Which playback singer called Rahman a tyrant? If anyone, probably Abhijit who has done nothing but criticize Rahman lately. Otherwise, this has to be the media creating more BS.
--- In arrahmanfans@yahoogroups.com, "Anil Nair" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/westcoastlife/story.html? > id=3892425c-ca7b-4997-b5ec-e37614197926 > > ------------------------------------- > A.R Rahman is riding a global wave of enthusiasm for India's films > and musicals, a genre he helped define .... > > When most people think of Bollywood, they picture colourful movies > with energetic dancing and larger-than-life characters. But there is > much more to Bollywood than that. > > It's a cultural phenomenon that is sweeping the western world, > providing creative inspiration for everyone from fashion designers to > home decorators and even the television producers of The Simpsons. > > Bollywood enters the limelight in Vancouver on Sunday when composer > A.R. Rahman, dubbed "the Mozart of the Madras" by Time magazine, > takes the stage at the Pacific Coliseum as part of his 3rd Dimension > North American Tour. > > The show is expected to attract a "big audience," says Rahman's > promoter, Raj Subramaniam, adding that his first concert tonight in > San Francisco sold out days in advance. > > "He's a worldwide phenomenon," Subramaniam explains. > > Not even the international cult fame of composer Ennio Morricone -- > awarded an honorary Oscar this year for his 400-odd soundtracks -- > can touch the popularity of Rahman, sometimes claimed to be the best- > selling composer in recorded history. > > The BBC estimates Rahman has sold more than 100 million albums > worldwide. He has scored for over 80 films and six albums comprising > more than 600 songs. > > Born in 1967 in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, Rahman is rooted in the southern > tradition of Indian music. He is the son of composer R.K. Sekhar, and > his biography reads like one of his movies. His career began as an > instrumentalist at age nine, following his father's untimely death. > By age 17, he was creating jingles for TV commercials. > > Rahman earned a scholarship to study classical music at Oxford > University in England, earning his first hit at age 25 with his > soundtrack for the film Roja in 1992. > > He collaborated with Andrew Lloyd Webber for the stage musical Bombay > Dreams in 2002, and also created the music for the stage version of > The Lord of the Rings which premiered in Toronto in 2006. > > Mainstream Western audiences have had limited exposure to Rahman's > film work (more than 100 titles and counting); the soundtracks to > Lagaan (2001) and Water (2005) are perhaps his best known. > > Rahman is quite modest about his accomplishments, attributing all his > successes to Allah. He recently told an ABC/Australia reporter: "When > I got my first break I thought, 'I want our music to go around the > world, being appreciated by all people around the globe.' > > "So that made me take efforts to do little changes, changing the > beats and getting harmonies and chord progressions and stuff like > that, with traditional Indian melodies. And I think something magic > happened." > > He admits his perfectionism has given him a reputation for being > difficult; some of the playback singers featured on his soundtracks > have called him a tyrant. Rahman shrugs off such criticism, seeing > himself as a composer for hire along with the rest of a film's crew. > > He wowed Los Angeles last season with a Hollywood Bowl spectacular > that combined song, dance, and projected movie clips. His Vancouver > appearance promises more of the same, with a troupe of more than 100 > performers. > > -A >
