The next gem from the Maestro ARR - Bose The Forgotten Hero

[vijayr]

"Some months ago on this forum I argued that Rahman's commercial and artistic success were plateau-ing. What is my take on this, post-Bose? I've been pondering this ever since I heard the first thrilling sample of Azaadi online, and I think I'd say now that Rahman-fans should cautiously rejoice. Commercial success may still not be forthcoming (thanks to the jadedness that I mentioned above), but Bose successfully staves off the spiralling commercial/artistic decline that besets most great composers at some point or another."

Observer, I remember our arguments. However, Swades was also a cause for cautious celebrations(in spite of the film not doing so well in India), in my opinion, for Rahman fans. 3 songs were pretty good and Rahman's "yeh jo des hai tera" is better than some of his patriotic songs in Bose. It has more soul to it.

[vijayr]

As for Bose not being talked about much here, maybe its because its not a TFM album

[vijayr]

However I still dont agree with you on YSR/VS Their recent commercial successes not withstanding their albums, musically speaking, have much less to offer. Chandramukhi is a huge disappointment and Raam's songs sound as if they were composed 20 years back by IR. HJ still has a chance with Anniyan. These MDs have got golden opportunities due to Rahman being busy elsewhere and they are not making the best of it so far. They have to feel lucky that their albums are doing well due to other reasons(like starcast, publicity, the movie being good etc.)

[Arjuna]

>These MDs have got golden opportunities due to Rahman >being busy

well said Vijayr..

[Arjuna]

Why Rahman gave music to Bose

Arthur J Pais | March 28, 2005 13:38 IST


When A R Rahman was offered Bose: The Forgotten Hero, the composer did not hesitate to take it up.

Wasn't he concerned he had composed music for too many period films in recent years -- including Lagaan and The Legend Of Bhagat Singh -- and also agreed to work on the Aamir Khan starrer The Rising? "What was important to me was that these films are made for posterity," the 39-year-old music director told rediff.com in New York. "These films are made by serious filmmakers who are taking big risks. I find it very stimulating to work with such talents."

Rahman's tunes bring Bose back

"There are times I take up a project even when many people in the business feel that the film may not become a hit," he said, adding he does not regret having worked in films like M F Husain's Meenaxi and Shyam Benegal's Zubeidaa.

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"Those films have very good reputations and people have appreciated their music. It is important to remember that money is not everything, even in this business."

Even as he got busier with the British musical version The Lord Of The Rings, he still made time for films that he thought were challenging. The musical in which he works along with a Finnish folk group opens in Toronto in March 2006 and a few months later in London. A Broadway version is also under discussion. Each edition reportedly cost $20 million, making them the most expensive shows to open in London or Toronto.

Another important reason he took up Bose was because he was going to work with Shyam Benegal again, more than three years after Zubeidaa.

Rahman considers his music for Zubeidaa among his strongest and he attributes some of its success to Benegal's vision.

"On my way to New York, a gentleman recognised me and started chatting about my music," Rahman recalled. "He wanted to tell me his favourite numbers. He surprised me when he mentioned Zubeidaa. I thought he was going to mention Taal or Lagaan."

Benegal had let him be on his own, Rahman said with a smile. Benegal had perhaps thought the composer worked best when he was alone. "But I really wanted him to sit with me and feel how the music was working out," Rahman said, smiling. "Once we had that understanding, everything worked out fine."

For Bose, songs that had fuelled the Subhash Chandra Bose's Indian National Army had to be presented in such a way, Rahman said, that the integrity of the originals were preserved.

The movie also gave him a unique opportunity to compose several instrumental numbers. He did have a small regret: He wanted Lata Mangeshkar to sing a number but she was not available. "However, we found a newer singer, Swapna Mukherjee, and she worked out very well for the film."

Rahman has also used voices most movie fans may not be very familiar with -- Vijay Prakash, Nachiketa Chakraborty and Satyanarayana Mishra.

Many filmmakers in Bollywood like Subhash Ghai, Rajkumar Santoshi, Govind Nihalani and Benegal have appreciated his soft melodies. "But in Chennai, producers want fast and louder music," Rahman said. "Sometimes, it is difficult to convince them that soft music has its merits."

"I love composing the kind of songs I grew up listening in my younger days. In the Hindi movies, I admired the songs of Madan Mohan, S D Burman and Naushad in particular."

His respect for Naushad's work in Mughal E Azam is so intense, Rahman said, that when feelers were sent to him if he would compose a theme song for the film, he rejected the suggestion outright.

When told that Naushad, while criticising the current state of music, had also found fault with him, Rahman smiled. The senior composers are like elderly family members, he said. You hug them, you touch their feet, and they will welcome you in no time. They are like children, he added.

He had made several attempts to meet with Naushad late last year, but something or the other cropped up. Missed opportunities, Rahman said with a sigh, often fuel misconceptions and misunderstandings.

[Arjuna]

This is the greatest quality in ARR to respect the elders - which many of the current MDs both in tamil and hindi do not have!! ARR is GREAT!!

[kbee]

vijayr

I dont agree with you when you said these ppl got lucky because ARR is busy. I completely agree that VS's chandramukhi is a hit because of Rajini, but movies like

Manmadhan - ppl hate Simbu but yet the music is hit
7G Rainbow Colony - ppl has no like/dislike for the hero. Music is a hit
Raam - again how many ppl know hte starts, music is hit again.

Vidyasagar had his peak between 2003 and 2004 and its over. I dont think he will come back again and no need to include him in the comparision here. YSR is a raising MD, hard working. i do think that he will be giving good music for tamil ppl for the years to come, just like his father. He will rule the industry and will have atleast 30% of tamil releases in his hand.

Lets appreciate the music, after all thats all we learned by being fan of MSV/IR/ARR.

[vijayr]

kbee like I have mentioned in my post earlier, one of the reasons I said was the movies doing well. All the movies you have mentioned have done well and that has helped the music sales too. ppl might hate Simbu but his Manmadhan drew rave reviews and was a hit because of the movie. In fact the songs were mostly forgettable. In Rahman's case even if the movies dont do well(Boys, AE, Kadhal Virus, KKS etc.) the songs have always done well. I appreciate good music too but the movies that you have mentioned, in my opinion, had just above average songs.

[alias]

Please do not compare ARR with bunch of kids (like Yuvan, HJ, Dhina). They are still achieving the fame and money. It might take them a decade to even come closer to ARR. ARR achieved it with a frame of 2 years what IR achieved in terms of fame and money. There were ppl. before ARR trying to throw the regime of IR like Chandrabose, Deva, SA Rajkumar etc etc but they could not touch even the shadow of IR but ARR did that in a span of 2 years. Now it is turn of these young folks who are trying to throw ARR but for them it will be a decade.

[NormalMan]

Alais cut the crap. The statistics are lousy.