What a thrill the other night to see the low-budget *Slumdog Millionaire<http://www.foxsearchlight.com/slumdogmillionaire> * surprise the world and trash its muscular competition at the *Golden Globes <http://www.goldenglobes.org/>*. But when composer *A.R. Rahman<http://www.arrahman.com/> * picked up the Best Score award for his film sound track, it came as no shock to Bollywood aficionados. The baby-faced former jingle writer is (to borrow a Sanskrit word) a juggernaut, having scored more than 100 movies and sold more than 100 million records in his career.
Westerners may know Rahman from the Cate Blanchett film *Elizabeth: The Golden Age <http://www.amazon.com/Elizabeth-The-Golden-Age/dp/B000UBVRHO>*and the London/Broadway stage hit *Bombay Dreams<http://www.amazon.com/Bombay-Dreams-2002-Original-London/dp/B00006GO7F> *. For the uninitiated, the *Slumdog score<http://www.amazon.com/Slumdog-Millionaire-Original-Soundtrack/dp/B001LX0JK6> * is not just an intro to the Indian *playback<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Playback_singer> * singer phenomenon, it's also a fun album featuring regular Rahman collaborators. In the ultimate East-West mash-up, *Slumdog* throws in classical snippets, electronica, and a bit of disco. The film's fans will recognize the heart-pounding percussion in the first cut "O . . . Saya" from the movie's early chase scene that takes place in Bombay's *Dharavi slum<http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2007/05/dharavi-mumbai-slum/jacobson-text/1> *. It opens with a quick guitar lick that has a U2 feel to it, while the singular vocal stylings of British-Sri Lankan sensation *M.I.A.<http://www.miauk.com/> * drop in halfway through. The results are haunting. The infectious hook from the love song "Ringa Ringa" was borrowed from the '90s Bollywood mega-hit "Choli Ke Peeche." I've loved Choli since I first heard it in a Delhi movie house years ago, and I love Ringa, too. Its singer, Alka Yagnik, also performed a wisftful song called "O Re Chhori," used in *Lagaan <http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0169102>*. *This sweet scene<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZHqxPpsDR7o> * from the 2001 Oscar-nominated film shows off her amazing voice. Donna Summer makes it into the album, sort of. The six-minute "Aaj Ki Raat" starts off sampling "I Feel Love," then breaks into a gorgeous chorus, with an electronic backbeat. The male lead is heartthrob *Sonu Niigaam<http://www.sonuniigaam.in/home.php> *, with female accompaniments by *Alisha Chinai<http://www.alishachinai.com/> * and *Mahalakshmi Iyer <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahalakshmi_Iyer>*. "Gangsta Blues" introduces us to a rapper who goes by *BlaaZe<http://therealblaaze.blogspot.com/> *, a smart career move for someone named Lakshmi Narasimha Vijaya Rajagopala Sheshadri Sharma Rajesh Raman. It's a funky, lounge-y piece. The final cut, the victory chant "Jai Ho," is the movie's anthem. In it, Punjabi singer Sukhwinder Singh (of the *Monsoon Wedding<http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0265343> * sound track) is joined by Iyer and other voices layered throughout the track. The mash-up version has a verse in Spanish, and . . . do I detect a bit of slide guitar? Early buzz has it that the train station dance number in the closing credits is the Oscar frontrunner for Best Song. If only I could vote . . . http://www.concierge.com/cntraveler/blogs/80days/2009/01/top-rahman-slum.html -- regards, Vithur
