AR Rahman legendary music compo

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Bob Chowdhury

@Qwest

Inactive

Posted: 18 years ago

#211

Is Rehman out of Dasavatharam?

IndiaGlitz [Tuesday, June 27, 2006]

The latest buzz is that sought-after Bollywood music-composer Himesh Reshammiya has been assigned to compose music for Kamal Haasan's Dasavatharam. He replaces A R Rehman, who turned down the offer following his earlier commitments in Bollywood.

Reshammiya, who tunes in recent Bollywood movies like 36 China Town, Phir Hera Pheri, Garam Masala have topped the charts, will be making his debut with Dasavatharam to Tamil.

It may be recalled that it was Kamal Haasan who had brought Shankar-Ehshaan-Loy to Kollywood with his Alavandhan.

Adding one more to the Bollywood music directors making their foray to Tamil film industry is Himesh Reshammiya.

Edited by Qwest - 18 years ago

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anonmember

@anonmember

Inactive

Posted: 18 years ago

#212

Thanks Qwest ji.
I wonder if HR will sing any songs in Tamil?

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Swakhardeb

@Swakhardeb

Inactive

Posted: 18 years ago

#213

umm Pritam did the music for Garam Masala not Himesh

Originally posted by: Qwest

Reshammiya, who tunes in recent Bollywood movies like 36 China Town, Phir Hera Pheri, Garam Masala have topped the charts, will be making his debut with Dasavatharam to Tamil.

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Bob Chowdhury

@Qwest

Inactive

Posted: 18 years ago

#214

A.R. Rahmans 3rd Dimension Tour: A Review
By: Samir Dave

Arriving at the entrance of the Nassau Coliseum in Long Island, New York on June 16th for A.R. Rahman's 3rd dimension tour, one could feel the excitement that is reserved solely for the most famous music director from India. The crowd itself consisted primarily of Tamils from South India, who had come out in droves to support the man who is arguably one of the most popular members of their community. Who is this man who has caused such fervor with his music? Dubbed the Mozart of Madras, A. R. Rahman has endeared himself as the foremost expert on fusing Eastern and Western musical influences together and taking Bollywood music into the future. Before he came on the scene, dance beats and pop sounding songs in Hindi or Tamil films were few and far between (aside from his mentor, famed music director Illyaraja). He has brought a modern sensibility and has given a fresh sound to what some had perceived to be the stale medium of film music. This is made more apparent by the fact that he has sold over 150 million albums all over the world, eclipsing popular artists like Justin Timberlake, Beyonce, and Madonna. From Roja to Guru and from Bollywood to Broadway (Bombay Dreams), Rahman has built an impressive body of work that will be enjoyed for many generations to come.

The concert itself started a little more than one hour after the official start time of 8:00 pm (in typical Indian Standard Time fashion). By 9:10, the house full crowd had become very restless and had begun shouting in unison for the show to begin. I have to admit, everyone was blaming the organizers of the event (Poojanka Entertainment) and I was beginning to think that this was going to be a very disappointing concert.

The stage was impressively put together, with the left side completely set up as the percussion section. There was every kind of percussive instrument imaginable including: bongo, congo, dhol, drum machine, and tabla. Percussion, it turns out, plays a very important part of any A.R. Rahman concert as he always travels with percussionist Sivamani; whose work always raises Rahman's concert to another level. While waiting for the show to begin, Sivamani came out on stage to test the drum set up, and it's a testament to his popularity that he got some cheers from the crowd. In the center of the stage was an open space, leading to a stairwell and a raised catwalk. Slightly off center was a raised platform with a Korg keyboard setup (this was where Rahman would position himself during the concert). Most impressive, was a seven to ten feel tall and twenty feet wide electric board at the back of the stage, which would display an animated graphics show for each song during the concert. A.R. Rahman had brought with him, fellow playback singers Sukhwinder Singh, Hariharan, Chitra, Sadhana Sargam, Blaaze, Naresh Iyer, and Madhushree along with 16 dancers. At about 9:15 p.m. amidst the cacophony of a very angry audience, a humble man came onto the stage with a microphone. Dressed in a simple black kurta and pants, the man turned out to be the musical genius A.R. Rahman. He explained in his quiet and soft voice, that their plane had been delayed and they had just got in a couple hours before. Rahman profusely apologized, thanking the crowd, and stating that he hoped everyone would enjoy the show. The crowd was silent, and you could tell that all was forgiven, for the show was about to begin! The lights dimmed, and the concert began with "Ik Onkar" from Rang De Basanti sung by Chitra. The prayer song was a fitting way to begin the concert as it segued into a rousing vocal performance of "Jaage Hain" by Rahman from "Guru". From there on Rahman and his troupe whipped the sold out 11,000 member audience into a frenzy. Never have I seen such audience participation in any other live Indian concert/event. There is always difficulty in pleasing an audience that speaks two very distinct languages, in this case Tamil and Hindi. Rahman handled it well, by either starting a song off in Tamil and then switching to Hindi or vice versa. Every now and then there would be a completely Tamil language song that would get a roar from the audience such as "Vaaji Vaaji" from "Sivaji: The Boss". I don't understand Tamil, but the music was awesome and the song got a roar of approval from the audience. As for Rahman himself, he doesn't dance, he doesn't move much on the stage, he simply let's the music speak for itself. Instead, he brings along Blaaze who was one of the vocalists/rappers on the "Rang De Basanti" album. I have to give credit to Blaaze, for dancing, joking and even mingling with the audience to get them involved. He was particularly good in singing along to "Humma, Humma" from the classic soundtrack "Bombay", where Rahman sings from the stage and Blaaze sings rap interludes while walking through the audience. I have to say the biggest hits of the night were "Chaiya Chaiya" from "Dil Se" and the self-titled "Rang De Basanti". Sukhwinder Singh brought the house down with an extended version of "Chaiya Chaiya" and the audience jumped out of their chairs as images from the movie Dil Se were projected on a screen behind the singer. As for Rang De Basanti, the background 3D animated visuals of a colorful Sardar dancing combined with amazing vocals to become one of the best performances of the night. Another highlight was the jugalbandi between Hariharan, Chitra, and Sadhana Sargam where they had a chance to stretch their classically trained vocal chords. I have to mention that one of the most unique moments of the night has to have been Sivamani's absolutely stunning percussion solo. He made use of each and every percussive instrument at his disposal and went from rock beats to dhol beats to garba beats gaining more and more accolades from the crowd as he went on. Some of you may remember going to concerts and lighting cigarette lighters whenever a slow ballad was performed. Well here's a new twist. Midway through the show, a grand piano was brought out onto the stage. Rahman started playing the piano and began singing his first song completely in English, "Pray for Me Brother". He sang it with such emotion, that you couldn't help but be moved. Blaaze pulled out his cell phone on stage and encouraged the audience to open their phones and wave them back and forth. This created a haunting and beautiful affect as thousands of soft bluish lights honored Rahman. It was a truly surreal moment. The worst part of the show had to be the promoters coming on stage to bask in the limelight. Interestingly enough, the audience gave them practically no response and they quickly moved off stage. I find it odd that only in Indian concerts, do the organizers/promoters feel the need to be announced and come on stage to take a bow while the concert is going on. This totally interrupted the mood and flow of an otherwise excellent program. Of course, what would an A.R. Rahman concert be without his version of "Vande Mataram"? The grand finale brought all the singers and dancers on stage to accompany him for a rousing patriotic rendition of the song. It was a truly fitting end to the concert.

Judging from the standing ovation from the audience at the end of the concert, a great time was had by all. The reclusive and somewhat shy A.R. Rahman (along with his troupe of Singers/Dancers/Musicians) brought the house down and brought forth a truly rocking experience. This was a concert on par with any Western show and one that encapsulates the 3rd dimension where A.R. Rahman's music carries the soul.

Edited by Qwest - 18 years ago

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Bob Chowdhury

@Qwest

Inactive

Posted: 18 years ago

#215

PERFORMING ARTS
Tuesday, June 19, 2007;
A.R. Rahman

Bollywood superstar composer A.R. Rahman and his 66 dancers, singers and musicians began their Patriot Center concert at 8 p.m. and were still receiving enthused screams three high-energy hours later. After Rahman wrapped up the performance at 11:20 p.m. Sunday, the crowd remained, and stayed pumped, until the confetti fell.

All ages and entire families from the Washington area's Indian community danced and sang along to more than 30 Rahman hits -- and they're all hits. The 41-year-old composer-singer- instrumentalist is one of the most important and popular artists in modern Indian music, mixing traditional sounds with hip-hop and dub-inflected electronica. He's a prolific genius who has scored more than 100 Bollywood films; in 2003 the BBC reported that he's sold more than 100 million albums, and there are estimates that he has moved twice that many cassettes.

Based on the ethnic makeup of the nearly sold-out Patriot Center audience, not many people outside those of Indian descent have a clue about Rahman, but that may change. He's slowly making inroads into the non-Indian populace, having collaborated with Andrew Lloyd Webber on the musical "Bombay Dreams," having scored "The Lord of the Rings" stage production and having his smash song "Chaiyya Chaiyya" open the Spike Lee film "Inside Man."

While the slamming "Chaiyya Chaiyya" received the evening's largest ovation -- and some of the audience's fiercest rump shaking -- it was just the 17th song in the set.

Edited by Qwest - 18 years ago

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Bob Chowdhury

@Qwest

Inactive

Posted: 18 years ago

#216

A R Rahman's new album is a tribute to National Anthem
Posted on Wednesday, August 15, 2007 (EST)
Music composer A R Rahman has brought together several maestros of the music industry to lend their voices to his latest album, Jana Gana Mana, his composition of India's National Anthem.

A R Rahman. Photo Credit: Anthony G. Moore / PR Photos

Mumbai, Aug 15 (ANI): Music composer A R Rahman has brought together several maestros of the music industry to lend their voices to his latest album, Jana Gana Mana, his composition of India's National Anthem. The album contains 35 different renditions of the original composition and features several stalwarts of Indian classical and popular music. Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, Pandit Hari Prasad Chaurasia, Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, Lata Mangeshkar and S.P Balasubramanium are among the maestros to have performed for the album. Rahman thanks them for coming together for his album. "I don't know whether anybody would get this opportunity to meet all of them for a single project without any hang-ups or without any ego clashes, which we normally get from big people. They were very sweet and unconditional in their support to this album," he said at a recent launch function. Rahman said partly the concept of the album was to re-emboss fading impressions of India's freedom struggle. "To remember what has gone through for getting the freedom, because if you see lots of countries are being destroyed now -- like Israel, Afghanistan and Palestine -- you can understand the value of independence and freedom, and we should value it even more and do as much as we can for it," said Rahman. Part of the album is a video of Indian troops stationed at the 21,000-feet Siachen glacier, the world's highest battle-field.

Rahman had cut the much-acclaimed album 'Vande Matram' in 1997 on India's golden jubilee celebrations of independence, with compositions inspired by India's national song by the same name.

Edited by Qwest - 18 years ago

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Barnali

@Barnali

Rocker

+ 2

Posted: 18 years ago

#217

Thanks Babu.I heard just the anthem. and it has come out really good. Sounding awesome!

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Bob Chowdhury

@Qwest

Inactive

Posted: 17 years ago

#218

He is a cutting edge musician, he broke all genre barriers , to give us a fresh ex- perimental sound. The way he com- bines symphonic and Indian sounds is amazing. SHIBANI KASHYAP, Singer Making all of us who stayed miles away from Bollywood music, listen to it is what Rahman has to his credit. Now Bollywood music is huge and Rahman is the man responsible, he is just marvellous. SUNNY SARID, Deelay I started listening to Bollywood music because of Rahman. While we were growing up we were all heavily influ- enced by the Western pop culture, but now he's got soul and melody into Bollywood music, which had gone missing for a while. He is fantastic. SUROJIT DEV, THEM CLONES He got this whole new sound to film music and also was successful in over- turning the monopoly business that existed in Bollywood. His abilities to mix and match traditional music with modern are exemolary. He's known as a man who doesn't have a single 'bad song' to his cred- it. Need I say more? IP SINGH, GUITARIST, MENWHOPAUSE I've been a fan of Rah- man since his early days. In fact I have all his stuff in my collection even old tapes. When I got familiarised with his music, I wanted to hear more so I made this trips to small towns like Coimbatore and Salem, to look for his older stuft -Tamil renditions, his work with IIIayara And I've been hooke ever since. SUBIR MALIK, PARIKRAMA Rahman had changed the musical pattern of Bollywood. His music is very youth centric. I personally consider Rahman to be the best sound designer today. His music programming is one of the best in the country. ABHAY SOPORI, Santoor player

http://epaper.hindustantimes.com/Default.aspx?selpg=2136& ; ;page=12_10_2007_202.jpg&ed=47&arthigh=1

Edited by Qwest - 17 years ago