FEATURES, VIEWS, ANALYSIS
Double chance
Music maestro AR Rahman eyes Oscar success
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/default.stm
--- On Tue, 2/17/09, Gopal Srinivasan <catchg...@yahoo.com> wrote:
From: Gopal Srinivasan <catchg...@yahoo.com>
Subject: [arr] Talking Shop: AR Rahman
To: arrahmanfans@yahoogroups.com
Date: Tuesday, February 17, 2009, 1:11 AM
http://news. bbc.co.uk/ 2/hi/entertainme nt/oscars/ 7884108.stm
Talking Shop: AR Rahman
With more than a hundred movies to his credit and countless hit songs
in his native India, it is no surprise that composer AR Rahman has
been dubbed "the Mozart of Madras".
A R Rahman with Danny Boyle (right)
Rahman (left) took just three weeks to complete the Slumdog score
The Chennai-born 42-year-old is earning yet more plaudits as the man
behind the soundtrack for Danny Boyle's hit movie Slumdog Millionaire.
Having won a Bafta film award on Sunday for best original score, he is
now waiting to see if he will receive the same accolade when the
Academy Awards are held in Los Angeles on 22 February.
He also has two nominations in the best song category for his
exhilarating anthems Jai Ho and O Saya - the latter featuring
British-born hip-hop artist MIA.
How has it been to be part of Slumdog Millionaire' s remarkable awards
success?
It's been a great two months.
Right after all the tragedies in Mumbai (Bombay), I lost my sound
engineer who was very close to me - it all happened in the same week.
Then the Golden Globe nominations were announced and all those good
things happened, to cheer me up I guess. It's a dream come true.
Protestors in Mumbai
Some slum dwellers in Mumbai have taken issue with the film's title
MIA didn't let her pregnancy stop her appearing at the Grammys on
Sunday. Will she perform at the Oscars?
That's the million dollar question. She wants to. In fact, she said
she'll do it with a hologram. She has all these ideas.
I don't know how it's going to be possible, though. Having a baby is
such an important thing in your life - more important than winning an
Oscar.
How surprised were you to have two of your songs nominated?
It was really surprising - I had very low expectations.
I thought Jai Ho would get probably one. It was great to get two. We
were surprised Bruce Springsteen' s song from The Wrestler wasn't there
after it won the Golden Globe.
O Saya and Jai Ho appear at opposite ends of Danny Boyle's film. What
were your intentions with the two tracks?
Unlike conventional scores, which go underneath certain scenes, Danny
wanted every piece of music to be a highlight and to drive the film.
With O Saya, we wanted to kick-start the film - to tell the audience,
"this is the ride you're going to take, here we come".
Jai Ho, which means "be victorious", is almost like an encore. It's
amazing - when you go to America they get up and cheer.
Preeya Kalidas and Raza Jaffrey in Bombay Dreams
Rahman is best known in the UK for his West End musical Bombay Dreams
Not everyone has been so delighted with Slumdog's success. Haven't
there been objections in India to the title?
There are a couple of cases, saying it shows the country in a poor
light. But being an ambassador for fighting poverty for the UN, I
believe this film will make a greater statement than any politician or
lobbyist.
I hope this will be a positive step towards eradicating poverty. In
Mumbai, you have the richest man in the world and the poorest person
in the world co-existing side by side, which is a shame. You can't
accept that.
We understand you're not keen on "Bollywood" either...
I hate the word. I think it's derivative and it doesn't represent the
entire film community in India.
There's the eastern film industry, four industries in the south - they
all make extraordinary films. It's like saying the whole of the West
is Hollywood.
Kylie Minogue presented you with your Bafta. Isn't she set to appear
in a film you're working on?
Yes, we're doing a song together which she'll perform in the movie.
The film is called Blue and is being shot in Hawaii and a lot of other
places.
AR Rahman was speaking to BBC News Entertainment reporter Neil Smith.
