KOCHI: The maestro is hitting the road again. A.R. Rahman is on the move and reaching out to his fans. And he is kicking off his next world tour from Kerala.
For, “this State is so special to me, because my father gave his soul and life to Malayalam film music.” “Jai Ho, A.R. Rahman Live in Concert” will start with the performance at Corporation Stadium, Kozhikode, on May 3. The other stop-overs have not been decided for this global tour, but people in different parts of the country have started talking about the Kozhikode concert. That is the magic this man and his music has woven around the nation, said Deepak Gattani, the managing director of Rapport Global, who directs Mr. Rahman’s concerts. Even though he told the media that he is living his dream – with great opportunities lined up and prayers answered, the learner in him is still awake. He prefers to move on and take the Oscar in his stride. “The Oscar gives great respect and world acknowledges the talent. The biggest award is the love listeners give, but awards like Oscar will expose our musicality to the common man in Korea, China or Russia.” The song, which fetched him the golden-plated britannium statuette, Jai Ho from the film Slumdog Millionaire, was definitely not the best of his works.. But he would put it differently, “That was the best song in the film, to communicate the essence of the film.” He might have answered this question a million times, so Mr. Rahman had his answer ready when someone pointed out that the film depicted the nation in a poor light and could have an impact on the tourism industry. “Every country has a dark side. So, I think the film was a universal one. It is more important to me that two kids walked the red carpet at the Oscars.” Out from a self-imposed hiding, forced by “200 calls, 300 SMSes and 1,000 e-mails a day” and six trips in two months to Los Angeles upsetting the biological clock and pending works lined up, Mr. Rahman is back to where he is at ease. Composing music that defines the frenzy of crowd across the globe. This global tour is being planned as part of the awareness campaign on Santhwanam, a project for rehabilitation of HIV/AIDS affected children. The campaign is taken up by Global Kerala Initiative-Keraleeyam. Mr. Rahman decided to join the movement as part of his attempt to fight back “discriminations of all kinds. There is a lot of hatred around. Between nations and religions.” http://www.hindu.com/2009/03/29/stories/2009032953900500.htm
