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Bollywood icon Rahman sees 'a great future of extraordinary films' APARITA BHANDARI Special to The Globe and Mail June 15, 2007 A.R. Rahman is surprisingly humble, given his status as an international music icon. Dubbed Mozart from Madras, he is India's best-known composer. He has sold more than 150 million albums, and scored more than 70 films. His work has been heard in Bollywood and Hollywood blockbusters, and on the Toronto stage. Yet, when asked about his Mozart moniker, the 39-year-old Rahman just laughs and says, "But I don't do classical." He does pop. His "pop" reaches worldwide. His hit songs Bombay Theme and Chaiya Chaiya, originally composed for Indian movies Bombay and Dil Se, have subsequently been sampled by Hollywood (Lord of War, starring Nicolas Cage, and Spike Lee's Inside Man, starring Denzel Washington). This weekend, his tunes grace the Tamil movie Sivaji, playing at Woodside Cinema as well as Cineplex Odeon theatres in Scarborough, Brampton and Markham. Marking the return of star Rajnikanth for his 100th film, Sivaji is anticipated by fans across the globe. Rahman's rap-heavy score has only added to the hype. Print Edition - Section Front [Section R Front] <http://images.theglobeandmail.com/v5/images/newspaper/20070615/sectionR\ -490.jpg?d=20070615> Enlarge Image <http://images.theglobeandmail.com/v5/images/newspaper/20070615/sectionR\ -490.jpg?d=20070615> More Arts Stories * NOW PLAYING <http://www.theglobeandmail.com//servlet/story/LAC.20070615.MINIS15/TPSt\ ory/Entertainment/> * The definitive Englishman, tweed coat, time travel and all <http://www.theglobeandmail.com//servlet/story/LAC.20070615.TVRYAN15/TPS\ tory/Entertainment/> [Lock] * The glorification of the wikiobscure <http://www.theglobeandmail.com//servlet/story/LAC.20070615.WEB15/TPStor\ y/Entertainment/> [Lock] * Glastonbury: from hippie to hip <http://www.theglobeandmail.com//servlet/story/LAC.20070615.DVD15/TPStor\ y/Entertainment/> [Lock] * Spicing up the cartoon formula <http://www.theglobeandmail.com//servlet/story/LAC.20070615.PAPRIKA15/TP\ Story/Entertainment/> [Lock] * Channelling Édith Piaf <http://www.theglobeandmail.com//servlet/story/LAC.20070615.VAUGHAN15/TP\ Story/Entertainment/> * Go to the Arts section <http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/> [The Globe and Mail] Toronto has become one of Rahman's international hangouts. He was in the city earlier this year for the world premiere of Bollywood movie Guru at the Elgin Theatre. Last weekend, he brought his live 3rd Dimension Tour to the Air Canada Centre, belting out signature tunes with pyrotechnic bursts, back-up dancers, a laser and 3-D light show adding to the drama the as more than 13,000 fans roared in response. And, most notably, he co-composed the score for the Toronto stage version of The Lord of the Rings, staying in the city while he worked. Lord isn't his only stab at the stage: His Bollywood tunes were the backbone of the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical Bombay Dreams. "At first, it was like Riverdance, just music and dance," Rahman says in an interview. "Eventually they brought in the culture of Hindi film industry as the story. ... Some stuff might look cheesy, but it's meant to." The death of his father, also a composer, started Rahman on his musical journey when he was 9. Throughout his teens, he was a Bollywood session musician; at 17, he started composing jingles for TV commercials and studied Western classical music at Oxford University. At a party to celebrate an award-winning jingle, he ran into Tamil film director Mani Ratnam, who signed him to compose the music for Roja, marking Rahman's debut as a composer of film scores at the age of 25. Compared with formulaic soundtracks of the time, Roja's fresh tunes became an instant hit. They featured everything from raga to reggae, jungle rhythms to Broadway-style orchestrations, and yet stayed Tamil. "When I got the chance to do my first film," Rahman says, "I wanted to do something different. I thought it was my last film. People will not want to check me out. But they loved it." His Hollywood forays continue (next up: Shekhar Kapur's Elizabeth sequel), but the Indian film industry remains his bread and butter, Rahman says. He's proud of his Bollywood oeuvre, despite critics writing off the genre as melodramatic and kitschy. "For me, Bollywood is a huge expression of India," he says. "It's not exploited fully. I can see a great future of extraordinary films. People have woken up now, they are ambitious with their projects. "It's the only form of mass entertainment that exists in India," he adds. "We don't have a symphony, and Indian classical music isn't popular in mainstream. Films have to fulfill everything people crave for - pop, classical, political message, folk. In a way, it's good; in a way, it's bad. You have to do the cheesy stuff also, and sometimes you do great quality work." Navas
