Awesome !!!!!
Cheers to all those who attended...and a big big cheers to Gops & Vijay...No
words to thank you guys for giving us such a fan group...Thanks Again...
Gomzy <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
The times of India, Blore edition. page 21
Mad about Rahman, dil se These fans live and breathe A R Rahman's music,
finds
Sharmishta Koushik
It was the year 1992. The film Roja was released and with it, a new music
sensation blossomed in the Indian film industry, attracting droves of fans,
mesmerized by his melodies. Their chotti si asha is simply to have the pleasure
of listening to A R Rahman's music and perhaps, watching him perform live, and
if they were really lucky, say a few words to the musical genius in person.
Meet the A R Rahman Fans.
What started off as an e-group, set up by Gopal Srinivasan, a
Bangalore-based consultant, is, today, a veritable database of all things
Rahman. From several media interviews to rare recordings of his tracks and the
inside information on when a new album will be released, these die-hard fans
are truly connoisseurs of Rahman's art. "The intent behind establishing this
group was straightforward to use the power of the internet to network with
Rahman's fans around the world so that we could share the joy of listening to
his music. In many ways, it is Rahman himself who is responsible for the
popularity of this group his music and his appeal cutting across barriers. I
am guilty of initially under-estimating the global reach of his music little
did we realize that we would have people from so many countries across the
world joining in," says Gopal Srinivasan. And indeed, today, the e-group has
over 13,000 members.
On a rather sultry Sunday evening, a few members of the group in Bangalore
gathered in front of the rose garden in Cubbon Park to talk about their
passion. Quite befitting, considering that for most of them, their love affair
with A R Rahman's music began with the film Roja (rose), and like his music,
their devotion to his talent has only increased from strength to strength. Says
Kangan Upadhyay, who works in a software company, "We heard the songs of Roja
before they were officially released. And although I didn't know the language,
I could relate to those songs.''
And she gives credit to the music director for her superb scores in her II
PU exam. "At that time, the music of Alaipayuthe was released, and I kept
listening to it all the time while studying. I scored 99% in Maths. I kept
humming the songs in my mind even as I was writing the paper,'' she recalls
with excitement.
The way Rahman's compositions revolutionized Indian film music is something
the fans immensely respect. "He brought in a whiff of freshness,'' says Balaji
Rajagopal, a chartered accountant. "He brought to Indian films a sound which
was, until then, only heard in jingles,'' says Chandrashekhar Ganesh, a techie.
"Earlier, viewers would walk
out of the theatre for a smoke when the songs would come on. Rahman's music
changed all that,'' says Gomtesh Upadhyay aka Gomzy, a techie.
"He's even a good singer,'' says Vithun Kumar, a BE student. Adds Shahnawaz
Gaffoor, a techie, "His music is international.''
Not surprisingly, Rahman's concerts are always a grand event, akin to
international acts performing in India. And these fans ensure they are there to
watch Rahman live. Most of them took off to Chennai recently, when Rahman
performed there for a concert organized by The Times of India. In fact, it was
during the 2005 concert in Bangalore when the city's fans met each other in
person. They volunteered backstage and even had T-shirts created especially for
the event.
Rehearsals are when they get to interact with the maestro. Some of the
members have even met him at his residence in Chennai. "Once, I went to meet
him at his place. As he was busy he told me to come the next day. He asked me
if I was a non-vegetarian. Since I wasn't, he ensured that vegetarian food was
ordered for me,'' says Prabhu Krishnamurthy, a techie.
During the 2005 concert, they even gifted Rahman a montage of all his album
covers, about 94 both film and non-film scores. It now adorns a wall in his
studio. And needless to say, if a fan wants to meet him at the studio, those
from this e-group are allowed right in. Rahman has even dedicated a colouring
book for children, released during the Pray For Me Brother tour, to the e-group
in November, 2007.
The members definitely deserve such a token of appreciation, considering
they have taken pains to count the number of musical genres he has explored.
According to them, his music spans about 36-38 genres.
The Bangalore-based fans meet up from time to time, if someone gets hold of
the latest copy of Rahman's album or a rare DVD of his work. They recently met
to watch a behind-the-scenes DVD of the musical Bombay Dreams, which shows
Rahman actually composing some of the tunes.
"We upload rare tracks on to the website. But it's strictly for
non-commercial and private use. We always buy the original CDs of his albums,''
says Prabhu. "And, of course, we would be the first ones to buy those albums on
day one,'' says S Radhakrishnan, a techie. At times, members have heated
debates. An unresolved one is about whether Rahman was the first music director
to use a bass guitar in his compositions.
What sustains their immense passion is not just Rahman's music but also the
person he is. As Radhakrishnan puts it, "He has never let us down.''
RAHMANIACS: These fans are devoted not just to his music but also the man
behind it
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