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Articles on ARR from YG.

Topic started by Are Yaar (@ 203.197.141.186) on Thu Oct 10 08:44:25 EDT 2002.
All times in EST +10:30 for IST.

For many days, I felt that I should have a thread to share some of the articles about ARR in desi and international press and website. I intend to start this thread and expect others also to post some articles about ARR here.

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Responses:

• Old responses
  
• From: WN (@ 203.24.100.132) on: Fri Dec 27 07:41:53 EST 2002
  
  "Junior Vikatan published a news that, A.R.Rahman supported Kathir
  with a sum of Rs.3,00,00,000 to release Kathal virus. It says, Kathir
  was in deep financial crunch and had a very emotional conversation
  with A.R.Rahman. A.R.R graciously offered his support and flew to
  london itseems and his mother arranged the sum to kathir.
  
  KV is not doing well at box-office. People are raving only about
  vivek comedy, Rahman's presence in the movie and Rahman's BGM. Medias
  claim that the movie is a straight lift of Sridhar's evergreen movie
  "Nenjil Oar Aalayam" with little bit of refreshing flavors. Hope the
  movie picks up the speed and put kathir in a comfortable position to
  repay the huge amount to Rahman."
  
  "Small correction:
  
  Current issue of 'kumudam reporter' published it & not JV!"
  
  
  Any truth in tis? Anyone knows of any online news/link?
  
  
• From: WN (@ 203.24.100.132) on: Fri Dec 27 23:00:19 EST 2002
  
  A recent post by a member:
  
  "Guys,
  
  Just found out from someone and want to share this with you guys
  especially for people living in India. There is a good possibility
  that ARR may perform in a few places in India before he starts
  touring the US. It may happen sometime in February and the US tour
  may start sometime in March. I am even more excited coz there may
  be a show in Hyderabad and I plan on being there during that time.
  keep those fingers crossed .....
  
  -cheers
  P"
  
  
• From: AY (@ 203.197.141.186) on: Mon Dec 30 04:02:24 EST 2002
  
  http://www.outlookindia.com/full.asp?fodname=20030113&fname=HitsDu&sid=1&pn=2
  
  A.R. Rahman
  India's own maven of music invaded London's West End with the score for Bombay Dreams, the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical. It became a smash hit thanks to Bollywood kitsch and Rahman's jivy masala mix. The 36-year-old musicmaker, who shot into the limelight with his reggae-driven songs and music for Mani Ratnam's Roja, has sold more than 40 million albums to date. Nobody's made the jump to phoren shores as Rahman has. The year 2003 may well be when Hollywood comes calling.
  
  
  
  
  
  
• From: Are Yaar (@ ) on: Wed Jan 22 04:16:28 EST 2003
  
  From interview with John Abraham who plays one of the leads in
  Ahmed Khan's film..music by ARR.
  
  
  http://www.rediff.com/entertai/2003/jan/14john.htm
  
  "Then there is Ahmed Khan's film. It has a great cast and great
  music".
  
  
  
  
  
  
• From: Are Yaar (@ 203.115.31.67) on: Wed Jan 22 04:17:29 EST 2003
  
  New BD Video
  ----------
  
  Of Love's Never Easy
  
  http://www.bombaydreams.com/FrontEnd/_Flash/Uploads/Downloads/VID/DNL4523RK_412694462569/bombay%20nights%20clip%201.asf
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• From: Are Yaar (@ 203.115.31.67) on: Wed Jan 22 04:18:46 EST 2003
  
  ARR wins Zee Cine Award for Saathiya
  -------------------------------------
  
  http://www.newindpress.com/Newsitems.asp?ID=IEE20030112071536&Title=Startrek&rLink=0
  
  
• From: Are Yaar (@ 203.115.31.67) on: Fri Jan 24 23:43:49 EST 2003
  
  Congratulations to ARR for yet another award!!! I'm sure he must be
  considering converting his old studio into a warehouse of awards.
  
  ==========================
  
  Devdas, A R Rahman win MTV awards
  
  http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/cms.dll/html/comp/articleshow?
  artid=35396168
  
  EXCERPTS:
  
  SINGAPORE: Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Devdas on Friday won the inaugural
  Film Award at the MTV Asia Awards here, while A R Rahman was voted
  the favourite artist from India.
  
  Local MTV Asia favourite artists were D2B (Thailand), Cokelat
  (Indonesia), Jay Chou (Taiwan), A R Rahman (India), J T L (Korea) and
  Yu Quan (China).
  
  
  
  
  
  
• From: Are Yaar (@ 203.115.31.67) on: Fri Jan 24 23:44:39 EST 2003
  
  Shyam Benegal begins shooting for Netaji
  
  PTI[ THURSDAY, JANUARY 23, 2003 09:47:27 AM ]
  
  KOLKATA: Veteran filmmaker Shyam Benegal began the shooting of his "patriotic mission on celluloid" by breaking a coconut at the base of a tree inside Netaji Bhavan on Subhash Chandra Bose's 105th birth anniversary here on Thursday.
  
  Netaji, the film which Benegal calls his patriotism unfolded on celluloid, would be ready by the time the nation celebrates the legendary nationalist leader's next birth anniversary, the director said.
  
  With the chilly January morning fog just receding, Benegal held a small ceremony in front of the tree as family members and admirers joined in to pay their respects to Netaji.
  
  "This is the place where Netaji held so many important meetings and discussed so many nationalistic issues," he said.
  
  Turning to the old silver Volkswagen on which Netaji made the 'great escape', Benegal said, he could not use the vehicle in the film since it was not serviceable any longer.
  
  "But I have found another vehicle which looks just like this one. I am going to use that one in the movie," he said.
  
  Shooting began at the Presidency jail with lead actor Sachin Khedekar, who has a lot of television and Marathi theatre roles besides Mahesh Manjrekar's Astitva to his credit, playing the ageing Netaji.
  
  "I have a very clear plot in mind -- the last five years of Netaji's life that we know of minus all this controversy over his death. The film will talk about his entire life but in flashbacks," he said.
  
  Benegal said he had picked up upcoming Bengali actor Jishu Sengupta to play the young Netaji.
  
  The filmmaker, who would be in Kolkata for three weeks for the shooting, said he was banking upon the Netaji Research Bureau and many independent sources in the city to be precise and accurate on the many events of Netaji's life.
  
  The depth of his personal research on the subject was amply demonstrated when Benegal heard with rapt attention the Netaji Oration 2003 on the eve of his birth anniversary last evening delivered by Arjun Appadurai, son of S A Ayer, minister in Netaji's provisional government.
  
  After completing the Bengal shoot, Benegal would fly off to Uzbekistan to shoot Netaji's Kabul episode.
  
  "Kabul was such a beautiful city but after all the bombardment it has gone through, it would be a film maker's nightmare to shoot there now. I have chosen Uzbekistan instead to portray those days in Netaji's life which he spent in Kabul," Benegal said.
  
  He said Netaji's disappearance from Taihoku airport in Japan would not be part of the movie. "But I feel that it does not make the work incomplete in any way since my movie stands for the spirit and values which the man epitomised."
  
  The crew would finally pack up in July, Benegal said, and the film should be ready for release in January next year
  
  http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/cms.dll/html/uncomp/articleshow?artid=35241697
  
  
  
• From: Are Yaar (@ 203.115.31.67) on: Mon Jan 27 03:55:12 EST 2003
  
  "Rahman has created a new vocabulary in musical theater "
  
  http://www.suntimes.com/output/entertainment/sho-sunday-bolly26.html
  
  Bollywood the stuff of onstage 'Dreams'
  
  
  BY MARY HOULIHAN STAFF REPORTER
  
  LONDON--Bollywood movies are one thing, but a Bollywood-inspired
  musical on stage, well, that had to be seen to be believed. Straight
  off the plane, bleary-eyed and jet-lagged, I was headed to a London
  theater for a wake-up call.
  
  The Andrew Lloyd Webber-produced musical "Bombay Dreams" had been
  packing 'em in at the Apollo Victoria and this Saturday matinee was
  no different. Casual tourists mingled with South Asians dressed to
  the nines, the women in colorful saris and the debonair men in sharp
  suits.
  
  As the lights went down, "Bombay Dreams" exploded before my eyes. As
  the enchanting music took over, the production, despite some flaws,
  proved to be an enjoyable, and entirely different, musical
  experience.
  
  In some ways, Western musical theater traditions were thrown to the
  wind. One has to give Webber credit; he just may have created the
  next trend in musical theater with this clever world-beat
  extravaganza.
  
  The $7 million production, with music by A.R. Rahman, lyrics by Don
  Black and a book by Meera Syal, has a pedestrian storyline--a poor
  young man of the slums dreams of being a Bollywood movie star but
  must fight the Mafia (a real-life problem in the Bollywood industry)
  to achieve his goal. Following South Asian musical traditions, the
  songs resonate with emotional, catchy rhythms that are hard to forget.
  
  The best moments come when the musical collides closely with the
  lavishly silly Bollywood ideal--an over-the-top sequence set in real
  fountains of water; a crazy parade through the audience; swelling hip-
  shaking dance sequences.
  
  In London, "Bombay Dreams" proved to be a lively tribute to the
  Bollywood phenomenon. And the music, well, that was the best part.
  Rahman, a composer of soundtracks for more than 50 Indian films, has
  created a new vocabulary in musical theater that contains the sly
  nuances and crisp rhythms of Indian music.
  
  How long will you remember these songs? Well, it's been four months
  and I still want to break into a crazy dance every time I recall the
  melody of "Shakalaka Baby" and the haunting love song "Love's Never
  Easy" is one for the ages.
  
  Webber now has his eyes on North America: "Bombay Dreams" is
  scheduled to open in Toronto in October, before moving to Broadway in
  spring 2004, where it just might be the next big thing.
  
  
  
  
  
• From: Are Yaar (@ 203.115.31.67) on: Mon Jan 27 03:57:50 EST 2003
  
  ARR's interview to FILMFARE
  ---------------------------
  
  
  Your stints abroad seem to be getting longer. How much time doyou spend in india these days?
  
  It all depends on the nature of my project abroad. On an average I spend six months of the year outside of the country. This year it has been a little more than that because of bombay dreams. But please, london is nt my base as some peope seem t think. Chennai will always be home for me. Because that's where my family and my studio are. But yes london has become a cultural centre for me, halfway between mumbai and newyork.
  
  How important has andrew lloyd webbers bombay dreams been for your career?
  
  It came out of the blue. I always thought id do film compostions and maybe some non film albums but never a play. I didn't know the importance of a musical until I watched a few after I was signed for bombay dreams. That's when it hit me that there so I much I can do in this area too. BD has been a rewarding experience. The critics havent been too kind to the play but they've liked the music.
  
  Anyway all the flak has now faded. I think BD has a charm of its own. It has certainly made a very strong impact in England. When I stop out of a flight in london, asaians tell me"we were thumbs down before BD. Now we are thumbs up." And when I speak to andrew now, he scares me a little. He keeps telling me I have to establish a base in london.
  
  Are you contemplating that possibility?
  
  There are unlimited opportunities out there but my roots are in chennai so it's a bit confusing right now.
  
  The problem is that the whole music industry here is going through a slump. Sure my music is selling but when the whole business is on the blink you cant prosper. On the other hand there s a lot happening in the west including soundtrack offers from hollywood. It's a tough decision to take. I cant chuck up everything here and leave just like that.
  
  Ten years ago it was my dream to study music and work abroad. It's a different high to see your work being appreciated there but more important is the work ive done at home in the last 10 years because that's whats got me western attention in the first place.
  
  Icant leave my home behind. But at the same time I must move on. Anyway I guess life hasa way of working itself out. I always feel god decicdes the right time for everything that happens. If he doesn't will it nothing happens.
  
  What kind of offers do you have from the west?
  
  There have been quite a few including a cross over movie for columbia pictures. I got offers for two films with major directors in hollywood but they didn't excite me. I also have an offer to do a philharmonic album. Im toying with various ideas.
  
  Im off to london again to do a couple of songs for an artsite called karen david from toronto. This is my first attempt at composing in the the english language. I hope I succeed.
  
  What according to you ails popular indian music?
  
  Popular film music in india has reached a dead end. That's what happens when people being to play safe. If you have durable melodies and good poetry people will respond to them at least over a period of time. When I see the so called difficult songs being sung effortlessly by children on tvs talent scouting contest, sa re ga ma pa, I realise that the most hummable songs are those that touch on life. Composers take the easy way out and make tunes that hit the charts for a month and then exit. Therefore nothing memorable is created.
  
  But I wonder why an album like my TLOBS didn't work. I worked really hard on it. I had to invent new tunes for established classics like mer rang de....and then nothing happened ! tragically if a movie doesn't do well, everything including the music falls by the wayside. I think people got put off tby the element of terrorism tthat'sunderlined the overt patriotism in bhagat singhs story.
  
  Well your new hindi score Saathiya is one of the few winning albums of 2002
  
  Hmmmm that's good. After taal all my music like that for lagaan , zubeida and TLOBS have been period specific. After a long time with saathiya a music soundtrack of mine has been liberated from a specific situation. That's why it has been liked.
  
  Yes a lot of the music is from the tamil original that's because it's the same story. When I had heard the story it conjured up a specific set of ideas in my mind. When ihad to do the same thing in hindi again I couldn't revise those images. There were however two tunes that didn't fit in the hindi version so I composed two new tunes.
  
  After saathiya I ve got m f husain's meenaxi coming up in a couple of months. Its got a quawali, a romantic song and an abstract song.
  
  How do you connect your work in indian films to an international sound?
  
  For me music is music. It doesn't belong to any region. My theme in Bombay was done in tamil and then in hindi and soon it was playing oall over europe and australia. If a tune comes to me, it takes wings. The problme now is the shrinking film market in india. Because the budgets for films are shrinking so are the funds for composing the music. So my creative vision has to be tailored to suit the altered financial state. This is the first time im facing this situation in the last 10 years and I don't relish it. For one recent tamil film, I had a mental bloc for 10 days because my vision was far bigger than what the film requried.
  
  Every major filmmaker in mumbai wants to work with you
  
  Im honoured and flattered. Im always in chennai and mumbai. Im open to more offers in mumbai. I dotn know why they fnid me hard to reach. Im easily accessible. Now im working with subhash ghai on a very interesting project. We ve recorded one song.
  
  How are you selecting your assingments in mumbai and chennai
  
  A good producer is a must. See between 2000 and 2002 nine of my projects in hindi and a couple in tamil never took off. So 70 percent of my output during this period has nt been released. It was frustrating because there were so many people waiting to work with me and I had to turn them down to do work that enver got released. I know what the industry si going through. But im hoping something like my work in deepa mehta's WATER gets released.
  
  Did she offfer you hollywood bollywood
  
  Yes she did. But I had to do bombay dreams. Shuttlign between london and toronto was difficult. It takes me one week to get my bearings after I go to a new place. I have to decide where to put down my coffee mug before I get down to creating music.
  
  Are you going to clooaborate further with ALW?
  
  He wants to do an opera with me though I don't know what he has in mind. I ll know soon I guess! Then shekhar kapur wants to do film called panni. It's a futurstic film set in mumbai. Lets see if it happens. Shekhar has started working on the script.
  
  How life treating you ?
  
  I take everday as it comes. Everyday is manned by destiny. No point in going against whats destined but when you get the chance you shouldn't goof up. I have to live upto my commitments constantly. Millions of rupees are invested in these projects and I dotn wante to be the cause of any delay.
  
  How much is your family life affected by your constant work load?
  
  Not much. My studio in chennai is in the house. We also spend tiem together in london. I take the children there during their holidays. Ive never been away from home much. Right now I spend about 1 5 days in london after every two months in chennai to maintain my links abroad.
  
  
  
  
  

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