Tag Archives: AR Rahman

AR Rahman to get top Japanese culture prize

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Chennai , TAMIL NADU :

ARRahmanMPOs31may2016

Music maestro A R Rahman has been announced as the recipient of Grand Fukuoka Prize 2016 for his outstanding contribution to Asian culture through his music.

As part of the ceremony, Rahman has been invited to the city to give a public lecture on “From the Heart: The World of A R Rahman’s Music”.

The 49-year-old Oscar-winning composer has been chosen for the honour alongside Philippines’ historian Ameth R Ocampo (Academic Prize) and Yasmeen Lari from Pakistan (Arts and Culture Prize) by the secretariat of Fukuoka prize committee.

The annual award, was established by Fukuoka City, Japan, in 1990 with an aim to honour the outstanding work of individuals, groups and organizations working to preserve and promote the unique and diverse culture of Asia.

Rahman started his movie career with Mani Ratnam’s Tamil film “Roja”. Rahman’s first big break in Hindi cinema came with Ram Gopal Varma’s “Rangeela”.

He is now one of the most sought after composers in India with his brilliant compositions for films like “Bombay”, “Dil Se”, “Taal”, “Lagaan”, “Rang De Basanti”, “Delhi 6”, “Rockstar”, “Highway” and “Tamasha”.

Rahman has carved an impressive career in Hollywood after composing “Jai Ho” for British director Danny Boyle’s “Slumdog Millionaire”, which earned him two Academy awards and a Golden Globe trophy.

Previous winners from India include distinguished names such as sitar player Ravi Shankar, dancer Padma Subrahmanyam, historian Romila Thapar, sarod maestro Amjad Ali Khan, Ashish Nandy, Partha Chatterjee, Vandana Shiva, Nalini Malini and historian Ramachandra Guha.

Other winners include Nobel laureates Muhammad Yunus (Bangladesh) and Mo Yan (China).

source:  http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> Entertainment / PTI / New Delhi – May 30th, 2016

Rahman joins Sachin, Bindra and Salman as Rio goodwill ambassador

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AR Rahman joins Sachin Tendulkar, Abhinav Bindra and Salman Khan as goodwill ambassadors of the Indian contingent at the Rio Olympics. (File photo)
AR Rahman joins Sachin Tendulkar, Abhinav Bindra and Salman Khan as goodwill ambassadors of the Indian contingent at the Rio Olympics. (File photo)

Oscar-winning music composer AR Rahman on Thursday agreed to be the Goodwill Ambassador of the Indian contingent at the Rio Olympics, joining cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar, ace shooter Abhinav Bindra and Bollywood star Salman Khan.

Tendulkar, Salman and Olympic gold medallist Bindra had earlier accepted the role offered by the Indian Olympic Association (IOA).

The IOA said that it has also received an official written confirmation from Rahman.

“It’s absolutely an honour and my pleasure to be a goodwill ambassador of the Indian contingent scheduled for August 2016,” Rahman said in a release issued by the IOA.

Welcoming Rahman on board, IOA Secretary General Rajeev Mehta said, “I would like to welcome AR Rahman on board as a goodwill ambassador of Indian contingent for Rio Olympics. It’s our privilege to have the Oscar-winning living legend music composer on board to spread awareness and promote the Olympic movement.

“As per our plan to reach out to maximum people in the country for Olympic Sports, we are happy that Mr Rahman has come forward from the field of music to support our athletes and we already have Salman Khan from Bollywood, Abhinav Bindra from Olympic Sports and Sachin Tendulkar from Cricket. I am sure Mr Rahman will inspire our sportspersons.”

There was a huge uproar after Salman was appointed Goodwill Ambassador ahead of other sporting luminaries. Former and current athletes were up in arms against Salman’s appointment and demanded to know why someone from the field of sports was not named by the federation.

The IOA immediately went into damage-control mode and requested Beijing Games gold medallist shooter Bindra and Tendulkar to be Goodwill Ambassadors.

source: http://www.hindustantimes.com / Hindustan Times / Home> India / PTI, New Delhi / May 12th, 2016

A R Rahman foresees an industry in motion capture technology

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A R Rahman (Photo-DC)
A R Rahman (Photo-DC)

Chennai:

Oscar winning composer A R Rahman, who has scored the music for Rajnikanth’s ‘Kochadaiiyaan’, India’s first film on motion capture technology, today said he foresees a separate industry in this field.

“Like there is Hollywood and Bollywood and the industry for south Indian films, there can be an entire industry on films made with this technology,” he said at the audio launch of ‘Kochadaiiyaan’, directed by Rajinikanth’s daughter Soundarya R Ashwin.

He recalled how the film’s director Soundarya had put in efforts into making it and said he was sure it would succeed.

“When I came to Chennai from US, Soundarya told me about ‘Kochadaiiyaan’ which she said would get over in a year. I was wondering how and I took a week. By then, Rajini Sir had called up and I realised the kind of efforts going into this film. Then I decided to go ahead,” Rahman said.

Motion or performance capture technology helps filmmakers record the movements of the actor — in specially made suits, which capture the emotions, gestures and body language of the actor and translates it into animation.

source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com / Deccan Chronicle / Home> Entertainment> TV-Music / by PTI / March 09th, 2014

On the right note

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arrahmanMPos17feb2014

AR Rahman on making experimental music with Imtiaz Ali, his two upcoming international releases, Mani Ratnam’s next and a music album that releases later this month.

He’s getting ready to walk the red carpet at the Berlin Film Festival with Highway director Imtiaz Ali and leads Randeep Hooda and Alia Bhatt. “It’s cold here but not freezing, the sun is out,” says AR Rahman, talking to Mirror from the German capital.

Back home, he has surprised many by appearing in the music video of Pataka Guddi with Alia. Is an acting career on the cards? “That’s a different trip. I’d rather continue with my musical journey. There’s so much left to explore” says the maestro.

He points out that the film offered him a lot of creative freedom to experiment with different things before they landed up with the final list of songs. “Even more challenging was the minimalistic background score. There were places where we decided not to have music and let the ambience speak,” he reminisces.

After this road trip through six states, Rahman will set out on The Hundred-Foot Journey based on Richard C Morais’s novel. The Mozart of Madras is looking forward to this adventure drama starring Helen Mirren, Om Puri and Manish Dayal. “I’m a great admirer of the Swedish director Lasse Hallstrom who’s been nominated for the Oscars for My Life as a Dog and The Cider House Rules. His sensibilities are unique. I’m really excited,” he exults. Produced by Steven Spielberg, Oprah Winfrey and Juliet Blake, the film opens on August 8.

Before that, the composer will have another international release on May 16–Walt Disney Pictures’ biographical sports drama, Million Dollar Arm. “I’ve worked with a lot of artistes on this score, collaborated with rappers from the West. It’s in the Slumdog Millionaire genre but goes forward and beyond. It’s based on a true story (of baseball pitchers Rinku Singh and Dinesh Patel discovered by sports agent JB Bernstein after winning a reality show) which made it more interesting,” he says.

For all those who believe that Rahman is on a highway to the West, he points out that there’s the Rajnikanth starrer, the oneof-its-kind Kochadaiyaan – The Legend. “It’s not real live-action and has been in the making for long but I’m proud to be associated with it,” he asserts. He’s also given the nod to Mani Ratnam’s bilingual starring Aishwarya Rai Bachchan.

Confirming the news Rahman says, “It’ll be nice to be working with Mani Sir again on an exciting, young project.”

He’s also given the nod to Imtiaz’s Window Seat starring Ranbir Kapoor and Deepika Padukone. And there’s Shekhar Kapur’s Paani. “I’m glad this ambitious project is in the right hands now, it will happen the way it’s meant to,” he avers.

And if that’s not enough, Rahman will also be releasing an album, Raunaq, on February 27 but won’t divulge detials. You’ll hear it soon,” is all he will say.

With all that’s happening, it’s not surprising his son Ameen would want to stop a music session so his dad could get seven hours of sleep. “Living in a family we tend to take each other for granted till we get a wake-up call like this. Then it’s like wow, this is what a family is about,” he says.

But cruising down the highway of life, as we see in Imtiaz’s upcoming film, can be an eye-opener and a mind-opener. “I’ve been travelling for the last 15 years, not on a truck but on an aeroplane. My kids miss me when I’m away but I don’t mind living out of a suitcase. The UK, US, France, Germany, Iraq… it’s such a thrill meeting people of different cultures, learning about and from them,” he muses. “It’s changed my perception about life, humanity and spirituality.” Jai Ho!

Meanwhile, buzz is, he had objections to Sohail and Salman Khan using the title Jai Ho for their film? Rahman says, “After Slumdog Millionaire, Jai Ho became such a huge hit that I copyrighted the title. I gave an NOC to Sohail and Salman for their film, but if anyone outside India wants to use it, they will need my permission.”

source: http://www.mumbaimirror.com / Mumbai Mirror / Home> Entertainment> Bollywood / by Roshmila Bhattacharya, Mumbai Mirror / February 15th, 2014

Have you visited the ‘Allah-Rakha Rahman st’ in Canada yet?

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New Delhi:

AR Rahman’s music is remembered throughout the world for its charm and variety, but now, even his name will be remembered as a road’s name. A street in Markham, Ontario, Canada is named after him. It will be called ‘Allah-Rakha Rahman st’.

AR Rahman, who is also known as the Mozart of Madras, has been honoured for his contribution to the world of music and arts.

He is one of the few Indians to have won two Grammy awards and two Academy Awards, yet he retains the humility of a common man.

A street in Canada is named after AR Rahman. He has been honoured for his contribution to the world of music.
A street in Canada is named after AR Rahman. He has been honoured for his contribution to the world of music.

The music maestro made history when he became the first Indian to win two Oscars in a year, 2009, for Danny Boyle’s ‘Slumdog Millionaire’, the rags-to-riches story of a Mumbai slum-dweller. Rahman had also bagged two awards at the 52nd Annual Grammy for his song ‘Jai ho’ from the same film.

source: http://www.ibnlive.in.com / IBN Live.com / Home / November 06th, 2013