http://media.www.ramcigar.com/media/storage/paper366/news/2009/03/12/Entertainment/OscarWinning.slumdog.Soundtrack.Scores.Big.With.Eclectic.Mix.Of.Music-3669813.shtml
03/12/09 - Sure, a movie's prestige is based on the screenplay, directing, acting, location and a countless number of other variables, but equally as important is a movie's soundtrack. While "Slumdog Millionaire" is a movie that separates itself from the trendy stoner flicks, lame family-friendly films and the continuous obsession with comic book movies, the soundtrack itself separates from everything mainstream as well. The album, composed of tracks of all different styles, focuses its attention on the diversity found in world music, and because of the popularity of the movie, is able to bring that to a more widespread, popular audience. The album is a collection of different songs that brings forth different sentiments and at times induces stress, anxiety and urgency, while other tracks can also foster feelings of peace, happiness and serenity. As a separate product from the movie, Slumdog Millionaire would probably not be a high seller - and in a musical climate that seems to avoid changing styles, would most likely be outcast as an oddity. But the soundtrack, put together by highly touted Indian film scorer, A.R. Rahman, won Oscars for Best Original Score and Best Original Song for the track "Jai Ho." The last song on the soundtrack, "Jai Ho" is used in a dance sequence for the end credits of the movie. It starts off with a thumping repetition of the chorus and breaks into a more ballad-like bridge with the same continuous repetition of the words "jai ho." Because the soundtrack uses mostly original work composed by Rahman, MIA's "Paper Planes" is easily the most recognizable song on the album. In addition to the original, a remix of the song is included and makes for an interesting take on the hip-hop single with its main guitar riff, comparable to the one-time P. Diddy hit "Bad Boy for Life." The album is polished and avoids anything sounding like raw musicianship, but the studio influence neither adds nor detracts to the album's likeability. Instead it makes it sound more like a soundtrack than a simple indie-released album. The song order has no real significance to the album and doesn't seem to have much basis other than order of appearance in the movie. It doesn't try to group slow songs at one end of the album with faster songs at the other. And altogether, the album is balanced with a steady balance of songs with different tempos, moods, and style. No song alone is an absolutely necessary part of the movie - such as Peter Gabriel's "In your Eyes" in the '80s flick, "Say Anything"- but together the soundtrack accompanies the film seamlessly and produces scenes that are more poignant and more effective in telling the story of "Slumdog Millionaire." Easily, "Slumdog" director Danny Boyle could have easily chosen to have American tracks make up the soundtrack to appeal to a more widespread audience, but the choice to include Rahman in the musical process was pivotal to the movie's success as well as that of the soundtrack.
