Rahman wins Best Original Song Award in Los Angles

Los Angles, Jan 15 (IANS) Music maestro A.R. Rahman won the Best Original Song award at the 16th Critics' Choice Movie awards Friday.

The 45-year-old music mogul won the award for the song "If I Rise" for Danny Boyle's film "127 Hours", a collaboration between Rahman and pop star Dido.

The Critics' Choice Movie Awards are bestowed annually by the Broadcast Film Critics Association (BFCA) to honour the finest in cinematic achievement.

The star-studded ceremony was held at the Hollywood Palladium. "The Social Network" was named the year's Best Picture and David Fincher won the Best Director honours for the film.

Hollywood's Colin Firth won the Best Actor award for his role in "The King's Speech" and Natalie Portman was declared the Best Actress for her performance in "Black Swan".

This is Rahman's second collaboration with Boyle after Mumbai-based underdog drama "Slumdog Millionaire".

Rahman loses out on Golden Globe to 'The Social Network'

Los Angeles, Jan 17 (IANS) Indian music maestro A.R. Rahman could not get second time lucky. He lost out on the trophy for the best original score - motion picture for Danny Boyle's "127 Hours" at the 68th Annual Golden Globe Awards to Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross who won it for "The Social Network".

Rahman, the double Oscar-award wining composer, was competing with the likes of Alexandre Desplat ("The King's Speech"), Danny Elfman ("Alice in Wonderland") and Hans Zimmer ("Inception").

The David Fincher-helmed blockbuster drama "The Social Network" is about the founding of the social networking website Facebook and its resulting lawsuits.

As Reznor once called it, the score is dark and the movie itself contains 18 songs, some of which are not found on the soundtrack. These include songs from The Beatles, Bob Marley, 10cc, Gluecifer and The White Stripes.

This was the Chennai-based composer's second stint at Hollywood's second most prestigious annual movie prize after Boyle's Mumbai-based underdog drama "Slumdog Millionaire".

The soundtrack of "127 Hours" includes the popular song "If I Rise", a collaboration between Rahman and pop star Dido that won the Mozart of Madras, as he is fondly called, the best original song award at the 16th Critics' Choice Movie awards Friday.

Rahman has done us very proud: Ustad Amjad Ali

New Delhi, Feb 2 (PTI) Ustad Amjad Ali Khan lost out on a Grammy Award this year but for the sarod virtuoso a houseful concert and an appreciative audience is far more rewarding than any award. The Ustad says he''s not disappointed about not winning a Grammy.

"I am happy that a very outstanding and talented music director A R Rahman has won. Being an Indian he has made all of us very proud," the maestro told PTI. At the 52nd Grammy awards the Ustad, nominated in the Traditional World Music category for his album "Ancient Sounds" in collaboration with Iraqi oudh artiste Rahim AlHaj lost out to Mamadou Diabate for his album ''Douga Mansa.

" "For me especially, the greatest award is when I get a houseful audience who appreciate music. I recently got that during my concert in Bangalore.

My lifelong journey has been the search for perfection," says Amjad Ali. The Ustad says he was unaware of his Grammy nomination and hopes to listen in to music by Diabate who trounced him at the Grammy.

"I recorded in the US for a US label with Iraqi musician Rahim AlHaj. The album''s producer decided to enter the competition.

I was not even aware until I was nominated." The sarod player has a busy schedule for the year ahead with invitations to play in Germany and England and compose for other orchestras.

"I am recording with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra in Scotland in March and the album would be out this year," says the maestro who went on a six city India tour performing a self-written composition, "Samagam," based on seasonal ragas, with the Orchestra. .

Rahman proves his prowess yet again with ‘Blue’ (Music Review)

Film: “Blue”
Music Director: A.R. Rahman
Lyricists: Abbas Tyrewala, Mayur Puri and Raqeeb Alam
Singers: Kylie Minogue, Sonu Nigam, Sukhwinder Singh, Shreya Ghoshal, Vijay Prakash, Rashid Ali, Blaaze, Raqeeb Alam, Sonu Kakkar, Neha Kakkar, Jaspreet Singh, Udit Narayan and Madhushree
Ratings: *** 1/2

India’s double Oscar winner A.R. Rahman returns with another hit musical score in underwater film “Blue”. The album boasts of both racy and slow songs and brings forth contemporary sounds that generate a lot of interest.

The film, which is set to hit theatres Oct 16, stars Sanjay Dutt, Akshay Kumar and Lara Dutta among others. The soundtrack has seven originals.

The listener is provided with a breezy and soothing experience with “Aaj dil gustakh hai”, a romantic song sung wonderfully by Shreya Ghoshal and Sukhwinder Singh. With the strumming of the acoustic guitar, the song becomes hip and rich in contemporary sounds. It sure is a delight to hear.

Up next is another likeable number “Bhoola tujhe”. The song crooned by Rashid Ali is a poignant offering and is slow in pace initially. But the tempo gradually increases. It has a unique quality that strikes a chord with the listener and Rahman spins his magic yet again.

Next in line is the theme song. It changes pace many times and also shifts from western to Indian influences and back. A power-packed number, it has Blaaze, Raqeeb Alam, Sonu Kakkar and Jaspreet Singh behind the microphone.

Then there is the much-awaited song “Chiggy wiggy”, which features international pop singer Kylie Minogue. Not only does she sing the number, she is also seen in the video. that is already on air. Kylie is supported by Sonu Nigam for the vocals.

The first part of the song is in English and is completely western, but Sonu enters with the sound of the dhol and gives the song an Indian feel. The track is neither bad nor brilliant.

“Fiqrana” by Shreya Ghoshal and Vijay Prakash is another fast-paced number. But it doesn’t impress very much.

Up next is “Rehnuma”, a sensual number with influences of jazz. The song is crooned by Shreya Ghoshal yet again along with Sonu Nigam. It’s in a different league altogether. Rahman’s signature style can be felt at places. A nice track indeed.

Finally there is “Yaar mil tha”, which has vocals by Udit Narayan and Madhushree. The song, a fusion of western and Indian styles, is not as interesting as others. It really doesn’t stand out as extraordinary.

But on the whole, Rahman has proved his musical prowess yet again with this soundtrack.

Tax exemption for Rahman on his winning the Oscar

New Delhi, February 23 (ANI): Political leaders cutting across party lines congratulated the team of Slumdog Millionaire for its resounding success at the Oscars Awards ceremony.The film won eight Academy awards better known as the Oscars, including the Best Picture award.

Indian Home Minister P Chidambaram said he would ask the Finance Ministry to exempt from taxation, all the cash prizes won by A R Rahman at the Oscars.

ANI

Rahman an amazing innovator, says Gulzar

New Delhi: Lyricist Gulzar, who shared the Oscar for his song “Jai ho” in Slumdog Millionaire with A.R. Rahman, has admitted that he never thought Indian lyrics could win the golden statuette.

It was “beyond my wildest dreams that Indian lyrics can ever win an Oscar. Indian songs never had a place there [in the West] and the credit for this recognition goes to Rahman,” Gulzar told a news channel.

The lyricist was profuse in his praise for the composer.

“What a team to work with. You see the spirit of a film in his music. It’s a pleasure to work with that man. He is an amazing innovator – the way he innovates the sounds is just amazing.”

“He is the one who broke the clichéd methods of music composition in the country and his innovativeness is the reason he has reached the Oscars. I am really proud of him,” Gulzar said. – IANS