Oscar Thamizhan 'Isaipuyal' AR Rahman News/Updates

[A.ANAND]

I try not to repeat my music: AR Rahman



New Delhi: No amount of stardom will ever consume my soul and I will always remain a common man, says Oscar-winning musician A R Rahman. The 48-year-old composer, who is the only Indian to bring home two Oscars, a Golden Globe and a Grammy award, says he is not overawed by fame and money.

"When you do something with a lot of honesty, appetite and commitment, the input reflects in the output. Success comes to those who dedicate everything to their passion in life. To be successful it is also very important to be humble and never let fame or money travel to your head.

"I was a common man and I will always remain a comman man. No amount of stardom will ever consume my soul. Money comes, money goes. Fame comes, fame goes. I believe every human being is a celebrity in their own right," Rahman told PTI in an interview.

I try not to repeat my music: AR Rahman

No amount of stardom will ever consume my soul and I will always remain a common man, says AR Rahman.

He made a glorious start in 1992 with 'Roja' whose songs like 'Dil hai chhota sa' and 'Ye hasi wadiya' became instant hit. He most recently composed for Hindi film 'Raanjhanaa'. Rahman candidly says that he still has a long way to go in the music world.

"The more I compose, the more I know that I don't know it all. I think it's a good way to start. If you think you know it all, the work becomes a repetition of what you've already done. I try to make sure that I don't repeat my music.

"The audience doesn't like old and expects to listen to new music every time. I would like to benchmark it that way. So, I make experiments in music," he said.

The 'Mozart of Madras' is currently preparing for his multi-city road trip 'RahmanIshq'. The event, organised by Techfront and Rapport Global Events, will see the composer reconnecting with fans on the one-on-one basis after a gap of two decades.

"I thought it was time to reconnect with my fans on a more interactive and personalised platform. Nothing compares to a live performance where I get to visually experience the love of my fans. In this tour we are combining the old and new and we hope to satisfy our fans," he said.

Rahman will begin his live concert from Kolkata (October 1), followed by Visakhapatnam, Jaipur and Ahmedabad and each city will have a unique setting and performance. "The entire journey is very close to my heart and each city is just as special. For Jaipur, I will bring in an element that highlights royalty, for Ahmedabad I will bring in an element that highlights folk dance, for Kolkata I will bring an element that highlights literature and for Vizag, I will bring in an element that highlights mythology," he said.

Born in a musical family, Rahman started his journey at the age of nine. He started off initially as a keyboard player and an arranger in bands. He burst onto the Indian music scene with Mani Ratnam's 'Roja'.

A firm believer in God, Rahman remembers how he went into a spiritual vacuum while composing the tracks for 'Roja'.

"My journey as a musician started at the age of nine and I see music as a way to connect to spirituality and embrace it. When I was composing for my first film, Roja, I went into a spiritual vacuum where nothing else mattered except the music," he recalled.

The 'Slumdog Millionaire' composer is currently working on Dreamworks' 'Monkeys of Mumbai', Disney's 'Million Dollar Arm', Rajinikanth's animation movie and director Imtiaz Ali's 'Highway'.

[A.ANAND]

SPB about A R Rahman..heart touching conversation

https://www.youtube.com/watch?featur...&v=K7RZqhVs7GE

[Brianengab]

[Brianengab]

http://movies.ndtv.com/music/a-r-rah...hlights-416526

A R Rahman on the secret of his success: Highlights

In a rare interview, the Mozart of Madras talks about dropping out of school, struggling to make it big and life after fame. Here are the highlights:

Kochadaiyaan is a very unusual project and it will probably open a huge door for these kind of films because of having Rajinikanth and so it demands a lot of music.

Rajinikanth is not singing in Kochadaiyaan. It's almost like a semi-rap, it's a song which has got a tune and his voice.

Music has given me everything- respect, Oscars, Grammies, love and money and fame.

On founding a college of music: We have some of the best faculty, from England, USA, from Europe and India of course and Russia. I'm so jealous. I wish I had something like this.

What made me gravitate me towards composing was that I kind of accepted myself as an OK performer, so let me be a producer, writing music.

On dropping out of school: My mother told me that we were in a situation where I had to earn. I was worried about what people would think, which girl would have me. I think music has given me extraordinary things, which I'm not even worthy of.

On converting to Islam: After what my family was going through, I felt I needed a different identity to pull me out of my shell, out of my inferiority complex. Becoming A R Rahman changed that.
I think Ilayairaaja is immensely talented. He is a genius, and to go through that journey of life, to progress and to shine like that, is a gift from God. He comes from a village, he picked up English, he picked up Western music.

When you work in Hindi, you are exposed 50 times more than you are in Tamil. And that's what I would say is unfortunate but music doesn't need that.

I do listen to younger musicians but then I always go to the purest form of music and that's the most beautiful, not the ones which are remixed. Amit Trivedi he is doing some stuff which is his sound, Pritam is doing his stuff.

I would definitely listen to my composition if Lata ji has sung it, not because it's my composition. Once I get out of the studio, I stay away from it. I can absorb silence. Silence actually makes you discover inner voice much better, because there is so much chaos, people are honking constantly and irritating you. In India, of course, honking is like breathing. You are hungry, you honk, you want to breathe, you honk.

My stylist is my wife now. She does my clothes, she shops in Hollywood and Europe.

I work less now, less than 12-13 years before when I worked like a dog. I think it's very important to spend time with the kids. My father's inspiration and my mother's encouragement is what made me a musician, even though I thought I was not good enough. Music has to flow, music has to be happy, both the performer and the composer have to be happy about it. Spontaneity is the thing.

[ajaybaskar]

Its extremely funny to read a few posts in 'another' thread. Well, we may brush those aside as 'குண்டுச்சட்டி குதிரை ஓட்டுதல்' but I felt its my reaponsibility to answer at least a few sane questions there..

On ARR lacking the reaponsiblity which was supposed to come with name and fame... He is the only MD to have invested his hard earned money on music schools to help out economically under previleged kids to opt for a career in music. Now that's called RESPONSIBILITY.

On picking up English.. For an MD to have to work with artists, orchestras all over the world, its necessary to converse in English. Wonder why there is not a single person with common sense posting in that thread.

On ARR thinking IR as a competitor, hahahahaha...

[Mahen]

agree..visited 'that' thread..bunch of hypersensitive kids who never seem to grow..

He comes from a village, he picked up English, he picked up Western music.

i dont find anything wrong with that..indirectly he's telling IR is a genius..and that 'immensely talented' is obviously referring to his past...

[ajaybaskar]

All they want is to make ARR look 'not so humble'. Over the years, ARR has gained this 'humble soul' image and the other one being called arrogant. Now the bunch of fans want to use the social media and tarnish the image of ARR (at least they think they will succeed one day). They claim that this image of ARR was part of a PR exercise and the 'other one', in spite of being Buddha's last cousin, is being wrongly targeted. For people in twitter, its not hard to find the 'who's who' behind this noble cause. LOL.

Earlier, they were claiming that humility has nothing to do with talent and a person's musical prowess should not be judged by his personality.. But now it looks like both are directly proportional for them. If they spent their valuable time in promoting their latest album, at least it will make more directors to employ the services of the MD in the future.

[Sunil_M88]

I saw them tweets too. I was sitting down with crisps and some fizzy pop, it felt great lol almost as if I'm reading a comic or two. #PureAmusment

[A.ANAND]

Intha innum ennathan ethir paakaranga innu theriyala!ARR vanthu IR kaalla vilunthu aasivaatham vangganum innu ethirpaakarangala??'namma mujila ellam asadu vazhiya venchitaare ARR' innu vekkathula thollviya ottukaama nadagam asikittu irukaanga silar!

'I think Ilayairaaja is immensely talented. He is a genius, and to go through that journey of life, to progress and to shine like that, is a gift from God. He comes from a village, he picked up English, he picked up Western music'
ithala enna thappa ARR rajava thappa sollitaru innu ippadi 'lence' paakaranga!panniyo panni!

raja ithuvaraikkum arr oru music composer innu ottukittathey illa[yuvan and karthikraja thavira]!raja ithuvaraikkum ARR patti rendu varthai vaazhthi pesi irukkara??

[music man]

Onnum illa Anand Sir...ARR should announce in international forums that he is a devotee of IR and should declare he is now where comparable to IR and fall at his feet.. Then all the so called fans will be happy.

P.S. I am a great fan of ARR and IR. There is no comparison between the two. On any day, IR is always ahead. Now the main thing is both the composers have established their stronghold in local and international arenas and seeing this kind of comical responses in the other thread reminds me of our old tfmpage during 1998 to 2002 where there used to be a IR Vs ARR war.

Between I am not able to sense anything wrong in ARR's statement. He is also a human..He merely speaks based on his experiences. Though IR's accomplishments are unmatchable, ARR is not far behind. He has continuously proven the critics wrong by composing folk,melody,western (almost all genre) and has become a force in background score as well.
I completely agree with Anand that IR has never accepted ARR as a composer. Even when garnered the Oscars, we have witnessed some strange remarks from IR side.

Ada vittu thallunga sir!! Ivanga eppavume ippadi thaan....No change...

Both IR and ARR are legends. Let us not misinterpret things..Personally let them be humble or normal or arrogant..Never bother about it...Its only their music that connects us...Let us continue in good spirit..