Weird article ..Full of mistakes ARR never did Hum DIl De Chuke Sanam now was Meenaxi MF Hussains first movie. It was Gajagamini. And Nadeem-Shravan never liked ARR :))
On Tue, Jan 13, 2009 at 2:31 AM, Gopal Srinivasan <catchg...@yahoo.com>wrote: > Rahman grows on you, slowly and nicely > > Shana Maria Verghis | New Delhi > > One > interesting aspect about Golden Globe winner Allah Rakha Rahman is the > pool of talent he has built over years. With every film, we were > introduced to unknown singing, untrained voices and musicians of unique > skill, be it in recent hits like Jodhaa-Akbar or a Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na. > Some become one-hit wonders. But got their 15 minutes. And when Rahman held > a concert, they pooled talent. > > Probably > what sets him apart among Indian composers is his versatility as singer > and instrumentalist. On his musical journey he said he was creating > music from his being. That his music is not borne out of necessity, but > was mission driven. "Allah helped create something appealing to body > and soul. It's one of the greatest forces helping people everywhere to > come closer and be one in body and soul in the coming millennium. I am > working on that music for the future." > > Rahman can direct > himself and an army and the complexity in this has increased with > years. His shows are now like extravaganzas. When New Year programmes > recorded his earlier concerts, we watched Sukhwinder Singh or Kavitha > Krishnamurthy tune voices. Now, probably with experience of working on > stage musicals like Bollywood Dreams and Lord of the Rings for the West > End, AR Rahman has added more spectacle to the public > shows. But the person one met years ago seemed as easy going as ever, > in contrast to the huge public persona and rock star status. > > One recalls the sniggers when he began to let his hair run wild and tossed > it about for Vande Matram and Dil Se. We found the man really could sing > too. Andrew Lloyd Webber doesn't. > > AR > Rahman must be blessed by gods. Over years, only general criticism he's > received was being repetitive. Yes, people bitched too. Behind his > back. Several senior classical musicians commented he really wasn't > strong in that department, when directing them for Vande Matram and Jana > Gana Mana albums with old school chum Bharat Bala. The two have strong > connections with the Dravidian movement and were affected by the > Cauvery water issue, which was what prompted Bala to urge Rahman to > compose initially. > > Because Hindi is not Rahman's first > language, people snarled he used repeat words in qawali like songs. He > had the last laugh, exploring a range of musical styles from Arabic to > samba, rock and folk. He never openly said one bad word about anyone. > > Once > he commented, "I hate discrimination between south, north, Tamil, > Hindi. If I represent India that is good enough for me. But we should > cross all these barriers." > > A talent magnet, he attracts best > minds and remains connected to old friends like percussion whizz, > Sivamani, who was in his first band, Roots. > > He still > has excellent ties with Mani Ratnam, who launched him in cinema. Story > goes that Ratnam fell out with Ilayaraja during Dalapathi and met a > 24-year-old Malayalee called Dileep kumar receiving an award for a Leo > Coffee jingle. That was before his conversion to Islam and devotion to > a mystic pir who had predicted great things for him. > > If > anything else comes up, its been devotion to music. Son of composer RK > Sekhar, he'd worked with renowned composers from an early age and hung > in the studio soaking their sounds. Before he was twenty he'd done an > album with violinist Kunnakudi Vaidyanathan. He could handle different > music genres and more than that, was exceptional as a sound engineer. > He has constantly worked on musical boundaries, working unearthly hours > to do it. Usually he composes and mixes voice with a basic rhythm > track, then improvises. The norm is to compose, ready lyrics and > record. > > By attempting several different versions of the > national anthem and patriotic songs, Rahman laid his stamp on modern > India's rhythm consciousness. The glassy purity of Roja, to relative ease > of Chaiyya Chaiyya, Humma Humma and Rangeela Re, marked turns of our own > growth as a nation. > > Ram > Gopal Varma found it hard to picturise Rahman. Nadeem-Shravan liked his > pan-Indianness. Even MF Husain couldn't resist using him in his first > film Meenaxi, for that signature element of "something elseness" which like > a good book or film, improves with listening. Not a fast gulp. > > Today memories match Rahman songs in Taal, Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, > Saathiya, Rang De Basanti, Guru or Ghajini. He even returns to themes done > before. Jodhaa-Akbar has echoes of an earlier song Veerapandi Kottayile from > Chandralekha which drew on sequences from early Tamil historicals with large > sets. Music director Vishal Dadlani described Dil Se as "an enclycopaedia > for me." > > An avid techno junkie, Rahman couldn't ignore opportunity to collaborate > afresh with likes of Fleetwood Mac's Jeremy Spencer. Go global with musicals > like Lord of the Rings and Bollywood Dreams. All the while, he was working > to create an international orchestra and academy to align with this purpose. > The laurels for Slumdog Millionaire come after he scored for Elizabeth, The > Golden Age in 2007. His agent mentioned there would be bigger international > collaborations in future. Maybe Akon or Nellie Furtado. Rahman is the > only Indian composer to have tunes juxtaposed with Nicholas Cage and > Will Smith in action dramas like God of War. > > The Slumdog... song Jai Ho is not vintage Rahman. Nor near his past best. > So let us not go > overboard. It is a Western stamp of approval, we seem to hold highly, > and above our own terms. Rahman seemed to recognise this when he said > before winning, "For the people of India to get an Oscar is a big > thing. So for their sake, more than mine, I hope my song Jai Ho and my > music score in Slumdog Millionaire win the Oscar." He added later, "I'm so > happy to have won this award, > not because I needed that, but to have fulfilled the wishes of all > music lovers in India." > > Being choosy with projects, he has a > darn good idea where he stands, having being judged by biggie Hollywood > composers like Howard Shore and Danny Elfman for the Globes. Once more, > Indian talent used his music as a springboard to to wider audiences. > > > http://www.dailypioneer.com/149680/Rahman-grows-on-you-slowly-and-nicely.html > >
