Rahmaniac now operating from Emirates

Rahmaniac.com is now operating from United Arab Emirates. I am sorry for the delayed updates, as I was busy with some other assignments. Thank you for your patience. Lots of exclusive updates are coming up in your way which includes songs from Vinnai Thandi Varuvaya, unreleased song from Blue, theme of Sultan and lots more. If any rahmaniac’s are out here in U.A.E, I would love to meet up with you and have a cup of coffee. Do ring me up in my mobile 00971-55-2660114.

Warm Regards,
Farzad Khaleel

Couples Retreat ~ Music on 13th October

Hollywood star Vince Vaughn might do something for AR Rahman which he has never done before for anyone else. Sources from the industry are saying that the actor is expected to strain his vocal cords for the romantic comedy Couples Retreat for which the South Indian musician and composer has been roped in for the soundtrack.

Vince has never sung in a movie but had performed for the soundtrack Hollywood to the Heartland in a comedy show called 30 Days & 30 Nights. An insider tipped us about the development, “Rahman is scoring the sound for Couples Retreat in which Vince plays the lead.

When Rahman was in the US sometime back, they had met up and had a discussion about the project. It is here that Rahman apparently bounced off the idea that Vince should sing for him in the movie and Vince was very excited about it. It is learnt that he will be singing a romantic track in the movie. This film will have Rahman composing the score for a totally different audience. It will have pure Western sounds.” Rahman remained unavailable for comment.

Couples Retreat is a comedy that narrates the story of four diverse couples who settle into a tropical island resort for a vacation, with one of them there especially to work on their failing marriage.

Kailash Kher has also sung in Couples Retreat. “I have sung a’tarana’ in the film for Rahman and working with him is always a unique experience,” said the singer while adding that he is open to other offers from the west but will only accept work of quality.”

Blue Music Review ~ Stirred & Stylish

“Blue” is the first soundtrack from the Double Academy Award winner Rahman Sir after his famous win and his second for this year after “Delhi 6?which got both public and critics appreciation . Though his genius needs no approval but Delhi 6 just show-cased it once more to the whole world why Rahman deserves the Academy more than anyone else. For a fan like me expectations are always high from his every album but after such a win the spotlight on him has just got much more brighter

Chiggy Wiggy | Kylie Minogue, Sonu Nigam, Suzanne: The song created especially for a promotional music video purpose, has Kylie who will appear in the music video with Akshay crooning her Chiggy Wiggy way that somewhat reminds you of Deep within the Bamboo grove. But as this is Rahman’s track, you can always expect something new in it. Listen to halfway of the song and enter Sonu Nigam with an out-of-the-blue bhangra rhythm, now this is fusion of a high-order. Inovative-ness hardly comes in a better package. I am hooked to the 45 second segment from 2:15 to 3:00. The western sections suit Kylie fine, and the bhangra section suits Akshay’s image fine. You can already imagine how the music video is gonna be now. A good track which will take some time to be liked.

Aaj Dil Gustakh | Sukhwinder Singh, Shreya Ghosal :  Aaj Dil, which is a fire and ice duet featuring Sukhwinder Singh and Shreya Ghoshal. Nothing is predictable about this song which draws inspiration from jazz, Carnatic, funk and what have you! Just like dozens of Rahman songs heard in the past, this one takes its own time to register with the listener. Not at all an easy song to have been composed, written and sung, that has a slight Western touch to it. In the first few hearing ‘Aaj Dil’ appears to be a late 90s style composition by Rahman but after a dozen odd hearing, the song just sits pretty much in your head and it is impossible to get rid of this addictive tune.

Passage ~ Music out on September 8.

Shekhar Kapoor is on cloud nine. He has just finished a short film in Argentina, for which the music was by A.R. Rahman, and has been asked to sculpt a structure inspired by the film that will join likes of Salvadore Dali and Picasso in a museum in Europe. The 25-minute film “Passage” stars Haley Benett, Lily Cole and Julia Stiles.

Speaking about the music of Passage, Shekhar Kapoor quotes “Rahman composed a classic opera song that he recorded in India in an Indian female singer’s voice from his KM music institute in Chennai. When I played the song in Argentina, they said, ‘Oh My God, what a great opera and an operatic voice ‘ Their jaws fell open when I said both were Indians”

Rahman’s all compositions are mind blowing for this movie. The film was shot in Argentina. There is a beautiful song named Aria in French. I ask people to guess where it is from, and they search for all the great composers of the western classical form. And are stunned when I tell them the piece was composed by A R Rahman, sung by an Indian girl called Kavita Baliga from his Music Academy, and produced in his studio in Chennai.”

Rahman’s next “Jai Ho” in Hyderabad.

Hyderabad International Airport will be hosting Oscar award winner A.R.Rahman’s ‘Jai Ho’ Concert on Saturday, October 24,2009.

Over 50,000 people are expected to attend the event, which will be organized by Rapport Global Events and Wizcraft, and held at a specially created ‘GMR Arena’ near the Novotel Hyderabad Airport, just two kilometers away from the airport.

CEO of Hyderabad International Airport, said: “We intend creating a leisure destination outside and around our airport, so that the people of Hyderabad are provided newer, interesting avenues for entertainment and enjoyment. We will have these events on a regular basis. With the festival season starting middle of September, we have already lined up a host of activities that will lead up to the ‘Jai Ho’ Concert on October 24.

“We will start off the festive celebrations with the Airport Festive Carnival from the September 19 through October 25. During this period, any passenger or their relatives and friends who purchase any goods or services worth a minimum of Rs.300, will be eligible for a lucky draw coupon which will enable them to be entered for the Grand Draw prize of a return ticket for two, to Singapore. Additionally, in the weekly draws, two lucky winners will get free tickets to the ‘Jai Ho’ Concert”, he added.

Sripathy said the ‘Jai Ho’ Concert will provide the people of Hyderabad and surrounding areas, an international standard event experience, with state of the art equipment and facilities. Plans are on to provide a special weekend package for outstation enthusiasts in collaboration with the Novotel Hyderabad Airport and Jet Airways.

A R Rahman : God’s own Musician.

The Indian composer AR Rahman, recent winner of a pair of Academy Awards for his jaunty songs in Slumdog Millionaire, has over the years demonstrated a keen talent for reaching new, rapidly appreciative audiences.

This talent is typically discussed in reference to his work outside India, which began early this century when he collaborated with Andrew Lloyd Webber on the saccharine West End confection Bombay Dreams, pairing reworked versions of some of his most outstanding songs from the 1990s with some of his worst original music.

Since then, his work has featured on Broadway and in Chinese and Hollywood films. All this, particularly the Slumdog Oscars, has made Rahman the first Indian composer to find substantial audiences beyond the already large world of his country’s film industry.

But Rahman’s first, more impressive feat of border-crossing occurred much earlier, when he became the first Indian composer with a pan-Indian audience. So often is Bollywood used as a symbol of the entire Indian film industry that it is easy to overlook the country’s diversity of other regional cinema. Outside Mumbai, other sizeable film industries operate like self-contained planets, producing movies in the languages of Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and Bengali.

A R Rahman is gearing up to go Global.

AR Rahman is gearing up for a big international venture that will see him compose music for some of the most prominent artistes of the world. If sources are to be believed, he will team up with the Pussycat Dolls, Mick Jagger, Kylie Minogue, Joss Stone and several others who will render their voice for an album that is expected to boast of a galaxy of singers and artistes who have earlier worked with the Mozart of Madras.

An industry source says, “Rahman is currently busy with a track for the film Blue and he will then set his eyes on completing his Hollywood venture Couples Retreat. Post these two assignments, he will take a plunge at doing this international album that will see him make music for some of the best singers and artistes of the world. It is a very hush-hush project as Rahman is now currently meeting with officials who are firming up the names that will feature in this star-studded album.”

The insider adds, “It is heard that Rahman might be teaming up with people he has already worked with for this compilation. He has worked with Pussycat Dolls for Jai Ho and they are certainly the hot favourites on the list. Rahman is also very fond of Mick Jagger and Joss Stone having been associated with them. Efforts to rope them in can’t be ruled out.

He has also recently recorded with Kylie Minogue and she is a huge star in the West. She will definitely be approached for the album. Several other big names who have expressed their willingness to work with AR Rahman are also being looked at.”

A R Rahman meets Vangelis in Greece

How could A R Rahman become the first Indian musician to hold an Oscar? This rhetorical question arises from the signs, over the years, that if the genius from Chennai found his way to global recognition, it would be through the Grammies.

That was the international award I thought he’d win first, this restless pop-rock explorer whose far-flung voyages of musical introspection have consistently reshaped the landscape of the film song. There was the unmatched finish in his albums, for instance — the kind of sonic spit-polish we’ve encountered only in international records.

Then there were the influences that shaped Rahman — Osibisa, Jim Reeves, Switched-On Bach, Chick Corea, Vangelis and Dave Grusin, none of which appear, at least at first glance, capable of being co-opted into the traditional five-minute film song.

Vangelis Music was always an inspiration to Rahman. This is what Rahman has to say, when he met Vangelis in Greece recently.

Blue ~ Music Released on 8th September

The wait for Bollywood’s most ambitious and promising project, the much anticipated India’s first underwater action adventure extravaganza BLUE is over.

The first glimpse of BLUE was unveiled at Cinemax in a grand media event by none other than Music Maestro A.R. Rahman, sound expert Resul Pookuty, Director Anthony D’Souza and Producer Dhilin Mehta as they presented a unique ‘Sound Promo’ of the film.

Audiences too will get a sneak peek of the extravaganza on their television screens and on the big screens too as the theatrical promo opens with the weekend releases. An underwater action thriller BLUE captures the fast paced action, above and below the ocean as never seen before in Indian Cinema!

All set to hit theatres this Diwali on October 16th, Blue is produced by one of the biggest production houses Shree Ashtavinayak Cine Vision Ltd., which has tossed out landmark films like Jab We met, Bhagambhag, Golmaal,  etc. And this time, producer Dhilin Mehta has once again defied norms and raised the bar in film-making.

Rahman to perform free at Sydney 2010.

Sydney Festival announced today that Academy Award-winning composer of the Slumdog Millionaire soundtrack, A.R. Rahman, will give an exclusive free concert at Parramatta Park on Saturday 16 January as part of the 2010 Festival program.

NSW Premier and Sydney Festival President Nathan Rees yesterday made the initial announcement at Sydney Olympic Park at the India Australia Friendship Fair, to an extremely appreciative Indian/Australian crowd. “Oscar award-winning artist A.R. Rahman has generously agreed to offer a one-off, free public concert, as part of Sydney Festival in January next year. The NSW Government in conjunction with Sydney Festival will host the event at Parramatta Park.” The Premier said.

“Without doubt one of the world’s great talents, I am sure Rahman will show Sydney why he is one of the all-time highest selling recording artists. I congratulate Mr Rahman for his leadership and goodwill. We all look forward to having him here next year.”