A.R.Rahman (Fan Club)-Part2 - Page 87

A. R. Rahman

Composer

An insight - by Vijay Iyer

A. R. Rahman is the man who has redefined contemporary Indian music, the pride of the Indian nation and a role model for millions around the world. In a country where film music is the most popular form of music, Rahman is truly the emperor. A. R. Rahman, hailed by Time Magazine as the 'Mozart of Madras' is one of the most successful artistes of all time and, according to a BBC estimate, has sold more than 100 million albums of his works, comprising of music from more than 50 movies.

Rahman started dabbling in music at a very young age due to unfortunate family circumstances by joining noted composer Ilayaraja's troupe as a keyboardist and computer programmer. After working with several renowned composers like Ilayaraja, Vishwanathan-Ramamurthy, Zakir Hussain and L Shankar, he set out on his own to compose jingles and scores for popular Indian television features. During this period, he also obtained a degree in Western Classical music from the Trinity College of Music, London and went on to set up his own in-house studio called Panchathan Record-Inn in Chennai, which is arguably Asia's most sophisticated and hi-tech studio.

In 1991, noted film maker Mani Ratnam offered Rahman a movie, Roja, which was a run-away success and brought nation wide fame and acclaim to the composer. The movie also led Rahman to receive the Indian National Award for the best music composer, the first time ever by a debutant. Since then, Rahman has gone on to win the Indian National Award three more times (for Minsaara Kannavu, Lagaan and Kannathil Muthamittal), the most ever by any music composer.

More recently, Time Magazine rated the soundtrack of Roja in the top ten in their compilation of the all time 100 best movie soundtracks of the world.

The Bombay Theme from the movie Bombay was most prominently noticed recently in the movie Lord of War starring Nicholas Cage. The track, Chaiyya Chaiyya from the movie Dil Se features in the new Spike Lee movie, Inside Man, starring Oscar winner, Denzel Washington.

Rahman is widely considered as the man who single-handedly revived public interest towards Indian film music in the nineties.

Rahman followed up Roja with Gentleman, Thiruda Thiruda, Kaadhalan, Bombay and Minssara Kannavu, all of which were huge chartbusters and were dubbed in Hindi as well. Other hits in Tamil include Alaipayuthey, Kandukondein Kandukondein, Jeans, Mudalvan, Kannathil Muthamittal, Boys, etc. His foray into Hindi movies started off with a big bang in the superhit Rangeela, followed by Dil Se, Taal, 1947/Earth, Pukar, Lagaan, Zubeida, Meenaxi, The Legend of Bhagat Singh,Yuva,Tehzeeb amongst others, all of which had huge album sales.

His more recent releases include Swades, Ah-Aah, Bose: The forgotten hero, The Rising, Water and Rang De Basanti, all of which have been critically acclaimed and well received.

In 1997, to commemorate 50 years of Indian independence, Sony Music signed up Rahman as its first artiste in South Asia. The result was Vande Matram, an album that instantly made Indian youth relate to it and succeeded in rekindling the spirit of patriotism.

In 2001, Andrew Lloyd Webber, the well-known composer of musicals like The Phantom of the Opera, Cats, Jesus Christ Superstar, etc., invited Rahman to compose for the musical Bombay Dreams, the first musical Andrew Lloyd Webber would produce that he had not composed. Bombay Dreams opened to packed houses in London's West End.The show had an unprecedented run for two years and later premiered on Broadway in New York. It brought the world's attention to all things Indian and put a focus on the musical talents of Indian composers - an important turning point in the history of Indian music.

Rahman also composed the score for a Chinese film, Warriors of Heaven and Earth, in 2003 and a piece for the award winning violinist/musician Vanessa Mae called Raga's Dance. He was also invited by the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra to conduct an orchestral rendition of his film scores in the same year.

Besides this, Rahman is also involved in charitable causes. In 2004, he was appointed as the Global Ambassador of the Stop TB Partnership, a project by the World Health Organisation (WHO). He also supports charities like Save the Children, India and does his bit to alleviate human suffering. As a producer of the single We Can Make It Better by Don Asian alongside Mukhtar Sahota, A. R. Rahman showed his charitable side again with all proceeds going to the Tsunami victims, as did his 2004 Tsunami relief concert in India.

Rahman's popularity can be judged from the fact that he has had three world tours of his concerts in the last six years and has performed to packed audiences almost everywhere from Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, India, Dubai, UK, Canada to the Hollywood Bowl in the USA.

Rahman Rocks with 'Sillunu Oru Kadhal' !!!!

Posted in Tamil at 6:38 pm by Daily Paparazzi

A.R.Rahman has made a fantastic comeback in Tamil with Studio Greens Sillunu Oru Kadhal featuring Suriya, Jyothika and Bhumika. The audio will have a soft launch on August 3 and is marketed by Star Audio and CD is priced at a modest Rs 95.

Rahman is at the pinnacle of glory and is today the number one music director in Bollywood especially after the phenomenal success of Rang De Basanti which has stuck the right note with generation Y. Khalbali…, Patashala…. and Thodi Si Dhool Mere… are all about the India of today.

However, back in Chennai and Tamil film music where it all started, Rahman had slipped and today there are half a dozen pretenders to his throne. Rahman's Tamil audio is nothing much to write about and his last few albums like Godfather were major disappointments.

Now things look better with the music of Sillunu Oru Kaddhal where Rahman's unique style comes across mainly due to its distinct western notes. In this romantic movie, Rahman has mixed world sounds with Indian and made music that is essentially A.R.Rahman of the old that we all know.

There are seven songs in the album out of which only five are likely to be seen on screen.

Song 1 - Ammi Mithichachi sung by Dr Siva Chidambaran, Swarnalatha, Naresh Iyer, Theni Kunjarammal and Vignesh. This is a peppy fast number is folky kick-off track with maximum air play due to persuasive power.

Song 2- Munbe Vaa…- sung by Shreya Ghosal and Naresh Iyer. A soft melody is picturised on Suriya and Bhumika.

Song 3- Mazaa..Mazaa… sung by SPB, Charan, Shreya Ghosal. This song is a sensous number which is shot on Suriya and Jyothika.

Song 4- Machakari.. sung by Shankar Mahadevan, Vasundhara Das. Bhumika and Suriya will feature in this fast number.

Song 5- New York Nagaram- sung by A.R.Rahman. This is the pick of the album, quite contemporary and different from the usual variety. This song is being picturised in the Swiss Alps on Suriya and Jo.

Song 6- Maaricham.. sung by Carolisa, Muhammed Aslam, Krishna. This song will be there only in the audio.

Song 7- Jillendru Oru Kadhal.. title track sung by Tanvil. Has an old western jazz feel about it and the voice of Tanvil, a new singer makes the song different.

The lyrics are superbly conjured by Vaali as they tumble out like pelting raindrops on a mellow monsoon morning. Rahman displays an unusually strong melodic flair in all the tracks.

But the bottom line of the audio depends on how the songs are packaged and the visual impact that they are able to create on the audience. If the audience like the film and it turns out to be a hit, then Rahman and his Sillunu Oru Kadhal album will be a chartbuster.

Posted in Tamil at 3:22 pm by Daily Paparazzi



Last week A.R.Rehman decided to chill out at the Taj Fishermen Cove on East Coast Road on the Chennai-Mahabalipuram route. For Rahman it was work cum relaxation as he was composing two songs for his forthcoming film Kalaipuli S.Thanus Chakkarakatti. It is a youth film and the launch pad of K.Bhagyarajs son Shantanu.


Rahman took his own time to compose the numbers as wanted to give it a peppy young feel. In fact lyricist Pa Vijay was asked to re-write the lyrics to make the song better.



Meanwhile the buzz is that the introductory song for Rajnikanth in Sivaji is said to be rocking. The superstar is said to have called up Rahman and congratulated him.

Rahman works best with people whom he is comfortable with and there is no one better than Shankar! The Shankar-Rahman combo is one of the biggest success stories in Tamil film audio history.

A R Rahman performs at Hollywood Bowl

Posted in Hindi at 11:53 am by Daily Paparazzi

Among the few Indians who are taking Indian music to an international level is A R Rahman. On Sunday, Rahman performed at the Hollywood Bowl, one of the largest natural amphitheaters in the world, with a current seating capacity of just under 18,000. Generally, Indian artistes attract NRI audiences or people other from Asia countries, but this time Rahman pulled in many Americans too. In fact, it was the Americans who formed majority of the audiences for the show.The show titled 'Bollywood Night with AR Rahman' had doses of Bollywood movie clips, with guest artistes and of course dances. The song which rocked the evening was 'Chaiyya Chaiyya' performed by Sukhwinder Singh. Other performers at the show were Hariharan, Sadhana Sargam and Madhushree.

Reportedly, people from Warner Bros., Fox, and Universal Studios were also present at the concert and were highly impressed. It is even said that they are thinking of adding a Bollywood touch to Oscars next year.

Trailer of Mani Ratnam's GURU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xl8ebRqRBCM

Best of Both Worlds: A.R. Rahman on His Global Projects

By LISA TSERING
India-West Staff Reporter

A.R. Rahman may be considered India's leading "fusion" artist - he's equally adept working in Tamil, Hindi, Kannada, Telugu and English films, and he's composed the scores for two major stage musicals, "Bombay Dreams," which had three separate productions - and "Lord of the Rings," which opened in Toronto this March and will open in London in September of 2007. The 39-year-old composer feels his future lies not in fusion, but in the respectful compartmentalization of separate styles.

Upcoming projects include a video set to Rahman's "Pray for me, brother," a song he wrote and sung for the UN's Millennium Campaign: Voices Against Poverty. "We have to push our governments to do what they have to do for us," he says in a promotional video for the campaign. But there are no immediate plans for a U.S. tour. "The tour we'd planned to have is not going to happen. There are so many films we have to finish."

Excerpts from a recent freewheeling interview in Los Angeles follow:

Q: You've been trained in Western music and Indian. In your mind, is it a challenge to switch back and forth?

A: In the beginning, when I did compositions such as "Roja," I spent a huge amount of time trying to focus on one genre. People used to complain, 'Go to Rahman and he's going to take ages to do your music.' But all those things used to help me create a style. Ten years later, some of those songs are considered "textbook" songs today, which people want me to go back to over and over. "Bombay Dreams" was a huge shift again. I can't say that I'm comfortable yet, but I do have a little bit of focus and now I can compartmentalize it.

The full story appears in the print edition of India-West. To subscribe, click on the Subscribe link on the India-West Web site or email info@indiawest.com.

:by indiawest

Source : http://www.indiawest.com

AR Rahman won the Global Indian Film Awards 2006 Technical Award for Best Background Score (Rang De Basanti)