Jai Ho, Jai Ho, Jai Ho…Rahman
- Aadil Bhoja
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Rahman at the Golden Globe Awards CeremonyA R Rahman in his brief and
characteristic humble acceptance speech at the 66th Golden Globe awards
ceremony thanked the almighty and a billion Indians. Actually a billion Indians
should thank him for making this the proudest moment for the country. The Hindi
film industry should thank Rahman even more, for finally breaking through to
the international scene, not just in words but in action.
Slumdog Millionaire has now become a story of art imitating reality and
vice-versa. Reality because the movie was actually termed as an underdog at the
awards ceremony by many critics. Art because the basic premise of the movie too
is the same.
When the music review of Slumdog Millionaire was done I had not seen the movie,
yet when I heard the first track the images of a bustling on the edge of Mumbai
came to my mind. After just a few minutes into the movie, the first flashback
scene of cops chasing the slum kids appear. The pulsating drum beats and
Rahman’s vocals to ‘O Saya’ build up the scene perfectly. It is exactly the way
I had imagined it would be, even before watching the movie.
That is the power of Rahman’s music in this movie. Many composers in the past
have got awards for their score which is new and innovative yet independent of
the movie. But here, it wouldn’t be wrong to say that Rahman’s music score
defines the movie.
The overall impact of the soundtrack is similar to the stark, edgy, and overt
images of Danny Boyle’s imagination. Yet each individual track for different
scenes and characters are distinctly different. While ‘O Saya’ brings out the
high adrenalin slum scenes to life, ‘Dreams on Fire’ shows the poignant and
tragic side of Latika and Jamal in the movie. The soundtrack defines the movie
and completes it. Rahman’s achievement in this regard is immense, not to
mention the other talents in this department he was up against to win the award.
>From the days when the trio of Ratpackers – Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and
>Sammy Davis Jr – took over the show, Golden Globe has been an informal domain
>of fun and frolic, booze and smoke. The atmosphere maybe light and trivial,
>but the award is not.In fact, for years Golden Globe has been the cue to the
>final coveted trophy: the Oscars. More often than not the Globe winners end up
>with the golden lady in their arms in about two months time. Rahman too has a
>very good chance of thanking a billion people again at the Academy awards
>ceremony. Rahman has ousted Alexandre Desplat, Clint Eastwood, James Newton
>Howard and Hans Zimmer to reach the pinnacle. All these men have visited The
>Golden Globes and Oscars several times over, even won it. There is no reason
>why Rahman may not make history repeat itself.
Cindy Adams, gossip columnist for The New York Post, had written in her column
of Oscar predictions for the movie as “Plus there's Slumdog Millionaire, some
small cheapo Danny Boyle-directed indie job about an Indian version of how to
be a millionaire and which “they” say – not me, “they” – is a small gem like
Crash and Trainspotting…”. Perhaps Cindy will now change her opinion about the
movie, its content and the stature.
Thankfully, Cindy Adams is in the minority because all major critics and
reviewers have put this “small gem” in the top five films of the year. The
movie gains more credibility considering the stringent budget and a relatively
greenhorn cast and crew according to international standards. Rahman gains even
more credibility considering he had to finish this intricate score in just two
weeks without much cue and inputs from the director.
A billion people rejoiced one of the proudest moments for their favourite
composer. It took just a small film by an English director to show the worth of
our country’s musical talent. Rahman is worthy of every praise showered upon
him and more. Such an honour was long overdue. And now to the Oscars…Jai Ho!
http://www.planetradiocity.com/musicreporter/features.php?featuresid=166
