Music to our ears
Chitra B, Aug 19, 2012
Here to stay
“Ella Pugazhum Iraivanukke.” Glory to god. Thus reacted A R Rahman in Tamil, when he received the Oscar award. When the country celebrated its 50th Independence Day, it was this music composer who presented the famous Vande mataram. And when the World Classical Tamil Conference was conducted by the Tamil Nadu government a couple of years ago, Rahman came out with the theme song. These bits of trivia convey one thing above all — that Rahman is someone who won’t forget his motherland or, for that matter, his mother tongue.
In the recent past, a rumour doing the rounds in tinsel town stated that the ‘Mozart of Madras’ would leave for the United States as he was being thronged by offers from Hollywood. Adding to this claim, Rahman did not work in any new Indian film, after composing chartbusters for Vinnaithandi Varuvaya in 2010. Instead, he became busy with international projects. However, Rahman has proved his critics false, as he has signed on a slew of Indian film projects.
Says Rahman, “It’s true that I am getting international offers. But I cannot leave India. It was this land which gave me everything I have now. There is no question of quitting Indian cinema. The world is so small that now, thanks to technology, I can work from anywhere.”
For Kochadaiyaan, Rahman has completed composing songs and is waiting to score the background music. “Rahman’s music will be one of the highlights of the movie,” says a source close to the unit, adding that a song crooned by Rajinikanth has come out very well.
Way back in 1992, it was Mani Ratnam who launched Rahman with Roja and since then, Rahman’s music has been an inevitable part of Mani’s movies. Kadal is set against the backdrop of the lives of fishermen the in coastal areas of Tamil Nadu.
Barring Anniyan and the recent Nanban, Rahman was part of all Shankar-directed movies, right from his debut flick Gentleman. So, no wonder the filmmaker wanted Rahman to score music for I, which is touted as being his costliest film ever. “
After Anniyan, this film unites two names of international repute, director Shankar and music king A R Rahman,” revealed a recent statement from I unit.
After Vinnaithandi Varuvaya, Rahman and Gautham Menon became so close that the music composer became one of the partners of the filmmaker’s production house Photon Kathas. If sources are to be believed, Gautham is the chief creative officer of Photon Kathas and Rahman, the creative adviser. As expected, Yohan Adhyayam Ondru, Gautham’s next film, has music by Rahman. Featuring Vijay in the lead, the film is touted as a high voltage entertainer.
Last but not the least is Mariyan, directed by Bharat Bala, with Dhanush in the lead.
The relationship between Rahman and Bharat Bala dates back to 1997, when the two collaborated for Vande mataram, a music album celebrating India’s 50 years of independence. Mariyan is being made in Hindi and Tamil, and Rahman’s music is going to be one of the biggest USPs of the movie. This movie will also mark Dhanush’s debut in Bollywood.
Circles close to Rahman say he will soon sign a few more Indian projects as well as a few international albums and films. As recent as last week, Hollywood music composer Hans Zimmer expressed his gratitude to Rahman for contributing to the music of The Dark Knight Rises.
“Many filmmakers from India and other parts of the world have been approaching him. But Rahman is very selective about the projects he accepts. For, he is keen to strike a perfect balance between work, family and spirituality,” sources add.
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