A.R.Rahman (Fan Club)-Part2 - Page 35

Dubai: Indian musicwizard A R Rahman, on his second tripto perform Haj, says the pilgrimage has changed his outlooktoward life.

Incidentally, his Haj trip conicided with his birthdaywhich fell on January 6.

Mr Rahman whose music is a hit the world over has come to the Haj with his mother and went through all the rituals and prayersassociated with Haj to 'cleanse the inner self'.

''I wanted to bring my wife (Saira) also for Haj this year, but since my son is only three years old, she could not make it. God willing, I will come again next time with my wife and children,'' he said.

''Islam is a religion of peace, love, coexistence, tolerance and modernity. But due to behavior of a few of us, it's labeled as an intolerant orthodoxy,'' he said adding that the image of Islam is being tarnished by a small group of people and that Muslims must come forward to present before the world the correct picture of their divine faith.

The enormity of their ignorance of the Islamic history and its code of conduct is mind-boggling. We should be united in fighting these elements for the cause of Islam, he said.

Muslims should go to lengths to follow the basics, which say 'be kind to your neighbors, keep smiling when you meet others, pray and do charity. We should serve humanity. We should not show hostility toward others, even to the followers of other faiths. This is what Islam stands for, the Indian musician added.

''We should present before the world a model through our behavior, nature and presentation. The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) never used his sword to spread Islam; rather he spread the religion through his virtues, behavior, tolerance and righteousness. And this is what is needed to change today's distorted image of Islam,'' Mr Rahman said.

About Haj he said, ''Allah made it very easy for us. And until now, I have enjoyed every bit of my stay in the holy land and I pray to Allah to accept my pilgrimage''.

For him, the stoning ritual is a physical exercise that symbolises internal struggle.

''It means the defeat of temptation and killing the devil inside ourselves,'' he said.

''I would like to tell you that this year I got the most precious gift on my birthday, Allah gave me the opportunity to confine myself inside the Prophet's Mosque in Madinah and pray all through the day.

Nothing could match this experience and that too on my birthday; I am extremely delighted and thankful to Allah,'' he said.

Mr Rahman said that prayers release his tension and give him a sense of containment.

''I am an artist, but despite tremendous work pressure I never skip prayers,'' he said adding that I am very punctual in offering the day's all five prayers on time. This releases me from tension and gives me hope and confidence that the Lord is with me, that this is not the only world.

He said the decision to embrace Islam in 1989 was a mutual one with his mother.

''My mother and I resolved to follow one faith ... we wanted to cleanse ourselves of our sorrows,'' he told a Saudi daily.

Mr Rahman performed his first Haj in 2004.

Source: http://www.newkerala.com/

S.R. Ashok Kumar CHENNAI: Vijay Television's three-hour programme 'Netru Indru Naalai', featuring songs, dance and other forms of entertainment will be held on February 5 at Jeppiar Engineering College, near Sholinganallur, from 6.30 p.m.

The event was earlier postponed on account of the rain in the city. The proceeds will go to the NGO The Banyan.

Source: http://www.hindu.com

29th Jan 2006 13.00 IST
By ApunKaChoice Bureau Reports are that ace director Mani Ratnam is planning a new Hindi film with Aishwarya Rai and Abhishek Bachchan in the lead.

Reports are fuelled by the news that last week Ratnam was in Mumbai to give finishing touches to this ambitious project titled Guru . Ash and Abhishek were earlier paired in Kuch Naa Kaho and are now doing J. P. Dutta 's Umrao Jaan .

Rumors are also rife that the Junior Bachchan will have two heroines in the film – Ash and Vidya Balan and the search for the antagonist is on, and John Abraham seems to be the front-runner.

A R Rahman will be the music director with Gulzar 's lyrics. Rajeev Menon will be the cameraman and he is teaming up with Ratnam after 10 long years after 'Bombay'.

Anurag Kashyap will helm the Hindi dialogues and the film is set in Mumbai.

With 'Guru', which will go on the floors in March, Ratnam hopes to prove his detractors wrong that he has not been able to taste commercial success in Bollywood so far.

Source: http://www.apunkachoice.com

Not too many people in the world would have had the opportunity to work with two top music directors of the world - both Ilayaraja and A R Rehman. And not many would readily answer a question on how to rate the two, and who was better in comparison. This is a question that one would prefer to duck.

However, ace director Mani Ratnam was candid in his assessment of the two music directors, when fans and music buffs posed this question at Landmark where a collection of DVDs of his films was released. "Both Ilayaraja and Rehman are fantastic music directors and I had the good fortune to work with two great music directors," Mani said. "However, they are poles apart - perhaps very little in common," added the director. When he said they are worlds apart, someone wanted to know whether he was referring to Ilayaraja working in the day, and Rehman late at night. Mani laughed and said he was referring to their style of working. In fact, initially he had go through a culture shock, when Rehman was signed up for 'Roja'. Ilayaraja, once he made up his mind, would not make too many changes. With Rehman, it was different. He would keep adding to the song. However, Mani Ratnam, put Ilayaraja on a higher pedestal, and lavished praise on the maestro's re-recording, so important for a film. Ilayaraja would look at the scene once, and immediately start giving notes to his assistants, as a bunch of musicians, hovering around him, would collect the notes for their instrument and go to their places. When the orchestra played out the notes, they would be perfect, not just in harmony but also in timing - the background score would commence exactly where it should and end at the exact place required, pointed out Mani Ratnam, amidst applause. Ilayaraja was a genius, he said, who could compose music with just one look at the scene. However, for a director, there was just one handicap. "Ilayaraja will listen to you as you explain the scene, and what he intends to convey. Once the film rolls, Ilayaraja's gaze will be on the screen and a few seconds later, papers would go to the musicians giving them the score, and then there would be no further changes. A director can be taken by surprise at the speed of events. If at all you want to convey anything to Ilayaraja, it must be before he watches the shot (before the background score is added) on to the screen," said Mani amidst both laughter and applause. There were several questions flung at Mani on why music was important to him and why he needed songs in hs films. Mani said he couldn't imagine his films without music. "Music is an integral part of my films. If you look at 'Anjali', 'Mouna Ragam' or 'Thalapathi' without music, it would be a different experience for the viewers. Similarly, Rehman's songs have been a big contributing factor too. Howeer, we directors do have problems in providing for songs while we do the screenplay! The toughest thing is to break the story to provide a song. I would like to do away with songs, but everyone wants songs in an Indian film." Looking at P C Sreeram, who was seated in the front row, "Among the few who have made films without songs is Sreeram, who provided Kuruthipunal," Mani said. "I like listening to songs, even watching clips of songs on TV but the tough thing is to provide songs in films," he added.

Source:http://www.chennaionline.com

Arthur J Pais | January 30, 2006 20:16 IST People often wake up in the middle of the night if jolted by a nightmare. But when A R Rahman suddenly woke up from one of his power naps a few months ago, he was humming a tune. "I had to write it down immediately," he says, "I was afraid I might forget it." When he later played the tune to director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, who was in Chennai for the Rang De Basanti recordings, Mehra insisted he wanted the tune for his film. "I told him I thought there was no scope for this kind of song in his film," Rahman says, chuckling, "but he said he would create the situation. I thought, well, it's his headache." The tune went on to become Tu Bin Bathaiye , the sensuous, lingering number sung by Madhushree and Naresh Iyer. "Virtually every song in this film has an interesting history to it," says Rahman, adding that, after a long time, he had an opportunity to create a wide variety of tunes. "Besides, the songs are also used to carry the story forward." In Toronto to finalise the score for the most expensive musical ever, The Lord Of The Rings , the composer discussed a wide range of topics in an interview by telephone, from the creation of some of his most memorable songs in RDB to his continuing association with Subhash Ghai and his strained relationship with Deepa Mehta ( Water ). "She is a lovely person, but I don't know whether we will work together," says Rahman, who decided to opt out of Water over four years ago because it had become too controversial. "I don't think there was any need for a controversy," he says with a deep sigh, "but some people made it controversial. I did not want to continue to be associated with the film." But he also acknowledges that the movie has some of his finest songs. Though he dropped out, Deepa Mehta insisted he see the film before it opened at the Toronto International Film Festival in September. "It was beautiful," he says. Rahman is currently working on the music of The Lord of the Rings not too far from Mehta's office in Toronto. He admires her conviction and passion, he says. The $26 million musical extravaganza opens in Toronto in a few weeks, to be followed in a few months by a British edition in London, then a Broadway edition. With some luck, Bombay Dreams will also be touring American and Canadian cities soon. He is working with a Finnish folk group for The Lord of the Rings , and says that those familiar with the novels and hugely popular movies that have inspired the musical know what to expect musically. "And to those getting to know the show, I would say don't expect Shakalaka Baby or Chaiya Chaiya ," he adds. While the Bombay Dreams score comprised original as well as re-worked music from some of his Bollywood hits, the experience of working for The Lord of the Rings is unique, he continues. "With Bombay Dreams , I felt I was extending what I had been doing in Hindi and Tamil films," he says. "Here, I am creating something that isn't anywhere close to anything I have done so far." There are also many things he has done for RDB that are new to him. For one thing, he says he had "the audacity, if you will" to join Lata Mangeshkar for a song. "The song has a long and complicated history," he says. "I felt, several times, that I was not going to have it in her voice, but I didn't want to give up." When a song in which a soldier's mother is featured arose, he thought of a situation from one of his favourite films, the Tom Cruise-starring war drama Fourth Of July . "I kept thinking the song should be very different from the kind of mother-child songs we generally hear in our films," he continues. "At one point, I thought, how about getting the dead son to respond to the mother?" he remembers. Mehra and lyricist Prasoon Joshi loved the idea, he continues. But, after many months, he heard that many others associated with the film had their reservations, wondering if such a song could work. "Then came the question of who would sing it," he adds. "I knew who would be singing it -- the mother of all singers, Lata ji ." When the date for recording was fixed, Mangeshkar was ill. And months later, when a second date was being arranged, he heard that she had to attend an event organised by Yash Chopra. Rahman told her there would not be another opportunity for her to record the song. "I was also going abroad in a few days," he continues. "She made a big sacrifice and cancelled the event." Rahman also revealed that, as per original plans, Mangeshkar had only a few lines. "But she was singing it so beautifully, and she had made this big effort to record it," he continues, "that we decided to expand her contribution." Mangeshkar has sung just about half a dozen songs for Rahman. "But every time I have worked with her, I have felt we were doing something truly special." Besides, she has also paid him the "highest compliment," he says. "She told me she liked my version of Vande Mataram better than her own!" No one could pay him a better compliment, the composer adds. The soundtrack of RDB also has several other lilting numbers, especially the Rubaroo item song by newcomer Naresh Iyer. Rahman had heard Naresh at a contest organised by Adnan Sami. He remembers that though Naresh did not win, he had left a strong impression on him. "I often tell myself that music is not a race," Rahman says. "And when Naresh lost by a few points, I said to myself that we should not let him go. I knew he was talented and wanted to give him an opportunity." Rahman says he asked the 24-year old singer if he was prepared to come down from Mumbai to Chennai and stay put for several months. "I knew how serious he was when he turned up with his parents in no time," the composer adds. "They had got him to stay in a house near my studio, and brought him to me saying 'Now you are in charge of him.'" Iyer was available for Rahman at any time, night or day. So much so that when Rahman was too tired to sing the Rubaroo number, he got it sung by his new protg. "I had planned to sing the song later," Rahman continues. "But Naresh had sung it so well, I decided to keep his version. That is why you hear me sing only a few lines with him." Besides, he says laughing, he would not have felt comfortable saying the words, Ai Salaa . Now that RDB is behind him, Rahman says it will be many months before one gets another Hindi movie score from him. He is looking forward to working again with some of the producers and directors who understand him well, he adds, one of whom is Subhash Ghai. "I composed just one song (apart from the background music) for Kisna because of other engagements abroad," he says. When Ghai was in New York a few months ago, he had said that he too was looking forward to working with Rahman, adding, "We challenge each other so much that there is always extraordinary music." Rahman returns the compliment. "His passion for music is just great," he says.

Source:http://ia.rediff.com/movies/2006/jan/30rahman.htm?q=mbp& file=.htm