 PM

Is London Dreams composed by ARR. Asin has confirmed this in a recent interview with Ananda Vikadan.

Ramakrishna

26th March 2009, 10:51 PM

Is London Dreams composed by ARR. Asin has confirmed this in a recent interview with Ananda Vikadan.

rombo naal munnaadiye intha padathukku thalaivar thaan music nu mudivaayiduchey.

Kumarappa

26th March 2009, 11:03 PM

ajaybaskar

26th March 2009, 11:03 PM

Indha vishayam enakku theriyama poiduchey!!!
i thought thalaivar had moved out of this project. Anyways, i am happy now...

Ramakrishna

26th March 2009, 11:10 PM

Is London Dreams composed by ARR. Asin has confirmed this in a recent interview with Ananda Vikadan.

rombo naal munnaadiye intha padathukku thalaivar thaan music nu mudivaayiduchey.

Rahmanism.com (http://www.rahmanism.com/2007/07/forthcoming-projects.html) distinctly says London Dreams is not by ARR!

oho... I actually remember ARR himself mentioning London dreams as a part of his future projects. But that was long back, i just assumed what he said still holds true.

ajaybaskar

26th March 2009, 11:13 PM

Appo asin kadha vuttuttaangala?

Kumarappa

26th March 2009, 11:27 PM

Appo asin kadha vuttuttaangala?

Yaaroda music-kku aadrom-nu theriyama aaduranga pola!

A.ANAND

27th March 2009, 08:03 AM

[tscii:428dd350fb]To the man who brought us the Oscar!

Over the last two days there has been nothing but Rahman on TV and in newspapers. The number of things that are being said about him is so much that even the most avid couch potato might have missed quite a few of those anecdotes and profuse remarks that have been aired. So, it will not be a bad idea to try and compile some of the best anecdotes that were narrated for the sheer reading pleasure of all Rahman fans.

SPB was around on TV for quite some time on the 23rd of February and he said a lot about Rahman and the way he worked. He recalled the days of Roja. SPB believes that he was the first one to have rendered his voice for a Rahman song (Kadhal Rojave). That day, before the recording began Rahman told SPB that he was not sure

about why he was being given this opportunity when master composers like Ilayaraja and MS Viswanathan were still around. He also said that having made his debut, if all went well; he would manage to hang around for maybe a period of five years. Then SPB shifted five years down the line to Minsaara Kanavu. Then, SPB asked Rahman, ¡°you told me that you were going to stick around for 5 years, its past that now¡± and Rahman replied, ¡°I think I have got a bonus of 5 more years.¡±

SPB also remarked that Rahman was the only composer who managed to make someone else lend their voice to SPB himself, the singer was Sukhvinder Singh. To date, it remains the only instance when someone else has sung for SPB on screen.

Then there was Sukhvinder Singh who remembered that it was his association with Rahman in Dil Se (the Chayya Chayya) song that really launched his career. Director Rajkumar Santhoshi was also around telling us about how well Rahman understood the medium of cinema and how he listens carefully to every situation before giving a tune, about how he keeps playing on the piano endlessly until the director spots one combination that he likes. More than that, he said that it is Rahman¡¯s ability to do classy background scores that sets him apart, in short, Rahman takes on a movie as a whole.

Then there were a host of young singers who were discovered and blooded by Rahman from the most unlikely of scenarios. Most of you might have heard about the story of Naresh Iyer. He was participating in a reality show for singers where Rahman was one of the judges. After a particular round, Rahman told Naresh Iyer that there was both good news and bad news. The bad news was that Naresh had been eliminated from the competition while the good news was that Rahman had decided to use his voice. Rang De Basanti happened and Naresh Iyer has not looked back since. Like Naresh, there are other singers like Madhushree, Benny Dayal etc., who are all beneficiaries of Rahman¡¯s unique ability to spot talent.

There are dozens of other stories that comes to ones mind, many of them being associated with Rahman¡¯s affinity to working right in the middle of the night; he has however exempted SPB from such unearthly recording hours. Then, all of you might have read on the site about how he carried his harmonium along with him on his honeymoon. We have heard about him globetrotting in his search for new sounds and styles of music and many more, you could go on talking about Rahman for hours together.

But the one point that everyone seemed to echo in common was about the man¡¯s simplicity. Almost everyone used these words ¡®he is a wonderful human being¡¯. It was not planned or stage managed, but people sitting in different parts of India at different times used almost the same words to describe Rahman. That says a lot about his character, neither success, money nor fame have changed him one bit. He still remains as enthusiastic about music as he was when he made his debut. His down to earth attitude was reflected in the way he said ¡®ella pugazhum iraivanukke¡¯ on the Oscar stage, it also showed us that he is not a man to forget his roots.

That is why one couldn¡¯t help seeing the lighter side when a journalist on TV asked a guest about whether the Oscar would take Rahman away from India. If he had such plans he would have vanished long back, he has such boundless talent. And, the most gratifying thought that comes from this Oscar award is the knowledge that Rahman is capable of many more wonders. One is so confident about this because anyone who has heard Rahman¡¯s songs over the years will know that ¡®Jaye Ho¡¯ or ¡®O Saaya¡¯ are not his best compositions by a long shot. If they are good enough for Oscars, then we cannot imagine the heights that await him. God bless Rahman! Jaye Ho!

http://www.behindwoods.com/tamil-movie-articles/movies-08/a-r-rahman-25-02-09.html[/tscii:428dd350fb]

A.ANAND

27th March 2009, 08:46 AM

10 Questions for A.R. Rahman

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1887759,00.html

dinesh2002

27th March 2009, 09:55 AM

ARR's Alaipayuthey.... !! :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIqIuyWa1_w

Kumarappa

27th March 2009, 08:18 PM

The Indo-Chinese film "The Desire-Journey of a Woman" has (only) background score by ARR, songs are composed by SEL:

Shilpa Shetty’s desire of journey
IndiaGlitz [Thursday, March 26, 2009]

A journey splashing with successful endeavors all through is actually what Shilpa is striding now. It all took high to greater flight when she turned entire spotlights with her ‘Big Brother’ mania across the globe. In fact, there’s been no turning back for this alluring missy as she continued with her ‘Big Boss’ Mania here in India. Finally, the actress gears for yet another show, this time on silver screens that will sweep the hearts of Chinese film buffs. Yeah! Shilpa will be seen in producer Sharad Hegde's prestigious Indo-Chinese project The Desire- Journey of a Woman directed by R.Sarath.

The Desire-Journey of a Woman is a Hindi feature film that's dubbed in Chinese and revolves around dance, music, art, culture and emotions. It's the story of 'Goutami', an accomplished Odissi dancer and a talented artist 'Jai Leang'. Shilpa would be seen sharing the screen space with the Chinese superstar Xia Yu and Bollywood's timeless dancing beauty Jaya Prada. The supporting cast also includes Anupam Kher, Sheetal Menon, Nakul Vaid and Asif Sheikh.

After the completion of a schedule with Shilpa and Xia Yu at Putarajaya in Malaysia, the film has now moved into its last leg of shooting with only one schedule left, to take the film into post-production. While the famous trio Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy has composed the film's music, the music Maestro A.R.Rahman has rendered the background score.

So, what’s so special with ‘The Desire – Journey of a Woman’? Fine! when you’ve the stunning dance queens Jaya Pradha and Shilpa Shetty, your imaginations are sure to be surmounted with colossal shows.

http://www.indiaglitz.com/channels/hindi/article/45817.html

Ramakrishna

27th March 2009, 09:59 PM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I12uB7vo2M8&NR=1

Have a look at Rahman playing with the piano in this video.

thineshan54321

28th March 2009, 03:19 AM

it says composer is tanvin singh. we all know who did it. hope she corrects it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQ0L_Te3FcA&feature=channel_page

A.ANAND

28th March 2009, 01:55 PM

Salaam Bombay Dreams

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8P1DC70Slk4&feature=channel

A.ANAND

28th March 2009, 09:49 PM

A R Rahman to enthral music lovers in Kerala in May

Kochi (PTI): Ace Music composer and Oscar Winner A R Rahman will be performing live at Kozhikode on May to express solidarity with HIV Positive orphaned children.

The show titled 'Jai Ho' is the 'first mega music show' by Mr. Rahman after he won two oscars for 'Slumdog Millionaire'.

Over 50 well-known musicians, besides Mr. Rahman, will be participating in the show, being organised by the NGO Global Kerala initiative-'Keraleeyam' for rehabilitating HIV positive orphaned children.

Mr. Rahman said he was happy to be associated with 'the cause' 'Discrimination has no end-- between states, religions and between nations. That's the main cause. I am moved by the cause', he said.

Mr. Rahman said he had been wanting to perform in Kerala for the last 15 years. Though he had cancelled at least seven shows to be held this year in various parts of the country as he would be in US for at least six months, he wanted the Kerala show to be held as it was 'irresistible'.

Malayalam singers are gifted, dedicated and their foundation very strong, he said.

Mr. Rahman said his late father, R K Shekhar, who was composer and music conductor of Malayalam films, gave his "soul to malayalam film music.' Works of music directors like S Dakshinamoorthy,late Devarajan master,A T Ummer and his father's music were the ones he liked.'I also adore veteran singer K J Jesudas,' he added.

He said he normally took more time to score music for films. But for 'Slumdog Millionaire' he completed the song in only three weeks.

The Chennai-based star composer said he would be joining Rasool Pookutty, who also won the Oscar for sound for the same film for a Rs 100 crore film called 'Blue'.

On scoring music in Malayalam films, he said it all depended on opportunties and timing. "During the 90's I thought opportunties will come. Definitely, there will be opportunties in the future," he said.

Asked if he had gone into hiding after the Oscars, Mr. Rahman said he took time off to be away from the media glare as he had to make six trips in three weeks to Los Angeles and wanted his body clock to come back to normal.

On whether he had increased his remuneration after the Oscars, he quipped that following the recession, he had been asked to reduce it by 10 per cent.

Asked if he was chasing any other dream after the Oscars, Mr. Rahman said he was still living the dream. "I am happy".

He was expecting another Oscar only after 10 years, he said.

http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/009200903281651.htm

A.ANAND

29th March 2009, 01:36 PM

I Am Happy For Rahman: Harris Jayaraj

http://www.indiaglitz.com/channels/tamil/gallery/Events/17588.html

Ramakrishna

29th March 2009, 01:49 PM

I Am Happy For Rahman: Harris Jayaraj

http://www.indiaglitz.com/channels/tamil/gallery/Events/17588.html

His speaking style is also very similar to Rahman :lol:

A.ANAND

29th March 2009, 02:09 PM

I Am Happy For Rahman: Harris Jayaraj

http://www.indiaglitz.com/channels/tamil/gallery/Events/17588.html

His speaking style is also very similar to Rahman :lol:

rahman ovaroda soul-la kalanthutaru pola!deeply inspired by ARR :D

Kumarappa

29th March 2009, 03:58 PM

Jodhaa Akbar rocks music awards
29 Mar 2009, 0316 hrs IST, Bella Jaisinghani, TNN

MUMBAI: Almost 80 years after W M Khan sang De de khuda ke naam pe for India's first talking picture Alam Ara in 1931, and made the lives of millions of Indians more musical, a special award has been instituted for the Bollywood music industry by Radio Mirchi 98.3 FM. The first Tata Indicom Mirchi Music Awards were announced at Hotel Taj Lands End in Bandra on Saturday evening.

Holding the golden trophy fashioned as female figurine, host Shaan emerged singing from amidst the audience, encouraged by co-host Tulip Joshi. As was the case at the Filmfare Awards, A R Rahman and Jodhaa Akbar swept the honours here too, bagging song of the year for Jashn-e-bahara and best male vocalist for Javed Ali for the same song.

Bela Shende, who was Shreya Ghoshal's rival at a talent hunt many years ago, came out tops with Manmohana for Jodhaa Akbar. A R Rahman struck gold with album of the year for Jaane Tu... and best music director for Kabhi Kabhi Aditi. Aptly, the lifetime achievement award was presented to singer Lata Mangeshkar for never having hit a wrong note in her life, as Bade Ghulam Ali Khan once said.

Interestingly, as many newcomers took the stage as veteran names in the business. Upcoming talents Dominique Cerejo and Benny Dayal shared space with veteran saxophonist and music arranger Manohari Singh. A spectacular lineup of performances by Bipasha Basu, Shreya Ghoshal, Genelia DSouza and Kunal Ganjawala punctuated the ceremony. In a spontaneous competition for music directors present at the awards, Javed Akhtar gave them an 'unmusical' verse to compose on IPL and the general elections.

Weeks before the actual awards ceremony, the jury met to deliberate the list of nominations and then the winners. Jury chairman Javed Akhtar along with Prasoon Joshi, Louis Banks, Shankar Mahadevan, Annu Malik, Lalit Pandit, Kavita Krishnamurthy, Sonu Nigam, Kailash Kher, Suresh Wadkar, Sadhana Sargam, Kunal Kohli, Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra and Ramesh Sippy listened to 400-500 songs as they shortlisted the nominees to the 17 categories.

One of the award categories was branded the Tata Indicom Talent Hunt for which aspiring singers from 23 locations in India had been invited to compete. Contest winner Prachi Shah from Ahmedabad performed at Saturday's awards ceremony.

The title sponsor of the Mirchi Music Awards is Tata Indicom. The channel partner is Star TV and the online partner is Apnacircle.com.

And the winners are...

Song Of The Year
Jashn-e-Bahara | Jodhaa Akbar

Album Of The Year
A R Rahman | Jaane Tu...

Male Vocalist Of The Year
Javed Ali | Jashn-e-Bahara, Jodhaa Akbar

Female Vocalist Of The Year
Bela Shende | Manmohana, Jodhaa Akbar

Music Director Of The Year
A R Rahman | Jaane Tu...

Lyricist Of The Year
Javed Akhtar | Jashn-e-Bahara, Jodhaa Akbar

Upcoming Male Vocalist Of The Year

Benny Dayal | Kaise Mujhe, Ghajini

Upcoming Female Vocalist Of The Year
Dominique Cerejo | Ye Tumhari, Rock On!

Upcoming Music Director Of The Year
Dhruv Ghanekar | Drona

Upcoming Lyricist Of The Year
Ashok Mishra | Welcome to Sajjanpur

Technical Award For Song Mixing
LATE H Shridhar | Jodhaa Akbar

Technical Award For Programming and Arranging
TR Krishna Chetan | Jashn-e-Bahara, Jodhaa Akbar

Technical Award For Film Background Score
AR Rahman | Jodhaa Akbar

Tata Indicom Mirchi Listeners Choice Song Of The Year

Kabhi kabhi aditi | Jaane Tu...

Tata Indicom Mirchi Listeners Choice Album Of The Year
Jaane Tu... YA Jaane NA

Jury's Salute For Memorable Contribution To Music
Manohari Singh | Saxophonist

Lifetime Achievement Award
Lata Mangeshkar

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Jodhaa-Akbar-rocks-music-awards/articleshow/4329081.cms

Moreover, out of 17 awards, 12 awards went either to ARR himself, to the songs he composed, the singers, who sang the songs or the technicians, who helped recording, programming and mixing the songs. Rahmania!!! :clap:

Yathu

29th March 2009, 06:36 PM

8-)

I'm happy Javed Ali got the Best Male Vocalist award too! Truly deserved. :D

Yathu

29th March 2009, 06:44 PM

I Am Happy For Rahman: Harris Jayaraj http://www.indiaglitz.com/channels/tamil/gallery/Events/17588.html His speaking style is also very similar to Rahman :lol: rahman ovaroda soul-la kalanthutaru pola!deeply inspired by ARR :D

It all started with a keyboard stand as HJ confessed at the felicitation ceremony.

A.ANAND

30th March 2009, 12:13 PM

[tscii:31c2239150]Rahman to kick off global tour on May 3

Staff Reporter

To start with a concert in Kozhikode

KOCHI: The maestro is hitting the road again. A.R. Rahman is on the move and reaching out to his fans. And he is kicking off his next world tour from Kerala.

For, ¡°this State is so special to me, because my father gave his soul and life to Malayalam film music.¡±

¡°Jai Ho, A.R. Rahman Live in Concert¡± will start with the performance at Corporation Stadium, Kozhikode, on May 3.

The other stop-overs have not been decided for this global tour, but people in different parts of the country have started talking about the Kozhikode concert. That is the magic this man and his music has woven around the nation, said Deepak Gattani, the managing director of Rapport Global, who directs Mr. Rahman¡¯s concerts.

Even though he told the media that he is living his dream ¨C with great opportunities lined up and prayers answered, the learner in him is still awake. He prefers to move on and take the Oscar in his stride.

¡°The Oscar gives great respect and world acknowledges the talent. The biggest award is the love listeners give, but awards like Oscar will expose our musicality to the common man in Korea, China or Russia.¡±

The song, which fetched him the golden-plated britannium statuette, Jai Ho from the film Slumdog Millionaire, was definitely not the best of his works. But he would put it differently, ¡°That was the best song in the film, to communicate the essence of the film.¡±

He might have answered this question a million times, so Mr. Rahman had his answer ready when someone pointed out that the film depicted the nation in a poor light and could have an impact on the tourism industry. ¡°Every country has a dark side. So, I think the film was a universal one. It is more important to me that two kids walked the red carpet at the Oscars.¡±

Out from a self-imposed hiding, forced by ¡°200 calls, 300 SMSes and 1,000 e-mails a day¡± and six trips in two months to Los Angeles upsetting the biological clock and pending works lined up, Mr. Rahman is back to where he is at ease. Composing music that defines the frenzy of crowd across the globe.

This global tour is being planned as part of the awareness campaign on Santhwanam, a project for rehabilitation of HIV/AIDS affected children. The campaign is taken up by Global Kerala Initiative-Keraleeyam.

Mr. Rahman decided to join the movement as part of his attempt to fight back ¡°discriminations of all kinds. There is a lot of hatred around. Between nations and religions.¡±

http://www.hindu.com/2009/03/29/stories/2009032953900500.htm[/tscii:31c2239150]

A.ANAND

30th March 2009, 12:50 PM

A.R Rahman to replace David Beckham?

By Moviebuzz | Monday, 30 March , 2009, 10:44

A.R Rahman has become the first Indian to be a youth icon among International audiences.

After winning two Oscars, there is no stopping him now, as he becomes the hottest celebrity in the Asian entertainment industry.

As per reports on the net he is said to have replaced the England super footballer David Beckham as brand ambassador of Motorola.

Rahman is rumoured to have been paid a whopping unheard of Rs 28 crore, making it one of the highest paid celebrity endorsement deals in the world.

But there has been no official quote from Rahman on the deal so far.

http://sify.com/movies/fullstory.php?id=14876574

:omg:

A.ANAND

30th March 2009, 01:21 PM

korean to indian ( rain ar rahman )

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xk8J7zJ1h2k&feature=related

:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

Yathu

31st March 2009, 03:38 AM

Is ARR doing a world tour?! OMG he HAS to come to London! I'm not going to miss it this time!

(on a sidenote, how's he going to fit in a world tour? I'm starting to think that ARR's got a secret twin brother or has cloned himself.)

littlemaster1982

31st March 2009, 03:42 AM

He is doing a concert in Calicut this May. Then the world tour starts.

I'm starting to think that ARR's got a secret twin brother or has cloned himself

:lol: Have you seen the film "The Prestige"?

Yathu

31st March 2009, 04:53 AM

Woohoo, bring on the world tour!

:lol: LM, so you've seen 'The Prestige' too? I thought it was a good reference to make as we're talking about magicians in both cases. Maybe Sivamani is his twin in disguise. :lol:

littlemaster1982

31st March 2009, 05:23 AM

:lol: LM, so you've seen 'The Prestige' too? I thought it was a good reference to make as we're talking about magicians in both cases. Maybe Sivamani is his twin in disguise. :lol:

:exactly: :P

shocker

31st March 2009, 11:27 AM

Thanks for spoiling that for all those who haven't seen it! :lol:

:?

R.Latha

31st March 2009, 01:23 PM

A.R. Rahman is going live

Top musical composer and Oscar winner A.R. Rahman is kick-starting his global tour with a live concert in Kozhikode, Kerala. The concert, named Jai Ho, is being held to benefit the rehabilitation of HIV positive orphaned children.

The show is scheduled to be held at the Kozhikode Corporation Stadium on May 3.

Rahman’s tour is part of an awareness campaign by Global Kerala Initiative-Keraleeyam, for HIV/AIDS affected children.

His other stop-overs have not been announced yet. This is the music maestro’s first performance after winning back-to-back Oscars for his work in the acclaimed movie Slumdog Millionaire, directed by Danny Boyle.

http://www.indiaglitz.com/channels/tamil/article/45893.html[/tscii:b6b1999307]

A.ANAND

31st March 2009, 02:12 PM

" Today's World Renowned Allah Rakka Rahman is the same Dileep Kumar who couldnt continue with his studies in his Tenth Standard. He has attracted the full world because of his music. A Special Interview with him

Q :- Were you able to achieve such heights, because , you converted to Islam ?

I think I could achieve this because of continous hard work, the passion towards music and God's Grace. There are so many people who are behind this succcess and they are

1. Mellisai Mannar M.S. Viswanathan
2. Isai Gnani Illayaraja
3. Zakir Hussain
4. Kunnakudi Vaidyanathan
5. Ramesh Naidu

These people have already put me in the Ladder. There is no connection between Human success and Change in religion.

2. What have you learnt in your journey of life ?

All my life, I had spent it between Love and Hatred. All the time, I was fighting between these two. I chose the Path of Love and I am in front of you.

3. What is the role of your religion in Music ?

I am a Sufi Muslim. Art is important for Society. I am using Music to bring out some good feelings in the same. I dont accept some movies. The Reason is I dont want to spread religion through movies.

4. What else do you like apart from Music ?

Photography. I have recently bought a new camera. I have to start learning it. I desire to take snaps of my children in different angles and feel happy.

5. Why did you stop your schooling at Tenth Standard ?

I repented and felt for the same for 10 long years. Then, I stopped feeling about the same. Einstein once said, "It is this Education that stops us from learning". Such an Education sometimes halts our Creativity. Thats the reason I believe that its good that I couldnt complete the Formal Education.

6. How is Rahman at home ?

Apart from composing music, I dont have much time left even to spend it with my children. They get lot of compassion and pamperings from me. But my wife is very strict and they fear her .

7. Why is there no Information available about your Family Members ?

I lost my freedom after I became famous. Let them atleast enjoy the freedom that they have!!!

8. You could have spoken about the Problems faced by Sri Lankan Tamils in the Oscars Stage !!! ?

It is the stage to felicitate artists from the entertainment and Art Industry. There is no room for politics there and thats the reason I didnt want to talk about anything else. But, I cant tolerate the pains underwent by them at any instance.

9. What is the happening which made you happy after winning the Oscars ?

Director Danny Boyle had made the children of the Slums of Mumbai to act in the movie " Slumdog Millionaire". They got red Carpet welcome in the US. That happening excited me a lot. A lot of other people have also come forward to start helping them.

10. What did you do with all the prizes that you received ?

Whosoever gave me Flower Bouquets, I accepted the same with Love. Whosoever gave me " Champaigne' Bottles, I returned the same to them.

11. Can you say one word on Maniratnam and Illayaraja ?

The former is a person who doesnt talk much, but made everyone look at him with awe. The latter captured the hearts of everyone through his music.

12. Many of your dreams got fulfilled. What else is left out ?

I would like to create a Music Program with World Class Standards. It would be like " Sydney Opera House" and the participants would be Indians. We , Indians have all the talent in us to exhibit the same. With God's Grace, all of this will happen. "

All Praises to God Alone"

( Interview of ARR which featured in this week " Gokulam Kadhir Magazine" Tamil Magazine )

--
regards,
Vithur
arrahmanfans@yahoogroups.com

A.ANAND

31st March 2009, 02:24 PM

PRABUDEVA DANCE 4 CHIKKU BUKKU RAILE SONG IN 'DANCE INDIA DANCE'TV PROGRAM

http://danceindiadance.sify.com/videos/Videos.php?h_id=169&v_id=2306

A.ANAND

31st March 2009, 03:04 PM

மோட்டரோலா விளம்பரம்: நடிக்க ரகுமானுக்கு ரூ. 28 கோடி!செவ்வாய்க்கிழமை, மார்ச் 31, 2009, 12:31 [IST]

ஆஸ்கர் விருதுக்குப் பிறகு தனது சம்பளத்தை ரஹ்மான் ஏற்றாவிட்டாலும், சர்வதேச வர்த்தக நிறுவனங்கள் தானாகவே அவர் சம்பளத்தை உச்சாணிக் கொம்பில் ஏற்றிவிட்டன.

உலகப் புகழ் பெற்ற கால்பந்து வீரர் டேவிட் பெக்காம் இதுவரை தோன்றி வந்த மோட்டரோலா செல்போன் விளம்பரத்தில் விளம்பர மாடலாக நடிக்க மட்டும் ஆஸ்கர் நாயகன் ஏ.ஆர்.ரகுமானுக்கு ரூ.28 கோடி சம்பளம் பேசப்பட்டுள்ளதாம்.

உலகின் 2வது மிகப் பெரிய செல்போன் தயாரிப்பு நிறுவனம் மோட்டரோலா. அமெரிக்காவைச் சேர்ந்த இந்த நிறுவனத்தின் சர்வதேச விளம்பர மாடலாக முன்னணி கால்பந்து வீரர் டேவிட் பெக்காம் இருந்து வந்தார். அவரது ஒப்பந்த காலம் இப்போது முடிவடைந்துவிட்டது.

இந் நிலையில், புதிய விளம்பர மாடலாக ஏ.ஆர். ரகுமானை மோட்டரோலா நியமித்துள்ளது.

அந்நிறுவன விளம்பரங்களில் தோன்ற டேவிட் பெக்காம் பெற்ற தொகை ரூ.22 கோட பெற்றுவந்தார். இப்போது அவரது இடத்தைப் பிடித்துள்ளதன் மூலம் ஏ.ஆர். ரகுமானுக்கு மோட்டரோலா நிறுவனம் ரூ.28 கோடி சம்பளம் தர முன்வந்துள்ளது.

இது பெக்காம் பெற்றதைவிட 20 சதவிகிதம் அதிகம். ஸ்லம்டாக் மில்லியனர் படத்துக்கு இசை அமைத்ததன் மூலம் 2 ஆஸ்கர் விருதுகளை ரகுமான் பெற்ற பிறகு, அவரது விளம்பர மதிப்பு பல மடங்கு உயர்ந்து விட்டது. அவரை ஒப்பந்தம் செய்ய பல நிறுவனங்கள் போட்டி போட்டு வருகின்றன

http://thatstamil.oneindia.in/movies/specials/2009/03/31-rahman-signs-motorola-ad-for-rs-28-cr.html

A.ANAND

31st March 2009, 03:16 PM

AR Rahman paid Rs 28 crore to be a youth icon

http://www.khabrein.info/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=21330&Itemid=70

Yathu

31st March 2009, 05:43 PM

Thanks for spoiling that for all those who haven't seen it! :lol: :? :oops2:

Yathu

31st March 2009, 05:53 PM

AR Rahman paid Rs 28 crore to be a youth icon http://www.khabrein.info/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=21330&Itemid=70

An interesting read. It's got a bit about why he converted to Islam on the 3rd page. It quotes ARRs words, hadn't read that anywhere else before.

MusicIsLife

31st March 2009, 07:55 PM

I did not know where to post this.. but thought this is a good place..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GOP_n6H5Uw4&feature=related

Wow What an amazing performance!!

While you are at it, watch this..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0YXE1BAXDo&NR=1

jaaze

31st March 2009, 10:48 PM

Thanks for spoiling that for all those who haven't seen it! :lol: :? :oops2: :? :huh:

A.ANAND

1st April 2009, 12:51 PM

[quote="MusicIsLife"]I did not know where to post this.. but thought this is a good place..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GOP_n6H5Uw4&feature=related

Wow What an amazing performance!!

tears in my eyes! :omg: :omg: :omg: :clap: :clap: :clap:

thank u MILsir!

cancer

1st April 2009, 01:50 PM

[quote=MusicIsLife]I did not know where to post this.. but thought this is a good place..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GOP_n6H5Uw4&feature=related

Wow What an amazing performance!!

tears in my eyes! :omg: :omg: :omg: :clap: :clap: :clap:

thank u MILsir!

:omg:

really.. tears in my eyes..

:notworthy: :notworthy: :notworthy: :notworthy: :notworthy: :notworthy:

A.ANAND

1st April 2009, 03:15 PM

It's going to be Dr AR Rahman soon

http://movies.rediff.com/report/2009/apr/01/honorary-degree-for-a-r-rahman.htm

A.ANAND

1st April 2009, 03:22 PM

The Genius Of A R Rahman-text by baradwaj rangan

http://www.mansworldindia.com/newsite/articles/features/march09/rahman01.asp

A.ANAND

1st April 2009, 03:25 PM

[tscii:1df09ed54e]‘I miss those life-changing lyrics!’

http://www.screenindia.com/news/i-miss-those-lifechanging-lyrics/441299/#[/tscii:1df09ed54e]

rajasaranam

1st April 2009, 04:16 PM

I did not know where to post this.. but thought this is a good place..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GOP_n6H5Uw4&feature=related

Wow What an amazing performance!!

Great Song, Great singing... Enna Bhavam in her young age itself, which is not found in many of the senior singers today. :thumbsup: Let talents like her come to filmdom to save us

Thalafanz

1st April 2009, 06:33 PM

I did not know where to post this.. but thought this is a good place..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GOP_n6H5Uw4&feature=related

Wow What an amazing performance!!

Fantastic performance :clap: :clap: :clap:

I pray she would sing for Rahman sir one day... :yes:

united07

1st April 2009, 07:02 PM

ARR featured in Q&A section of the latest TIME magazine....he talks abt bollywood, islam, oscars...check it out

A.ANAND

1st April 2009, 09:58 PM

A.ANAND

1st April 2009, 10:03 PM

intha clips-la antha girl pinnadi guitar play pandra guys parungga ,tears in his eyes! :lol:

MusicIsLife

2nd April 2009, 03:42 AM

Anand,
Please dont call me Sir... MIL is fine.

Thalafanz

2nd April 2009, 06:21 AM

intha clips-la antha girl pinnadi guitar play pandra guys parungga ,tears in his eyes! :lol:

Oh really??? Antha alavukku unnippA gavanikala, I mean the backdrop and musicians. Will check it out later. :)

Thalafanz

2nd April 2009, 08:09 AM

Link that showed Leaked mp3 tracks from 'blue' is also turned out to be an April fool prank... :twisted:

http://www.rahmanism.com/

A.ANAND

2nd April 2009, 12:01 PM

QUESTIONS FOR SLUMDOG MILLIONARE MUSIC MAN A.R.RAHMAN

http://www.time.com/time/video/?bcpid=1485842900&bctid=18155623001

A.ANAND

2nd April 2009, 03:17 PM

[tscii:bce958f7ff]Sunita Williams, A.R. Rahman role models for young Indians: PM

April 1st, 2009 - 7:59 pm ICT by IANS -
London, April 1 (IANS)

Astronaut Sunita Williams and Oscar-winning music composer A.R. Rahman are among the role models for young Indians who are driving a ¡°society on the move¡±, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh says.
¡°Our youth are fortunate today to have a wide variety of role models from the fields of education, science and technology, sports, art and culture, social development and business and enterprise,¡± he said in an interview published Wednesday.

¡°India is a society on the move. The energy of our youth is driving this nation to new heights and they seek inspiration from so many great achievers,¡± he told the Financial Times.

¡°Some of them in fact live outside India, like the woman astronaut Sunita Williams, an Indian American, who has inspired young girls in our villages to study science.

¡°Recently millions of our youth were enthused when our musician A.R. Rehman got two Oscars for composing music for a British film!¡± he added.

http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/sci-tech/sunita-williams-ar-rahman-role-models-for-young-indians-pm_100174260.html

[/tscii:bce958f7ff]

A.ANAND

2nd April 2009, 03:20 PM

Rahman's Oscar Win Was a Great Moment for All Indians

http://www.californiachronicle.com/articles/yb/128308456

A.ANAND

2nd April 2009, 04:10 PM

SPB Reveal ARRahman's Genius in Thoda Thoda Song

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9qmN1mNJnU

theergatharisi ayya s.p.b
:notworthy:

A.ANAND

2nd April 2009, 04:18 PM

Super Star Junior-2 Mon-Fri 8 pm

another on from anakha

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9lzaa2gSq8&feature=channel

A.ANAND

3rd April 2009, 11:58 AM

AR Rahman Press Meet at Cochin

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgKyfVBFdj0

A.ANAND

3rd April 2009, 12:02 PM

'Rahman and Motorola, what rubbish!'
IndiaGlitz [Thursday, April 02, 2009]

We're not being boorish in abusing people who've spread this story. Officials from Rahman's office themselves are poking fun at the media which has been floating highly unbelievable stories like Rahman endorsing Motorola. Agreed, brand AR Rahman sells. More today than ever before. And a few media houses and online websites have been using it to their advantage with stories like these. But such fakes are being rubbished by people close to the maestro himself, who IndiaGlitz spoke to.

The latest in the beeline of rumours about Rahman was about him endorsing Motorola for a record price. 'Then what about his dealings with Nokia already?' his officals ask in jest. That a person cannot endorse two brand of the same field is common sense, they think. And it was less than a few months ago that Rahman, in collaboration with Nokia, brought out his mobile album, Connections, as part of his deal with them. Rahman and Nokia have earlier collaborated for his album, Pray For Me Brother. Officials in Rahman's studio say there were not even talks about an agreement with Motorola and this was a complete baseless rumour.

Now, reports in various spurious sections of the media have announced that Rahman has inked a deal with Motorola for a record Rs 28 crore to take over as its youth icon and brand ambassador, instead of David Beckam. Websites and online sources mind find it interesting to publish such stories, but those who know the truth only call them 'imaginative'.

A.ANAND

3rd April 2009, 12:11 PM

Slumdog Millionaire
April 01, 2009

http://www.californiachronicle.com/articles/yb/128346053

A.ANAND

4th April 2009, 11:44 AM

http://www.gsamusic.com/PDF/Rahman_AR.pdf

A.ANAND

4th April 2009, 11:45 AM

Rahman's music hits the ramps

http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/video/video.aspx?id=66324

A.ANAND

6th April 2009, 11:55 AM

Rahman's Jai Ho sweeps China

Press Trust of India
Sunday, April 05, 2009 1:17 PM (Beijing)

The rags-to-riches tale of two Mumbai kids in Slumdog Millionaire movie has become a rage in China with its Oscar winning track 'Jai Ho' reverberating across this Communist nation.

Music maestro A R Rehman's anthem 'Jai Ho' has won the hearts of people here who are enjoying the rhythmic nuances of its tune even though the lyrics is beyond their comprehension.

"Frankly speaking I do not know the meaning of 'Jai Ho'. But I like the song as it touches my heart," said Dong Hui, a Beijing University student.

Creation of British director Danne Boyle, the movie which clinched eight Oscars, including Best Song for Jai Ho this year, is running full house in theatres across China.

The movie which showcases lives of two kids who grow up in slums of Mumbai and one of them wins the Indian version of TV game show 'Who Wants to Be a Millionaire' has been dubbed in Chinese language for the locals.

"It is a proud moment for everyone of us as an Asian film got eight Oscars. Since the film tells about a rag to rich story, it struck the imagination of an average Chinese," Documentary film maker Zhang Jie said outside Chang Hong Cinema in Beijing, one of the many theatres where currently the film is showing.

http://music.ndtv.com/Music_Story.aspx?id=ENTEN20090089765&type=musicindia

A.ANAND

6th April 2009, 12:59 PM

Chinese go gaga over AR Rahman's Jai Ho

April 06, 2009

Slumdog Millionaire, which has won as much as eight Oscar Awards this year, has the communist nation China going gaga over it. The song, Jai Ho, set to tune by A.R. Rahman has become a huge hit in China. Though the audiences are not able to grasp the meaning of the lyrics they simply love the tune and are heard humming it.

The audiences are also amazed that a show like Kaun Banega Crorepati was hosted in India,

especially with such a huge amount involved. It is worth mentioning here that Slumdog Millionaire was dubbed in Chinese to attract the audience.

http://www.behindwoods.com/bollywood/hindi-movies-news/apr-09-01/rahman-06-04-09.html

A.ANAND

6th April 2009, 01:01 PM

[tscii:7dc571bf6d]'I miss those life-changing lyrics!' - A R Rahman

By Screen Weekly, April 6, 2009 - 08:34 IST

He has proved that music may have languages but not boundaries. Here's the reticent A.R.Rahman, who has left no award unturned in the last six months, in a midnight chat from Chennai that brims with rare candour

For two years in succession, you have clinched both the Best Music and Best Background Music Screen trophies. What do you have to say about this unique achievement?
I always feel that nothing can be planned, and sometimes things just fall into place! Just a few years ago, a lot of things seemed to be going off-track. Mani Ratnam's Lajjo, Shyam Benegal's Chamki and Krishna Shah's Baiju and one or two other musicals were wonderful subjects that inspired me then - and none of them even took off! On the other hand, Jaane Tu...Ya Jaane Na that got me your Best Music trophy this year was almost shelved - till Aamir Khan took over its production. Last year, a lot of my films came all together - Jaane Tu..., Jodhaa Akbar, Yuvvraaj, the music of Ada, Ghajini and then Slumdog Millionaire. So I have stopped expecting anything in life. If good things happen, it's okay, but if they don't, at least you are not frustrated! (Laughs).

Do two background music trophies indicate that the background score is gaining more importance nowadays?
Background music is something that needs ten times more energy than making songs. You can do songs for four more films in the time you take for composing a background music score for just one movie! In the West, they are amazed that in Indian films the same person composes both the songs and the background score. But over here, whether it was Naushadsaab in Hindi films, Ilayaraja down here or most other composers, we have had this tradition almost as a culture.
Speaking for myself, I like to do both and it is about my credibility and sometimes when I get both right, it is a great high for me!

Why do you use the word "sometimes"? Why are you so modest, almost Bachchan-esquely so, in your statements?
I have so much to learn and so much to achieve. And things can go wrong despite hard work so often. You can't orchestrate results and the magic just happens sometimes. When it does, every aspect of the film and the music blends together, sometimes intentionally, sometimes unintentionally!

"Unintentionally"!
Well, sometimes you are trying to do your part right and it may or may not happen. Or things can just go wrong elsewhere. Just one slip - like in an expression on the face of one actor, or in the way a director expresses himself, or even some technical point can prevent everything from falling in place. So when everything turns out perfect, as in my Tu hi re in Bombay or as in Pyar kiya to darna kya in Mughal-E-Azam, you feel blessed like an angel.

Gulzarsaab tells us that you light a candle when your singer enters the recording cabin. Have you always done this?
I began to do it after my first visit to Khwaja Gharib Nawaz at Ajmer Sharif. The candles lit there have an effect I cannot describe. In my studio too, it is so inspirational and organic amidst all the electronic gadgets.

He also tells us that over the decade since you first worked with him in Dil Se..., you have become much more familiar with the Hindi film mijaaz or temperament. Would you agree?
I have become more conscious of the language. Subhash (Ghai)ji and some others made me conscious about that when I began working with them. I always had this belief that music has no language and that a tune could be converted by extraordinary lyrics into a great song in any language. But Subhashji taught me otherwise. In Taal, Anand Bakshisaab wrote most of the lyrics before I made the tunes. The same was the case with The Legend Of Bhagat Singh and Sameerji. I realised that you cannot express certain words just anyhow. The elongation of syllables or of words - the syntax, that is - is something that is peculiar to every language. So I am learning Urdu for the last 2-3 years and my Hindi vocabulary is also up by 40-50 per cent!

And did that also apply to English?
English was easier for me, though when I took up Bombay Dreams, I did not know whether I could pull it off. But I managed, I think, though the first song, Journey home, was already made before I took up the project. And with the passage of years, as you get the time to evolve and be more of yourself, you begin to learn which song to hold back, even if you have liked it yourself, when you are offering a director your compositions.

How upsetting is it when a film like Delhi - 6 does not work and your music does not get its due?
Initially I would find such a contingency very painful, but now I have learnt to be detached. I explained to myself that the next assignment is waiting and that you can't spoil it by brooding on this but should aim to score there instead! With Rakeyshji, I was very happy with both Rang De Basanti and Delhi-6, but when a film does not work I think that all of us should admit that we have gone wrong somewhere. Music alone may not have ever helped a film become a hit, but it is definitely one of the major factors.
And yet, even success or failure of a film is relative: I know people who have watched Dil Se... 30-40 times just for one sequence and I know of people who loved Delhi-6. Like I said, it's all about the right timing. Society's state of mind and its concerns are all important. People do not like darkness in films now because I guess there is so much of it in real life! (Laughs)

And coming to Slumdog Millionaire, a cliché that you will have to answer again for us, Did you expect the film and your songs to reach where they have?
No way! (Laughs). But yes, I loved the film when I watched it. All I was thinking about is that I wanted to work with a filmmaker as loved and respected as Danny Boyle. There was something strangely positive about the film - I remember feeling inexplicably relieved at the end of the movie.

So you worked on the music after the film was complete.
Yes and after putting in the songs Danny re-cut the film.

How did you get the idea of working with M.I.A.?
I find her an extraordinary artiste who makes political statements with her music. Some years back, she had come down to record her music at my studio because she needed some specific kind of percussion and had expressed a wish to work with me then because she liked the energy in my music. At that time, I was busy. But when this opportunity arose, I naturally took it.

How do you react to Indians slamming Jai ho as nowhere compared to your best songs, even though its versions abroad have rocked charts too?
Well, I had to make something that was right for the film. It wasn't a situation that demanded a Beethoven's Symphony or a Ba-ba black sheep! Composing for films is not about showing the world what you can do. You have to get something right first and then try and excel in it. The reverse way would be disastrous.

The other criticism is that you have reworked Choli ke peeche from Khal-Nayak as Ringa ringa. But despite the story you gave to a section of the press, it just had a similar flavour.
I was misquoted in that story - I never said that I was remixing the song. I only said that I was influenced by that song as the most important anthem of the 1990s, which is the era being shown when Ringa ringa is playing in the film. That was the reason why I chose not to compose a completely diverse song for this situation and also why I took the same singers - Alka Yagnik and Ila Arun. It was my ode to Laxmikant-Pyarelal, Subhash Ghai and the song's team.

Digressing a bit, don't you feel that Subhashji's Yuvvraaj was very underrated among your scores from last year?
I agree. Of late, Subhashji has been repeatedly unlucky - in the 1990s, I was to do a fantastic subject called Shikhar with him. In 2003, there was Motherland. Neither film took off. And now it is Yuvvraaj, on which we worked for almost two years and made some extraordinary songs, that went unnoticed for various reasons, while Slumdog..., on which I worked for two weeks, went so far. Life can be so unpredictable!

And what were your first thoughts when you won first one trophy and then another - and we do not mean the words you spoke at the Oscar ceremony where you also have to keep in mind the audience?
I was extremely happy that my mother, my wife and my sister Ishrat, who is a singer, were all there with me. Such occasions are less about personal happiness and more about what precious people around you, especially your family and friends, feel. My first thought when the first award was announced was nothing - my mind went blank since I was due to sing in some 20 seconds! (Laughs) When the second award was declared, I just wanted to take the trophy, go into my room and sleep!! (Laughs again). The one week of anticipation, rehearsals and tensions all dissolved into that!

And what do you feel - sorry again for the clichéd query - about being the first Indian to clinch two Oscars?
I can't gauge anything now - maybe I will know after a couple of years. Let's see what good things come out of it.

And now we have so many fans in India depressed because you will be working here for a less here.
(Laughs) Honestly, after Bombay Dreams I had scope to do work outside but never used the opportunity. I was not ready then - not that I am ready now! (Chuckles) - but I came back here then and as it happened did some pretty ordinary work! But now I want to work there - for me, it's more about developing relationships, collaborating, culturally connecting and doing the right organic stuff. I have an agent there and have taken up one major assignment that I can reveal only after a while because of a non-disclosure clause in my contract. All I can say is that it is a proper American film that will also demand music of the kind that I am at home with.

And what are the Indian films in your bag?
I have Anthony D'Souza's Blue, Mani Ratnam's Ravan, Abbas Tyrewala's 1 - 800 - Love and one more film. In Chennai. I have Robot and the animation film Sultan with Rajnikanth and a film with Gautham Menon.

What changes do we get to see in your music after the Oscar win?
There will not be a change in my music but I have to be more careful - because I guess my music will be noticed by more people now. I guess we have to culturally accommodate as much as we can. There is definitely a sense of pressure but that's good. Good music always comes with honesty and when made directly from the heart and by being conscious of melody.

A lot of new composers have come in of late. Have any of them impressed you?
I like their spirit and also their desire to experiment. At the same time, however, I miss excellent melodies and life-changing lyrics in today's music and I am looking forward to hearing some of those. Lyrics, for example, should be much more than about Soniye and Maahiya! The new music directors must also realise that it is a team that consolidates your work - you need a director who understands you. Ismail Darbar got one in Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy in Farhan Akhtar. A composer cannot be like an island. The director has a huge hand in decisions about both creativity and also dignity - dignity about what you should and should not do, about a mission for reviving something good and other firm convictions.

Screen India

http://www.bollywoodhungama.com/features/2009/04/06/5051/

[/tscii:7dc571bf6d]

A.ANAND

6th April 2009, 08:45 PM

[tscii:2013802960] Dearest friends..
>
> Got these info. from Orkut..
> Let's thank Mr. Ganesh (Lokah Samasthah Sukhino Bhavanthu) for his great efforts. :-)
>
>
> Harmony Singers for Various Films....
> This is not Complete information, but atleast includes the Harmony
> singers for select Singers, info re which i could find on the web.
> Infact i dont hav the website link but had all the Info stored on a
> word document. Thought of sharing it with u guys....
>
> Thiruda Thiruda
>
> Harmony: Sujatha, Minmini, Noel, Rovano, Antho, Clement, Ganga, Thilak, ID-Raja
>
> Bombay
>
> Harmony: Swarnalatha, Swetha
>
> Muthu
>
> Harmony: Ganga, Renuka, Kanchana, Febi Mani, Antho, Srinivas, Noel
>
> Love Birds
>
> Harmony: Ganga, Renuka, Anupama, Anuradha, Kanchana, Sunitha, Srinivas, Noell
>
> Iruvar
>
> Harmony: Ganga, Renuka, Kanchana, Chandran, Antho, Srinivas, Noell
>
> Minsaara Kanavu
>
> Harmony: Ganga, Kanchana, Renuka, Anupama
>
> Ottam
>
> Harmony: Ganga, Renuka, Kanchana, Srinivas, Noell James, Anto, Chandran
>
> Uyirae
>
> Harmony: Ganga, Kanchana, Febi, Feji, Anto, Chandran, Shreenivas, Noell James
>
> En Swaasa Kaatre
>
> Backing Vocals: Ganga, Kanchana, Febi, Feji, Chandran, Srinivas, Noell
> Western Chorus: Augustine, Billy, Tony, Kayan, Grubb-Martha, Prothima, Dorothy, Akila, Lillian
>
> Jodi
>
> Harmony: Ganga, Kanchana, Febi, Feji
>
> Oonjal
>
> Harmony: Ganga, Kanchana, Febi, Feji, Kalyan, Noell James
>
> Padaiyappa
>
> Harmony: Ganga, Kanchana, Febi, Feji, Chandran, Srinivas, Noell
> Hindustani Aalaap: Hariharan
>
> Kaadhalar Dinam
>
> Harmony: Ganga, Kanchana, Febi, Feji, Chandran, Anto, Noell
>
>
>
> Instrument Section for various Movies...
> Similar to the Harmony Singes, Details re the Instruments section for a
> few films were also mentioned on that site....please do go thru it...
>
> Duet
>
> Sax classical: Kadri Gopalnath
> Sax western: Raju
> Flute: Naveen
> Rhythm: Raja
> Keyboard: A. R. Rahman
>
>
> Bombay
>
> Hamma rhythm: Ranjit Barot
> Live percussion: A. Sivamani
>
>
> Muthu
>
> Violin: Ganesh-Kumaresh
> Veena: Parthasarathy
> Guitar: Prasanna
> Bass Guitar: Keith Peters
> Yedakai: Sridhar
>
>
> Source: http://www.rahmania .net/defaults. asp
>
> Ah Aah
>
> Chennai Strings Orchestra Counducted By Srinivas Murthy
> Percussion by : Raja, Veda, Neelakandan, Laksminarayana & Kumar
> Thavil : Purushotam
> Backing Vocals : Hemambiga, Mrinalin, Sushmita, Naresh Iyer
> Maramkothiye arranged and programmed by Mohd Rafee
> Additional Programming: G. V. Prakash, Rafee
> Sound Engineer: H. Sreedhar, S. Sivakumar
> Assistant Sound Engineer: Aditya Modi
> Panchathan Record Inn, Shafee Studio Five, Chennai.
>
>
> Aayutha Ezhuthu
>
> Additional Programming on Jana Gana Mana : Jim Satya, Sridhar
> Electric and Acoustic guitar and Dbro : Kabuli
> Clay Pots(Ghatam) and Percussion : T. Raja, Veda
> Thavil : Sundar
> Tapes : Lakshminarayanan, Raju
> Trambone : Maxwell
> Additional Sound Design : H. Sridhar
> Recorded & Mixed at Panchathan Record-Inn
> Sound Engineers : H Sreedhar / Sivakumar
> Assistant Sound Engineer : Aditya Modi
>
>
> Alaipayuthey
>
> Harmony: Dominique, Srinivas, Sriram, Ganga, Noell James, Kanchana, Clinton, Febi, Chandran
> Flute : Naveen
> Guitar : Kabuli
> Nadaswaram : Vasu
> Bass Guitar : Keith Peters
> Mohan Veena : Vishwamohan Bhatt
> Sarangi : Ustad Sultan Khan
>
> Thanks to Mr.Sooraj who has designed this site...wonderful info i mus say....
>
>
>
>
> Alli Arjuna
>
> Harmony: Anupama, Febi, Feji, Rayhanah, Ganga
> Trumpet: Thomas
> Guitar: Rupet
> Flute: Navin
>
>
> Azhagiya Tamizh Magan
>
> Thavil: Venkatesth, Pursothaman
> Nadeshwaram: MKs Natarajan
> Male Hormony: Archith, Dr.Narayanan, Naresh lyer, Senthil Das, Rahul Nambiar, Benny Dayal
> Female Harmony: Gopika Poornima, Fathima, Darshana, Janani
> Aditional Programming And Ponmagal Remix: Krishna Chetan
> Music Assistant: Sathish Chakkaravarthy
> Music Assistant And Orchestrater: J.Srinivasa Murtty
> Recorded At: Panchathan Record-Inn & AM Studios, Chennai
> Sound Engineers: S.Sivakumar
> Mixed At: Panchathan Record-Inn. KM Musiq Studio & AM Studios, Chennai
> Mixing Engineers: KJ Sing/S.Sivakumar
> Mastered At: AM Studios By H.Sridhar
>
>
>
> Baba
>
>
> Harmony : Kunal, Tippu, Timmy, Chandran, Febi, Feji, Poornima, Sujatha, Gayathri
>
> Musicians:
> Dudak : Naveen
> Guitar : Rashid Ali
> Bass Guitar : Keith Peters
> Solo Violin : Kalyan
> Additional Programmining on Maya : Joshua
> Strings Conducted by : J Srinivasamurthy
> Additional Sound Design : H Sridhar
> Sound Engineers : S Sivakumar / H Sreedhar
> Recorded and Mixed at : Panchathan Record Inn, Chennai , Strong Room , London
>
>
> Boys
>
> Backing vocals : Gopika, Febi, Feji Mehati, Chandran, Sam, Narayan, Renjit
> Music Co-ordination arranged by : Noell James
> Additional Programming by : Joshua Shridhar
> Additional Programming by : Pravin Mani for 'Girl Friend' / 'Break the Rules'
> 'Secret of Success' Acoustic Guitars : Rashid Ali, Kabuli
> Electric Guitar : Christy
> Bass : Keith Peters
> Percussion : S. Sivamani
> Mixed at Panchathan Record Inn, Chennai
> Sound Engineers : H. Shridhar, S. Sivakumar
> Assistant Sound Engineer : Aditya Modi
>
>
>
> Swades
>
> Additional Programming : H Sridhar, G V PRakash
> Strings Orchestra Conducted by : Srinivasa Murthy
> Recorded and Mixed at : Panchathan Record Inn
> Sound Engineers : H Sridhar, S Sivakumar
> Assistant Sound Engineer : Aditya Modi
>
> Musicians:
> Sitar : Janardhan
> Harp, Santoor, Oud and Mandolin : Srinivasulu
> Drums and Percussion : Sivamani
> Guitar : Prasanna and Kabuli
> Bass Guitar : Keith Peters
> Flute : Navin
> Percussion : Veda
> Tabla and Dholak : Prasad and Neelakantan
> Pakhadhwaj and Khol : Sathiya Narayana
> Taps and Bass Dholak : Lakshmi Narayana
> Shehnai : Madhu
> Chorus : Chennai Chorale Group
>
>
> En swaasa kaatre:
>
> Rhythm Programming : Praveen Mani for Jumbalakka, Yak Bondy for Nayagara
> Spanish Samples : Praveen Mani for Jumbalakka
> Acoustic Guitar : Prassanna
> Electric Guitar : Neil Mukherjee
> Trumpet : Thomas
> Veena : Parthasarathy
> Guitars : Ezouras, Vaglama, Ehru
> Saz : John Themis
>
>
> Enakku 20 Unakku 18
>
> Strings Conducted by : Srinivas Murthy
> Backing Vocals : Gopika, Febi, Feji, Mehati, Chandran, Sam, Narayan, Ranjit
> Additional Programming for Bling Ling-A-Ding : Rafi
> Additional Programming : Joshua, Pravin Mani
> Solo Viloin : Sekar
> Flute : Navin
> Guitar's : Kabuli & Rashid
> Bass Guitar : Keith Peters
> Percussions : Sivamani & Raja
> Oud : Seenu
> Harmony arranged by : George Peter
> Recorded & Mixed at Panchathan Record-Inn
> Sound Engineers : H Sreedhar / Sivakumar
> Assistant Sound Engineer : Aditya Modi
>
>
>
> Godfather
>
> Classical Indian Vocals On Innisai : Ghulam Murtuza Khan, Ghulam Qadia Khan, Proff Srini
> On Hindustani Bhols : Srinivas
> Mruthangam : Seenu
> Ghatam : Karthik
> Pakhadhwaj : Sreeni
> Moorsing : Yogiraja
> Additional Rythm Programing : Sanjay
> Illamai D.U.C.K Mix Produced By: Suresh Peters
> Recorded At Panchathan Record Inn, A M Studio And Phase One, Skylight (Toronto)
> Music Co - Ordinator : B.Ganesh
> Mixing Engineer : H. Sridhar
> Sound Engineers : S. Siva Kumar, Aditya Modi And Kartik Viswanathan
>
>
> Guru
>
> MUSICIANS' COORDINATORS : SAMIDURAI, GANESH
> RECORDED AND MIXED AT : PANCHATHAN RECORD INN, AM STUDIOS, PHASE ONE (TORONTO)
>
> MUSICIANS :
> Guitars : KABULI, CHRISTI SAMUELS, NEEL MUKHERJEE
> Flute : NAVEEN, KIRAN
> Tabla : PRASAD, NEELAKANTAN
> CHENNAI STRING ORCH ESTRA CONDUCTOR : SRINIVASMURTHY
> MUSIC ASSISTANTS : SATISH CHAKRAVARTHY, KRISHNA CHETAN
> RECORDING ENGINEERS : S. SIVAKUMAR. ADITYAMODI, KARTHIK, SHAFI
> MIXING ENGINEERS : H. SRIDHAR, K.J. SINGH
> MASTERING ENGINEERS : H. SRIDHAR, S. SIVAKUMAR
>
>
>
> Indian
>
> Harmony : Ganga, Kanchana, Renuka, Febi, Rekha, Shahul Hameed, Rajagopal, Srinivas, Chandran, Anto, Noell James
> Sarangi : Sultan Khan
> Oud, Mandolin, Sarod : M Srinivasa Raju
>
>
> Iruvar
>
> Guitar : Vishwa Mohan Bhatt
> Ghattam : Vikku Vinayagam
> Jazz kit : Ranjit Barot
> Keyboards : Loy Mendonsa
> Sarangi : Sultan Khan
> Bongos : Sivamani
> Sax : John Astrew (Los Angeles)
> Harmony : Ganga, Renuka, Kanchana, Chandran, Antho, Srinivas, Noel
> Children's Choir : Swetha, Sharadha, Esther
>
> Shwetha
> Mentioned Above is none other than Sujatha Maam's Daughter. She has
> done Childrens Chorus for the Films Bombay, indira as well.
>
>
> Jeans
>
> Harmony : Ganga, Renuka, Kanchana, Febi, Feji, Suresh Peters, Sreenivas, Noel James
> Tavil : Haridwara, Mangalam A.K.Palanivel
>
>
> Jodha Akbar
>
> Mixed and Mastered at A. M. STUDIO by : H. SHRIDHAR
> Recorded at PANCHATHAN RECORD INN-CHENNAI, A. M. STUDIO-CHENNAI, NIRVANA STUDIO-MUMBAI
> Recording Engineers : S. SIVAKUMAR, DEEPAK. P. A., K. J. SINGH
> Additional Programming :T. R. KRISHNA CHETAN
> Assistant Sound Engineers : MUHAMMAED SAFIULLAH, KARTHIK VISWANATHAN
> Strings Orchestrated by :J. SRINIVASAMURTHY
>
> MUSICIANS:
> Taiko and Sword rhythms : SIVAMANI
> Flute :NAVIN
> Percussions : VEDACHALAM NEELAKANTHAN, T. RAJA, V. KUMAR, LAKSHMI NARAYANAN, RAJU
> Oud : SEENU
> Oboe : LEIGHANN WOODARD
> AZEEM-O-SHAAN ADDITIONAL VOICES : MUMBAI || ARUN INGLE CINTAMANI SOHONIR. N. IYER HEMANT KULKARNI UMESH JOSHI
> MAYURESH MADGAVKAR DEVANRA CHITNIS KAUSTUBH DATAR MILIND KARMARKAR
> NITIN KARANDIKAR JYOSTNA HARDIKAR VAIJAYANTI LIMAYE KIRTI PAI MANSI
> PARAJPE SUJATA DABKE and APARNA NAGARKATTI AZEEM-O-SHAAN ADDITIONAL VOICES : CHENNAI || DR NARAYANAN SENTHIL ARJUN RAHUL NAMBIYAR GOOPIKA POORNIMA FATHIMA JANANI MRINALINI
> Additional Vocal Supervision : SATISH CHAKRAVARTY
> Musician Fixer :SAMIDURAI
> Music Coordinator : NOEL JAMES
>
>
> Jodi
>
> Harmony : Ganga, Kanchana, Febi, Feji
> Additional Percussion : A. Sivamani
> Sitar : Janardhanan
> Tapes and Daff : Lakshminarayanan, Raju
> Trumpets : Eugene, Roy, Thomas, Ben
> Trombone : Maxi
>
> Kaadhal Desam
>
> Harmony : Ganga, Renuka, Kanchana, Srinivas, Noell James
> Guitar : Kabuli
> Additional Rhythm programming : Ranjit Barot
>
>
> Kaadhalar Dhinam
>
> Saxophone : Janarthanan
> Dulcimer : James Asher
> Additional programming : Joshua
> Additional programming on Kadhal Virus : Mohammed Raffee
> Additional sound design : H.Sridhar
> Additional Mixing : Star Field Studios, London
> Sound engineers : S.Shivakumar, H.Sridhar
> Harmony : Febi, Feji, Rehana,Gopika Poornima
>
>
> Kandukondain Kandukondain
>
> Flute : Naveen
> Bass Guitar : Keith Peters
> Guitars : Kabuli, Rupert, John Themis
> Solo Violin : Sriram Parasuram
> Sitar : Niladhri
> Harp : Seenu
> Harmony : Ganga, Kanchana, Febi, Sujatha, Naveen
> Orchestra Conducted by : Srinivasamoorthy
> Additional Programming : H. Sridhar
>
> Rhythm Programming :
> Kandukondain : Yak Bondy
> Smiyai : Praveen Mani
> Kannamoochchi : Ranjit Barot
>
>
> Kangalal Kaidhu Sei
>
> Backing Vocals : Gopika, Febi, Feji, Mahathi
> Additional Programming : Joshua
> Additional Sound Design : H. Sridhar
> Flute : Naveen
> Guitar : Kabuli
> Sax : Raja
> Tabla : Neelakantan
> Percussions : Veda
> Strings Conducted by : Murthy
> Recorded & Mixed at Panchathan Record-Inn
> Sound Engineers : H Sreedhar / Sivakumar
> Assistant Sound Engineer : Aditya Modi
>
>
> Kannathil Mutthamittaal
>
> Female Harmony : Gopika Poornima, Febi, Feji, Rehanaa
> Male Harmony : Chandran, Antony,Narayanan, Tipu, Karthik
> Kids Chorus : K.Vidhya, R.Priya,M.Madhumith a, Charulatha, Mani, Subhiksha, Hari Prashanth, Ajish Ashok
> Flute : Naveen
> Guitar : Rashid Ali, Mohammad Rafee, Neil Mukherjee, Kabuli
> Bass Guitar : Keith Peters
> Percussion Instruments : A Sivamani, J. Raja
> Strings Conducted by : Srinivasamoorthy
> Additional Sound Designer : H.Sridhar
> Sound Engineers : H Sridhar and S Sivakumar
>
>
> Love birds
>
> Rhythm Programming in No Problem : Ranjit Barot
> Percussion : Sivamani
> Sitar : Janardhanan
> Guitar : Prasanna
>
>
> Minsaara Kanavu
>
> Guitar : Rupert Fernandes
> Drum programming : Ranjit Barot
>
>
> Mudhalvan
>
> Harmony : Ganga, Kanchana, Febi, Clinton, Timothy, Noel(Italian)
> Sarangi : Ustad Sultan Khan
> Flute : Naveen
> Solo Violin : M Kalyan
> Ghatam : V Selvaganesh and his Brother
> Additional Programming : Praveen Mani (for Shakalaka baby) & Harris Jayaraj (for Mudhalvane)
> String Orchestra conducted by : V Srinivasamoorthy
> Sound Engineers : H Sridhar and S Sivakumar
>
>
> Muthu
>
> Violin : Ganesh-Kumaresh
> Harmny : Ganga, Renuka, Kanchana, Febi Mani, Antho, Srinivas, Noel
> Veena : Parthasarathy
> Guitar : Prasanna
> Bass Guitar : Keith Peters
> Yedakai : Sridhar
>
>
> New
>
> Harmony : Febi, Feji, Poornima
> Musicians:/i]
> Flute : Naveen
> Guitar : Rashid Ali
> Sax : Raja
> Thavil : Venkatesh, Porusothman
> Shanai : Apparao, Babuji
> Sitar : Janardhan
> Mridhangam : Srinivas
> Additional Sound Design : H. Sridhar
> b]Recorded & Mixed at Panchathan Record-Inn
> Sound Engineers : H Sreedhar / Sivakumar
> Assistant Sound Engineer : Aditya Modi
>
>
> Padaiyappa
>
> Harmony : Ganga, Kanchana, Febi, Feji, Chandran, Srinivas, Noell
> Hindustani Aalaap : Hariharan
> Additional Programming : H.Sridhar
> Orchestra Conducted By : Srinivasamoorthy
> Mridangam : Srinivas
> Veena : Parthasarathy
> Nadaswaram : Vasu
> Clarinet : M S V Raja
> Flute : Naveen
> Guitar : Kabuli and Rupert
> Ghatam : T H V Umashankar
> Trumpets : Eugene, Roy, Thomas, Babu
> Darbuka Percussion : Jaikumar
>
>
> Paarthaale Paravasam
>
> Additional Programming : Joshua Sridhar
> Trumpet : S Thomas
> Maxi Flute : Naveen
> Bulbul Tara : Sheik Masood Ahmed
> Guitar : Rashid Ali, Kabuli
> Phakadhwaj : Bhawani Shankar
> Thavil : AK Palanivel
> Violin : Ganesh-Kumaresh
> Chenda : Kesavan
> Additional Chorus : Rupal, Lakshmi Rangarajan
> Additional Sound Design : H Sridhar
> Strings Orchestra conducted by : Srinivasamoorthy
> Sound Engineers : H Sridhar and S Sivakumar
>
>
> Ratchakan
>
> Backing Vocals : Ganga, Kanchana, Febi, Renuka, Chandran, Anto, Srinivas, Noell
> Guitar : Kabuli, Rupert
> Mridhangam : Srinivasan
> Sarod : Seenu
> Thumba : Kumar
> Additional Rhythm programming : Ranjit Barot (for Mercury Pookal)
> Sound Engineers : H Sridhar and S Sivakumar
>
>
> Rhythm
>
> Backing Vocals : Ganga, Kanchana, Febi, Gopika, Poornima, Clinton, Dominique, Shruthi
> Oboe Solo : John Carew
> String Orchestra Conductor : J Srinivasamurthy
> Additional Programming : Pravin Mani
> Additional Programming for Land and Fire : H Sridhar
>
>
> Sangamam
>
> MRIDANGAM : Srinivasan.
> DAPS : Kumar.
> KANJIRA : T.V.SELVAGANESH.
> GHATM : Karthik.
> PERCUSSION : Veda,Lakshminarayan a.
> TABLA : Neelakantan.
> VEENA : Parthasarathy.
> THAPPATAI : Thanjavur . R . Rangarajan & Party.
> MUKHAVEENA : Vasu.
> SAXOPHONE SOLO ON “SOWKIYAMA” : Kadri Gopalnath.
> Additional Programming : H.Sridhar
>
>
> Jillunu Oru Kaadhal
>
> Strings conducted by : Srinivas Murthy
> Acoustic Guitar : H.Sridhar
> Additional Programming : Mohamed Rafi and Chetan
> 'Jillinu' Jazz Arrangement by : Jim Satya
> Indian Rhythm : Tanjore group, Laxminarayanan, Veda and Neelakandan Machakari Chorus Arrangements : Clinton
> New York Harmonies : Bhargavi Pillai,Tanvi
> Recorded at : Panchathan Record inn, Chennai and Nirvana Studios, Mumbai
> Mixed at A M Studios by : H. Sridhar and S. Siva Kumar
> Sound engineers : Aditya Modi ,Kartik Viswanathan ,A.Mohamed Safiullah
> Mastering Engineer : K.J.Singh
>
>
> Sivaji
>
> Musicians Cordinators : Samidurai, Ganesh (Toronto)
> Recorded and Mixed at : Panchathan Record Inn, A M Studio, Chennai, Phase One Studio (Toronto)
> Musicians :
> Nathaswaram : Natarajan
> Guitar : Ivan Tucakov
> Athiradee Additional Production by : Ranjit Barot
> Athiradee Additional Voices : Karthik, Mohammed Aslam, Naresh Iyer
> Balleilakka Additional Voices : Swetha and Darshana
> Vaaji Vaaji Arabic Vocals : Agfani
> Strings Orchestrated by : Srinivasmurthy
> Music Assistants : Satish Chakravarthy, Krishna Chetan
> Recording Engineers : S. Sivakumar, Karthik V, Mohammed Safiullah
> Mixing Engineers : H. Sridhar, K. J. Singh
> Mastering Engineers : H. Sridhar, S. Sivakumar.
>
>
> Star
>
> Backing Vocals : Ganga, Kanchana, Febi, Gopika Poornima, Feji
> Ghatam: Karthik
> Guitar : Kabuli
> Nadaswaram : Vasu
> Thavil : Venkatesh
> Flute : Naveen
>
>
> Taj Mahal
>
> Flute : Naveen
> Veena : Parthasarathy
> Iranian Santoor : Visweswaran
> Violin : M Kalyan
> Cello : Sekar
> Punjabi Vocals : Richa Sharma
> Harmony : Clinton, Raqeeb, Anto, Noell, Chandran
> Technical Recording and Mixing : Panchattan Record Inn, Chennai Prasad Digi Audio, Bangalore Jet Speed Audio, Mumbai.
>
>
> Thaalam/Taal
>
> Creative Vocal Input : Sukhvinder Singh
> Creative Percussion Input : Sivamani Ananda
> Additional Vocals : Poonam Bhatia, Sujatha Trivedi
> Harmony : Ganga, Zeb, Febi, Feji, Kanchana, Noell james, Chandran, Srinivas, Zaf Flute : Naveen
> Guitar : Kabuli-Rupert
> Indian Percussion : Inder, Ashraf, Shaukat
>
>
> Thenali
>
> Backing vocals : Ganga, Kanchana, Febi, Gopika Poornima, Dominique, Chandran, Tippu, Karthik, Sriram Narayan
> Flute : Navin
> Trumpet : Thomas, Maxell
> Sax : Raja
> Drums : Sivamani
> Guitar : Kabuli, Nehil
> Mridanagam : Srinivas
> String Orchestra conducted by : J Srinivasamoorthy
> Additional programming : Pravin Mani on Injirungo
> Additional Programming : H Sridhar
> Translation of Yazhpaanam Tamil Lyrics : Mr. B H Abdul Hameed (Ceylon Radio)
>
>
> Udhaya
>
> Harmony : Ganga, Poornima, Febi, Feji
> Flute : Naveen
> Guitar : Rashid Ali
> Bass Guitar : Keith Peters
> Solo Violin : M Kalyan
> Kids Chorus : Madhumita, Subhiksha, Vidya, Priya, Kedharnath, Haricharan
> Strings conducted by : Srinivasa Moorthy
> Additional Programming : Joshua
> Additional Sound Design : H Sridhar
> Recorded and Mixed at Panchathan Record Inn : H Sridhar and S Sivakumar
>
>
> Uyirae/Dil Se
>
> Bass Guitar : Guy Pratt on Dil se re
> Bass Guitar : Keith Peters on Chaiyya
> Flamenco Guitar : John Themis on Satrangi Re
> Percussion : Sivamani
> Dilruba : Saroja
> Santoor : Seenu
> Harmony : Ganga, Kanchana, Febi, Feji, Anto, Chandran, Srinivas, Noell James
>
>
>
> Kisna
>
> Sound engineers : H. Sridhar, S. Sivakumar
> Asst Sound engineer : Aditya Modi
> Guitar : Rashid Ali (London)
> Flute : Naveen
> Additional Programming : G. V. Prakash
> Recorded and Mixed at : Autograph ( Sound engineer: Phillip Adam ), Sahara Sound (London), Panchchathan Record Inn
> Music Co-ordination : Noel James
>
>
> Lagaan
>
> Orchestra and Strings ensemble conducted by : Srinivasa Moorthy
> Harmony : Rehana, Ganga, Febi, Feji, Poornima, Sujatha, Kartik, Tipu, Anthony, Sriram, Navin, Raquib, Noell
> Kids Harmony : Madhumita, Subhiksha, Vidya, Priya, Kedharnath, Haricharan, Abhinas
> Opera : Voices in the Wilderness (Mumbai), The Methodist Church Choir (Chennai)
> Saarangi : Ustad Sultan Khan
> Mohana Veena : Pt. Vishwa Mohan Bhatt
> Additional Percussions : A. Sivamani
> Percussions : Neelkanthan, Veda, Lakshminarayanan, Kumar
> Flute : Navin
> Strings : R Prasanna (in "Lagaan" song)
> Banjo : Srinivasalu
> Santoor : Srinivasalu
> Waltz: Violin : Kalyan
> Viola : Chandran, Aravind
> Clarinet : Raja
> Cello : Sekar
> Mastered at The Townhouse Studios, London by H.Sridhar and Bunt Stafford Clark.
>
>
> Mangal Pandey
>
> Kids Chorus : Raheema, Khatija, Darvesh, Leon, Puja & Vaishnavi
> Indian Rhythm : Raja, Neelakantan, Lakshminarayan, Raju, Veda, Kumar & Balan Dilruba : Saroja
> Oud, Kora : Seenu
> Chennai Strings Orchestra Counducted By : Srinivas Murthy
> Additional Programming : G. V. Prakash, Rafee, H. Sridhar
> Sound Engineer : H. Sreedhar, S. Sivakumar
> Assistant Sound Engineer : Aditya Modi
> Recording at Panchathan Record Inn, Shafee Studio Five, Chennai. Sahara Sound, London.
>
>
> Meenaxi
>
> Strings : John Themis, Rashid Ali
> Flute : Navin Kumar
> Percussions : Shivamani, Hossam Ramzy
> Additional Grooves : James Asher
> Sound Design : H. Sridhar, Rishi Oberoi
>
>
> Nayak
>
> Harmony : Ganga, Noell, Kanchana, Clinton, Febi, Mothi, Italian Musicians
> Flute : Naveen
> Sarangi : Ustad Sultan Khan
> Violin : Kalyan
> Ghatam : V Selvaganesh and brother
> Voices from Rajasthan : Babu Khan, Fakira Khan
> Additional Programming : Pravin Mani on Shakalaka Baby
> Strings orchestra conducted by : V. Srinivasamoorthy
> Sound Engineers : H. Sridhar and S. Sivakumar
>
>
> The Forgotten hero Bose
>
> Mastered by Tim Deoney in Town House Studio, London, Panchathan Record Inn
> Audeus Engineer : Balram, Autograph Studio
> Strings Recorded : Czech Film Orchestra,Prague
> Recorded and mixed at Panchathan Recorded Inn
> Czech Film Orchestra : Stephen Coleman
> Senior Recording Engineer : Richard King, H.Sridhar
> Conductor : Matt Dunkley
>
>
> One 2 Kaa 4
>
> Sarangi : Ustad Sultan Khan
> Flute : Naveen
> Guitar : Rupert
> Dholak : Nirmal Pawar
> Shehnai : Madhu Dhamal
> Vocal Harmony : Clinton
> Backing Vocals : Ganga, Febi, Poornima, Rehana, Timothy, Noell
> Orchestra Conducted by : Srinivasamoorthy
> Additional Arrangers : Pravin Mani, Ranjit Barot
> Additional Programming : H Sridhar
> Recording at : 4D Studios, Mumbai. Mehboob Studios, Mumbai. Metal House, Toronto
> Mastered at : The Town House Post Production, London
> Sound Engineers : S Sivakumar, H Sridhar
>
>
> Pukar
>
> Child Chorus : K Vidya, R Survihi, R Priya, Subhiksha Rangarajan
> Harmony : Anupama, Ganga, Kanchana, Febi, Noell James, Clinton, Srinivas, Chandran, Tippu
> Synthesizer Programming : Praniv Mani (Humrahi Hai Mastana), Yak Bondy (Kay Sera Sera)
> Nylon String Guitar : Neil Mukherjee (Kay Sera Sera), Kabuli (Hai Jaana)
> Vaglamma,Ezouras, Bouzovki : John Themis (Kay Sera Sera)
> Tablas : Neelakantan
> Additional programming : H.Sridhar
>
>
> Rang De Basanti
>
> Bass : Keith Peters
> Mandolin : Srinivasulu
> Arabic Percussion : Hozam Ramzy
> Tablas : Prasad
> Guitars : Rashid Ali, Kabuli
> Roobarooba backing vocals arranged by : George Peter
> Strings Conducted by : Srinivasa Murthy
> Sound Engineers : S. Sivakumar, Aditya Modi
> Mixing Engineers : H. Sridhar, K. J. Singh
>
>
> Saathiya
>
> Sarangi : Ustad Sultan Khan
> Flute : Navin
> Bass guitar : Keith Peters & Viji
> Dilruba : Saroja
> Female harmony : Febi, Feji, Poornima
> Male Harmony : Karthik, Tipu, Chandran, Clinton, Raquib
> Rap for "Chori pe Chori" : Blaaze
> Additional Programming for "O Humdum & Chori pe CHori" : Pravin Mani
> Additional sound design : H.Sridhar
> Strings orchestra conducted by : V. Srinivasamoorthy
> Sound Engineers : H. Sridhar and S. Sivakumar
>
>
> Tehzeeb
>
> Additional keyboard programming : Rafee, Joshua
> Backing Vocals : Chandran, George, Narayanan, Febi, Feji, Poornima
> Saxophone : Martin
> Flute : Naveen
> Electric Guitar : Christy
> Acoustic Guitar : Kabuli
> Harp : Seenu
> String conducted by : Srinivas Moorthy
> Music coordination : Noell James
> Additional sound design : H. Sridhar
> Sound Engineers : H. Sridhar, S. Sivakumar
> Assistant sound engineer : Aditya Modi
> Recorded and mixed at : Panchathan Recorded Inn
>
>
> Warriors of Heaven and Earth
>
> Czech Film Orchestra and Choir conducted by : Matt Dunkley
> Vocalists : Murtuza Mustafa, Kadir Mustafa
> Soloists :
> Duduk : Martin Robertson
> Dizi : Choo Boon Chong
> Erhu : Wong On Yuen
> Percussion and Taiko Drums : Sivamani
> Additional Percussion : Raja Tirupati, Kumar Vuuri
> Flute : Naveen Kumar
> Recorder : Vaclav Sakyora
> Recorded and mixed by : Richard King
> Assistant Engineers : Sivasamy Sivakumar, Sam Pospisil, Ceneda Kotzmann, Ivan Zbria, Olrich Slezak, Noor Mohammed, Aditya Modi
> Editing Engineer : Marcus Bergquist
> Additional mixing : H. Sridhar, Adtya Modi
> Music Coordinator : Noell James
>
>
>
> JTYJN Credits
> Flute - Kiran
> Guitars - Sanjeev Thomas
> Strings Orchestrated By - Sreenivasa Moorthy
> Additional Programming - Krishna Chetan
> Additional Voices - Jaane Tu : Kristina, Vivek Agarwal
> Kabhi To Harmony - George Peters
> Sound Engineering and Additional Programming - Hentry Kuruvila and P.A. Deepak
> Mixing Engineers - KJ Singh and S. Siva Kumar
> Mixed At - Panchathan Record In. Chennai
> Matered By - S. Siva Kumar at A.M. Studios
> Chennai Musicians Fixer - R. Samidurai
> Co-Ordination - Noel James
>
>
>
> Ada Credits....Flute - Naveen
> Bass Guitar - Keith Peters
> Acoustic Guitar - Steeve Watz
> Strings Orchestrated By - Srinivas Morthy
> Male Harmony - Benny Dayal , Dr. Narayanan , Senthil
> Additional Programming - Krishna Chetan, Hentry Kuruvila
> Recorded & Mixed At - Panchathan Record Inn, Chennai
> Mixing Engineer - H. Sridhar
> Mastering - Siva Kumar, AM Studios, Chennai
> Musician Fixer - R. Samidurai
>
>
>
> 'All Praises be to the Almighty God.'
>
>
> --
> regards..
>
> Krish..
> His Music ~ My Mother Tongue
>
>FROM:ARRFANSYAHOOGROUPS.COM
>
>
>
[/tscii:2013802960]

Ramakrishna

7th April 2009, 08:41 PM

Rahman helped Vikraman’s Mariyathai

We’ve seen the news everywhere and by now, most of us know that two songs for Vikraman’s Mariyathai were shot abroad, one in Australia and one in Bangkok. But did you know that A.R. Rahman’s Oscar played a part in the shoot at Australia? Vikraman tells us how. “We were returning from Canberra to Sydney by road after completing the day’s schedule. During the journey, we passed through some woods where I spotted a palatial house and approached the owner seeking permission to shoot some parts of the film in the house.Initially he demanded a huge sum from us, but once we mentioned that we are from Chennai, his reaction changed and he said, ‘Oh! You are from the same city as A.R. Rahman? He is a genius, only yesterday I saw him bag double Oscars on TV.’ And with that one magic word ‘Rahman’, he let us shoot wherever we wanted on his property for free!”
SOURCE : http://tamil.galatta.com/entertainment/livewire/id/Rahman_helped_Vikramans_Mariyathai_23683.html

A.ANAND

8th April 2009, 01:36 PM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LaPIACAdw8&feature=channel

A.ANAND

8th April 2009, 01:42 PM

Jai Ho Sacred Heart 2009 Confirmation www.educateethiopia.com

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJSsX38rcxI&feature=related

Sofian Dances to Jai Ho!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SDMWq_-jbCw&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qEK2r8UIlcA&feature=related

ulagathaiye ulukkum paadal!

jaiho 2 thalaivar!

A.ANAND

8th April 2009, 02:02 PM

Lila dancing to Jai Ho

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHYvcg3ccjw&feature=related

:rotfl:

dude

9th April 2009, 03:58 AM

A Full-Fledged Phenomenon: YouTube "Jai Ho" Dances

http://www.npr.org/blogs/monkeysee/2009/02/a_fullfledged_phenomenon_youtu.html

A.ANAND

10th April 2009, 01:40 PM

[tscii:a9ea78e6fd]Rahman's giant line-up
DNMUM125051 | 2/16/2009 |

Invites International and Indian music legends to visit his school in Chennai
Maestros Ravi Shankar, Zakir Hussain, Hariprasad Chaurasia, Amjad Ali Khan, Shivkumar Sharma, Kenny G and Yanni are some of the legends who, sources say, have been invited by Oscar-nominated music composer AR Rahman to pay a visit to his music school — the KM Music Conservatory in Chennai. Apparently, talks are also on to try and bring down Andrew Lloyd Webber who produced Rahman's musical Bombay Dreams in 2002.
An inside source says, "The programme will be held for the initiation of the second batch of students of the school that was formally launched on March 12 last year. The programme may also mark the announcement of the movement of the school's site to a quieter environment, a lush green five-acre campus on the outskirts of Chennai. Right now, the school operates from Rahman's studio. The new campus will have spacious class rooms, a concert hall, a recording studio and residential accommodation for the faculty and students. The campus should be ready by next year-end."
Another source adds, "The aim is to get the students to interact with the legends so that they get to learn something from these giants. Rahman wants all his students to have a sound base in music and wants them to know different genres of music. These esteemed guests might also become a part of the visiting faculty. They will individually spend time with each student and help them out with their queries."

http://www.3dsyndication.com/showarticle.aspx?nid=DNMUM125051

[/tscii:a9ea78e6fd]

crajkumar_be

10th April 2009, 05:11 PM

"Maestros Ravi Shankar, Zakir Hussain, Hariprasad Chaurasia, Amjad Ali Khan, Shivkumar Sharma.... have been invited by Oscar-nominated music composer AR Rahman to pay a visit to his music school"

:clap:

shocker

11th April 2009, 03:02 PM

I'm fairly new to the forums, and was just wondering whether this thread is a place for news only or are people allowed to discuss, as there seems to be a decreasing amount of the latter happening.

Thanks!

dinesh2002

11th April 2009, 03:09 PM

ansa400

11th April 2009, 05:13 PM

http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?newsid=1246830

Rahman's summer holiday

Prithwish GangulyFriday, April 10, 2009 23:59 IST

Mumbai: Looks like the incessant spotlight has got on the nerves of the reclusive double Oscar-winning composer AR Rahman, who sources reveal has packed his bags and left for a holiday of London and US as soon as he finished the music for Anthony D'Souza's Blue.

AR Rahman has packed his bags and left for a holiday of London and US.
It is said that Rahman has taken his wife along with him during his vacation in which he will also be conducting meetings withbusiness acquaintances in both places. Rahman has got a new agent in America and has also bagged a big international film. He is expected to meet the film-makers during his trip there.

An insider reveals, "Post the Oscar, the frenzy around him has increased. He feels that his privacy is being violated. He has tried to escape to various places but the spotlight has followed him. Plus, the anticipation of people to see Rahman outdo himself has increased too."

The source adds, "After his trip, he has to come back soon since there is a tremendous work pressure back home as he is doing the music of five big films, including Mani Ratnam's Raavan, Rajnikanth and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan-starrer Endhiran, Abbas Tyrewala's 1-800-Love, Rockstar and Satyagrahi."

ansa400

11th April 2009, 05:16 PM

How did the writer mention Rockstar here??? Music of this movie is by S-E-L....

Scale

11th April 2009, 05:38 PM

ansa400,

Thats "Rock on" and its by SEL. Whereas Rock Star is by UTV (http://hubmagazine.mayyam.com/hub/viewtopic.php?t=11787&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=345) shelved long back in which ARR have composed 3 songs. hm...

ansa400

11th April 2009, 05:43 PM

Dragun

12th April 2009, 09:24 AM

Is Satyagrahi still on?

Ramakrishna

12th April 2009, 07:38 PM

Watch Rahmanji's interview with actor Vivek on 14th Tuesday.. @ 9 am on SUN TV

Roshan

12th April 2009, 09:45 PM

Watch Rahmanji's interview with actor Vivek on 14th Tuesday.. @ 9 am on SUN TV

Oh! interesting :D

Roshan

13th April 2009, 08:21 AM

Got this from KavippErarasu's "pARkadal" ..

ஏ ஆர் ரகுமானுக்கும் உங்களுக்கும் அபிப்ராய பேதம் வந்ததுண்டா?

வந்ததுண்டு; வந்து வந்து போவதுண்டு. ஆனால் அது கைகலப்பல்ல; கலகலப்பு

ஒரு முன்னிரவு. ஏ ஆர் ரகுமான் ஒலிப்பதிவுகூடம். எனது இச்சைக்குரிய ஒரு பல்லவியோடு சர்ச்சை நடக்கிறது.

'சந்திரனை தொட்டது யார் ஆம்ஸ்ட்ராங்கா?' என்ற வரியில் 'ஆம்ஸ்ட்ராங் இடிக்கிறது' என்கிறார் ரகுமான். 'அதுதான் அந்த பல்லவியின் கவன ஈர்ப்புத் தீர்மானம்' என்கிறேன் நான்.

'மெட்டின் மென்மை கெடுகிறது' என்கிறார் அவர்; ' 'ங்' என்ற மெல்லினத்தில் சஞ்சாரம் செய்தால் சரியாகிவிடும்' என்கிறேன் நான்.

'ஆம்ஸ்ட்ராங்' அந்நியமான வார்த்தை என்கிறார் அவர்.

'மனிதன்' படத்தில் 'வானத்தப் பார்த்தேன்' என்ற பாட்லில்-

"குரங்கிலிருந்து பிறந்தானா? குரங்கை மனிதன் பெற்றானா? யாரைக்கேள்வி கேட்பது டார்வின் இல்லையே"

என்று எழுதினேன்; முதலில் எதிர்க்கப்பட்டது. பிறகு டார்வின்தான் கவனிக்கப்பட்டது என்றேன் நான்.

'அது இடையில் வந்த வரி இது முதல்வரியில்லவா' என்கிறார் ரகுமான்.

"இடைவரியே ஈர்த்தது என்றால் முதல்வரி ஈர்க்காதா" என்கிறேன் நான்.

'எனக்கேன் வம்பு' என்று இருவருக்கும் மத்தியில் மெளனமாகி விடுகிறார் இயக்குனர் பிரவீன்காந்த்.

"சரி! பாடகர் வரட்டும்; பாடட்டும். சொல் கடினமென்றால் மாற்றுவோம். இயல்பாக உள்ளது என்றால் விட்டு விடுவோம்" என்ற முடிவுக்கு வருகிறோம்.

என் பாடலை ஆட்கொள்ள வேண்டியவர் அப்போது ஆகாயத்தில் இருக்கிறார். மும்பைக்கும் சென்னைக்குமிடைப்பட்ட வானத்தில் வந்து கொண்டிருக்கிறார். அள்ளி முடிந்த குடுமியோடு ஆடம்பர 'ஹாய்' சொல்லி வந்த ஹரிஹரனைப் பாடலை எழுதிக் கொள்ளச் சொன்னேன்.

'சந்திரனை தொட்டது யார் ஆம்ஸ்ட்ராங்கா..? என்னை நிமிர்ந்து பார்த்தார்.

"ஆம்ஸ்ட்ராங்கா... நைஸ்.. அதுதான் வைரமுத்து சார்" என்கிறார்.

ரகுமானை ஓரக்கண்ணால் பார்த்தேன்; புன்சிரித்தார்; பாடலைச்சொல்லிக் கொடுத்தார்; ஆம்ஸ்ட்ராங்கின் மீது சங்கதிபோட்டு அமர்க்களப்படுத்தி விட்டார் ஹரிஹரன்.

சுகமான பாடலில் சொக்கிய பிறகு கருத்தாவது ! வேறுபாடாவது !

thamizhvaanan

13th April 2009, 09:21 AM

Nice trivia :)

Enakkum aarambathula indha paata ketta podhu Armstrong vaarthai muttitey irunduchu :twisted:

After some number of listens, I started liking Hariharan's singing of that phrase :D

A.ANAND

13th April 2009, 12:09 PM

[tscii:4ae2754395]Karthik who hypnotized music buffs with his honey drenched voice and took them on a heavenly outing with ¡®Oliyile¡¯, ¡®Uyire En Uyire¡¯ and numerous such numbers is creating ripples once again with his behka number from Ghajini. The young singer with his peppy, youthful, melodic and distinct voice has caught the attention of every music lover across the spectrum. Meet Karthik in a vivacious chat with our Senior Editor Jyothsna Bhavanishankar.

BW: About yourself

Karthik: I am born and raised in Chennai. I did my schooling from Bharthiya Vidya Bhavan, Kilpauk and graduated from D.G Vaishnav College, Chennai. I started doing C.A and that¡¯s when I received my calling from music. I met Mr.Rahman and started singing chorus which was just the beginning.

About your family

I have a younger brother. I am married and have a seven month old daughter.

What is your wife¡¯s contribution to your music?

My wife definitely contributes by not contributing much. She does not make it a big deal that I am a singer. That¡¯s what I like about her. She is very normal about everything in life and basically a very happy person. There are many occasions when I go through emotional roller coaster but she is my leveler. She is firmly grounded and brings me to terra firma.
"Sriram Parsuram

groomed me

completely"

Who are your Gurus?

Initially I learnt carnatic music from Prabha Lakshmi and later on my Guru was Padma Krishnan.

How did the musician in Karthik evolve?

I first began taking carantic music lessons when I was four years which went on for some time. Then after a long gap, I restarted my carnatic lessons when I was seventeen. I also learnt some Urdu Ghazals. My main transformation came when I started learning Hindustani music from Sriram Parsuram (husband of Anuradha Sriram). At this juncture I would like to say that I owe everything to him. Today whatever little talent that I have as a musician, it is only because of him. Sriram Parsuram groomed me completely and honed my skills. I continue to get trained in Hindustani classical.

How did film music happen?

At home there is a lot of music around me. As a family we listen to film music. But I never expected I would make a career out of play back singing. I hail from a typical middle class family and my parents still work. I am a big fan of A R Rahman and it was my biggest dream to meet him. So it all began in a very small fashion. First- I just wanted to meet him just once, then it changed to a wish to sing just one line which further metamorphosed into a desire for a song and the dream continued. I think I wished for it genuinely and God was kind to me.

"I am really grateful

to Rahman."

How do you feel to be a Rahman regular?

As I had said earlier, it would be an understatement to say that it was a dream come true to sing for him. It is an overwhelming feeling and a happy one at that. I never expected that I would become a playback singer to start with. And that too Rahman promoting me in my initial years was something too good even to believe. He gave me regular songs and good ones. I am really grateful to Rahman. I had absolutely no backing or no filmi connections but he still promoted me.

Was Oscars to Rahman a delayed one?

Why go deep into that? What matters is that he got it and I am happy about it. We all know that he deserves one and it was only a matter of time. If it has to be Slum Dog Millionaire, then be it.

Rahman has given more brilliant numbers than SDM. Your comment?

Rahman had given a good reply to this poser. He had mentioned that SDM had demanded such compositions and as a composer it is his job to keep his director happy because it is the director who knows what will work for his film. And eventually he was right and Rahman¡¯s tunes worked. Jai ho is one of the most popular tunes in the world today. We all know that he has done a fantastic and mind-blowing work here but Slum Dog is what took him there. He just needed this particular piece to showcase his talent to the westerners.

Difference between the working styles of Rahman and Ilayaraja

I have spoken about this many times. They belong to two completely different schools. Every composer has his own rules, identity, approach and set of ideas. For Raja sir, when you listen to the music the end product is already there. When you conclude your singing, the song can be heard completely. Rahman is just the opposite. Voice is one of the first things to happen in a song. Then he adds a lot of instruments, orchestra etc.

What are the languages that you have sung?

Till date, I have sung in Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu, Kannada, Hindi and a little bit of Bengali.

Have you had problems singing in languages that you do not know?

Fortunately I have not had any such problem. To sing in Tamil, I write the lyrics in Tamil as I know to read and write the language. I can read Hindi very well which helps me in Kannada or Malayalam or Telugu. Since it is Devnagari script, I have no problems in pronunciation. When it comes to the emotional content of a song, I have many people to help me out like the lyricist, music director, director etc. And when I hear the song, it gives an idea about the mood of the number. As a musician, my instinct also helps. So it is not all that difficult.
"Voice culture

is very

very critical"

How do you handle lyrical vulgarity?

In the first three years, understandably, I could not do much. However by God¡¯s grace such situations do not come in my path and even if it does, I refuse politely and they also understand. In fact they appreciate it when I talk openly on this. When you accept a thing half heartedly, then justice cannot be done. I should also take this opportunity to thank people for not giving me such lyrics. As an unwritten rule, they don¡¯t call me for such numbers which saves a lot of trouble. Again, vulgarity or obscenity is a relative thing. What I find vulgar need not be vulgar to another singer and so on. It is important that we express our opinion and make them understand.

What are your favorite numbers?

Aval ulaga azhagiye from Lesa Lesa and Enakkoru girl friend venum from Boys. Also I like Behka from Ghajini. I really enjoyed singing that song. Then there is this song Pachaikili from Thendral. It is sad that the movie did not do too well. But I like it a lot. It is a beautiful composition.

Song that moved you while singing?

Pachaikili from Thendral. It is all about a poor family, about children, about the mother. The lyrics instantly strike a chord with you. I feel audience should spare a few moments to listen to this song. Pachaikili moved me while recording. Sometimes when the lyrics and music sync, it creates magic. Pachaikili is one of such songs.

"I believe in the link

between mind and

the voice. "

Any challenging number?

Till now, nothing of that sort. But some days are not great when the voice does not cooperate. After all voice is not an instrument. I have had problems like that. Sometimes the mind may not be active or some trivial reason may delay the whole process. Work that would have been completed in one hour may take an hour or more. Such occasions do happen. One cannot be sad or happy forever. I believe in the link between mind and the voice. Our mood is immediately reflected in our voice.

About your recent outing with Coke Advertisement?

That was a complete surprise of my life. I have a music room in my house where my musical outlets happen. Whether I am happy or sad or stressed, I go there to unwind and rejuvenate myself and also record my ideas. As Rajeev Menon happens to be my friend, I just played such ideas to him one day on a very casual basis. He happened to like them and encouraged me to give it a shot. Of course I was hesitant initially but tried it on and the client liked it. And that¡¯s how the campaign was born.

Did Vijay give any feedback on this?

I did not get a direct feedback on this but through Rajeev Menon, I heard that Vijay liked it.

Will you diversify into music direction?

No, because it is very difficult. When I was doing a just one minute jingle itself, I realized how complex the task was. As a singer, I have seen the difficulties faced by music composers. Of course I do like music direction. However, as of now, my singing career is going good and I am enjoying myself. Singing is my forte which comes naturally to me. I want to focus more on my singing.

What about acting assignments?

Yes. Offers do come on and off. Not only for acting but also for dubbing for new heroes. But it has always been a disaster. After the auditions, directors tell me that it is better for me to stick to singing. I am not cut out for acting or dubbing.

Who do you think carries your voice perfectly well in Tamil cinema?

It is difficult to say. People say many things but we should not take them seriously. For instance everyone said in behka number my voice perfectly suited Aamir. But I just listen to them and move on. For me it is just music. That¡¯s all.

Currently some singers are heard singing in their falsettos at high pitch. Why is it so?

Each singer has a different vocal range. It all depends on the range of the composition and the range of the singer. Perhaps the composition demanded that kind of rendition or the composer felt that the singer could justify the number at that particular level only. These are all flavors. For instance a song like Paruvame in Nenjathai Killade, the pallavi will be very low. One cannot question why it is too low and why not a bit high. That¡¯s the point when the emotion gushes swiftly and aptly. And that¡¯s what Raja sir believed in and that¡¯s why the magic worked.
"I want to focus

more on

my singing."

About the success of songs based on classical music?

It is not always the classical music which is a success. At the end of the day, audience should like the music. For instance Pehala Nasha from Jo Jeetha Wohi Sikander is not a raga based number which came in around the early nineties. But even now, when I perform this number in concerts, the response is amazing and the song is being preferred by kids who were not even born then. The song is ever lasting. There is absolutely no link between this number and any of the classical genres. It does not matter. The song like Kangal Irandal which is so popular now is hard core raga based. But it has worked now. So finally the music has to be appealing and it should have a soul. When there is sincerity and soul, the song will be a success.

When Rithigowlai is the base for Chinna Kannan Azhaikiraan and Kangal Irandal, the kavikuyil version was more unadulterated than its present counterpart. Your comment?

Kavikuyil was released some 25 years back. There are so many changes happening around us everyday. There is constant evolution- format of life is changed, our influences have changed within us, around us. When there are so many changes, it is not right for us to expect music to remain stationary. What is important is ¨C people like kangal irandal. That is vital and it is good. The composer believed in it and people endorsed his belief. Perhaps Kavikuyil may have been different from a song based on the same Rithigowlai which had come earlier than that. Let us not compare songs and mess up. If a song is nice, just enjoy it. That¡¯s about it.

About voice culture.

It is very very critical for every singer. Awareness about voice culture is still in its rudimentary stage here. Seasoned musicians after a considerable period in singing want to know more about it. I feel if everyone gives importance and a serious thought to this science, it would be good. For some people, there could be a problem with innate technique. If this has been unattended, there is a danger of losing one¡¯s voice or the voice becoming hoarse. For some, they may have acquired wrong techniques. These things can be corrected through voice culture. Recently I got to meet one Mr. Ananth Ranganadan who is a voice culture therapist. It is entirely another world for me. Once you learn the nuances of voice culture, you can expand your range. Strain on the voice will be lessened and voice starts sounding much better, much beautiful. According to me voice culture is very very vital especially in today¡¯s scenario when singers sing at a high note for one number and immediately shift to a completely different note for another number. When one wants to have complete control of many parameters like stress, variance in pitch etc, voice culture is a great help. It is like a single panacea for all ailments.

"When there is

sincerity and soul,

the song will be a

success"

About music reality shows in television?

It certainly helps spot talents and I was also discovered through such show. And these shows help in raising the popularity of finalists and contestants. This is a positive aspect. However when it comes to children, I feel the organizers should be more sensitive to their feelings and emotions especially while communicating their shortfalls or judging them. As far as adults are concerned, it is fine because they very well know what is in store for them and should be prepared to face.

About fusion music?

I don¡¯t have a serious opinion on it. Fusion is fun. I have a band and we do a little bit of fusion, little bit of rock. We sing in English, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada etc. We also host talent shows. My band has some plans to foray into fusion. But we don¡¯t want to fall into the regular category. We are in the process of discovering new avenues. Let us see.

What do you feel is the best aspect of your voice?

I don¡¯t know. Perhaps you should ask my composer. However I am aware of a problem with my voice. I need to do my recording early. I start around 2 in the afternoon and go very late into the wee hours of morning.

What are the voice precautions you take as a singer?

I generally avoid cold stuff. I am careful about water. Stress is the main factor which can spoil one¡¯s voice. I try to be as relaxed as possible. I sleep well.

Advice for aspiring singers?

Firstly, one should learn some form of classical music ¨C it can be Carnatic or Hindustani. And they should be open to any type of music and not have any mental blocks. It is advisable to learn some instrument. Finally wish for it sincerely and work for it.

Are you singing in Endiran?

Not yet!

http://www.behindwoods.com/features/Interviews/interview-5/singer/karthik.html

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