Ghajini ~ Music of Rahman “A little bit hatke”

Ace choreographer Ahmed Khan is amidst a flurry of activity at the moment. Besides producing his next film, Paathshaala starring Shahid Kapoor and Ayesha Takia, he’s also part of MTV’s i.Superstar, where he’s training die hard fans to perform like their favourite screen idols. Ahmed recreated the title song of Welcome and seems to have enjoyed the experience. “It felt kind of weird doing the same thing with two different people,” he says.

However, his most exciting assignment at the moment seems to be Ghajini, where he is making superstar Aamir Khan dance to A R Rahman’s tunes. Ahmed reveals that the film’s music is a little ‘hatke’ even by Rahman standards. He says, the film’s music is very different….a bit of Rhythm & Blues. You’ll know what I mean when the music comes out. There’s a particular song in Ghajini where Aamir has spotted six different hair styles. I’m sure it’s going to create a buzz.”

P. Jayachandran sings for Rahman’s ADA

Veteran Malayalee Playback singer P Jayachandran is singing for a Hindi film.

Jayachandran has sung the song ”Milo Waham Waham” with Alka Yagnik for the film ‘Ada- A way for life’. The song is a melodious number set to music by none other than A R Rahman. Jayachandran has won national and state awards for the best playback singer. He has recorded songs in Malayalam, Tamil, Kannada and Telugu languages. Jayachandran is also affectionately called the Bhava Gayakan. This is the first time he is going to sing for a hindi movie. That to of the music of magician A R Rahman. Jayachandran has earlier mentioned in an interview that he is going to sing for the musical maestro and everyone was eager to know for which film. Not a bad start right ? We wish him the best of luck.

The movie directed by Thanveer Ahamed features ten songs by the ace music director. The film which was in the making from 2001 was much delayed due to some technical reasons.

The movie which also features Rahul Roy and Ayesha Jhulka will grace the theatres next month. Ace music director AR Rahman launched the music of Ada in Mumbai on April 28. He also launched a competition of remixing two songs from this film, with cell phone giant Nokia and music label Big Music. Two winners of this competition will get a chance to work as a music director with Rahman.

A R Rahman goes stylish for Cannes

The music maestro has hired designer duo Shantanu and Nikhil to dress him up for the coveted film festival, reports Sheree Gomes-Gupta. He has wowed audiences the world over with his superlative performances, and his music probably overshadows everything else he does…or even wears. But, as we recently learnt, AR Rahman isn’t just conscious of the beats he composes, but also the way he looks.

Not only does the music maestro have a stylist, but he has roped in his favourite designers — Shantanu and Nikhil — to dress him up for the Cannes Film Festival, starting May 14.

“His style sense completely gels with our brand philosophy, which is understated, classic, sophisticated and luxurious. Which is why he loves our clothes and has been wearing them to his concerts,” says Nikhil Mehra of the designer duo.

So, what’ll he be wearing? “We’ve made him a navy blue jodhpuri bandgala, reminiscent of his Indian heritage, yet with a very stylish cut and silhouette suitable for red carpet dressing. Bringing in the luxe touch to the outfit is the appliqué work on the jacket inspired by the Mughal era. The outfit pays tribute to Rahman, both as a man and as an artiste who does India proud,” he adds.

A R Rahman grabs Vijay Awards for Sivaji

The second annual Reliance Mobile Vijay Awards 2007 was held on May 3rd, 2008 at Jawarharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium amidst much glitz and glamour. The ceremony witnessed the most popular faces and technicians assembled together for the grand spectacle.

Amidst much fanfare, the award winners were announced. The award for the favorite hero was given to the one and only super star Rajinikanth for Sivaji . The special award Entertainer of the Year declared by the jury was given to Vijay for Pokkiri’ and Azagiya Thamizh Magan. The Best Music Director award was bagged by A R Rahman for his foot tapping numbers in Sivaji.

“Crazy Rahmaniacs” reports Times of India

It was the year 1992. The film Roja was released and with it, a new music sensation blossomed in the Indian film industry, attracting droves of fans, mesmerized by his melodies. Their chotti si asha is simply to have the pleasure of listening to A R Rahman’s music and perhaps, watching him perform live, and if they were really lucky, say a few words to the musical genius in person. Meet the A R Rahman Fans.

What started off as an e-group, set up by Gopal Srinivasan, a Bangalore-based consultant, is, today, a veritable database of all things Rahman. From several media interviews to rare recordings of his tracks and the inside information on when a new album will be released, these die-hard fans are truly connoisseurs of Rahman’s art. “The intent behind establishing this group was straightforward — to use the power of the internet to network with Rahman’s fans around the world so that we could share the joy of listening to his music. In many ways, it is Rahman himself who is responsible for the popularity of this group — his music and his appeal cutting across barriers. I am guilty of initially under-estimating the global reach of his music — little did we realize that we would have people from so many countries across the world joining in,” says Gopal Srinivasan. And indeed, today, the e-group has over 13,000 members.

‘Dhun’ - A R Rahman teams up with Rajiv menon

Ash and Abhi not only make a perfect off-screen couple but they look fabulous together on screen too. That’s why they are the first choice of any filmmaker. They have been signed by cinematographer and director Rajiv Menon for his forthcoming film Dhun. It will be produced by Eros Entertainment. It is a light-hearted love story based on music. Both Ash and Abhi liked the storyline and they signed the project before they were off to Miami.

The shooting of Dhun will commence in February 2009. Since it is a music oriented film, Menon had roped in AR Rehman to compose the music of Dhun. Grapevine also buzzed that when Abhi failed to give dates, Menon approached Saif Ali Khan for the male lead. But Menon showed his ignorance about the matter. Mani Ratnam had also signed the happening duo for his next project.

Ada : Music Release on May 20th by Big Music

A.R.Rahman upcoming film Ada will carry a tagline “A musical journey by A.R.Rahman”. And this is the first time when a film of rahman would carry a tagline. The movie directed by Tanvir Ahmed has been in making for a long time and stars Rahul Roy and few new comers. Rahman says the music is special to him as he tried some special stuff for the first time. “I have used different beats and sounds in the songs. I have also rendered an Italian feel to one of the songs”, says Rahman, adding that the audience should appreciate the album for its variety”

The maestro is back in the news after mesmerizing with his last outing Jodhaa Akbar. After delivering the music for one of the most grand and majestic films Hindi cinema has seen, A.R. Rahman’s next outing is in the form of a more modest venture. Debut director Tanvir Ahmad’s Ada with the tag-line “A way of life” will release later this year.

In fact, the film has been on the floors for about six years and earlier boasted of a cast including Amitabh Bachchan. Now, the film has been re-vamped with newcomers and should be completed by next month. It stars Rahul Roy, Nauheed Cyrusi and Ayesha Jhulka in pivotal roles.

Remix in your own style : Rahman’s Ada

Nokia has joined hands with AR Rahman and Big Music to give young Indians a chance to remix two leading tracks from A R Rahman’s forthcoming film – Ada…a way of life. This is the first time ever that the beacon of Indian music is allowing listeners to remix his compositions.

Ada is directed by Tanvir Ahmad and produced by Kazaan Ahmad. It stars debutant Ayaan Ahmad, Ayesha Jhulka, Nauheed Cyrusi, Rahul Roy and Milind Gunaji. As a part of this initiative, Nokia and Big Music will run a month-long contest where participants can remix the two Ada soundtracks namely Gulfisha and Gum Sum on Nokia’s newly launched Nokia XpressMusic mixer application. The Nokia XpressMusic mixer application is an online music mixer available on www.nokia.co.in/XpressMusic that has pre-loaded Ada tunes.

The winner, chosen by AR Rahman, will get an opportunity to spend one day with the music legend and compose the remix Ada soundtrack with him at his studio.

Elaborating on the concept, Rahman said, “India is full of talented young people and this contest is my way of unleashing their creativity. Nokia and Big Music have come up with a very interesting concept and I am looking forward to see how the listeners interpret my music and give it a new form.”

Touching Story of a Rahmaniac - Rajith

This story is an extract from Yahoo Group. This is the most touching story I have read of a Rahmaniac. A drop of tear came out of eyes after reading this story. The story is about a Rahmaniac living in Dubai. His name is Rajith Ram Nivas. Now Rajith will talk to you.

” I’m a silent member in this group. I’m Rajith 29 years, married, working as a Sales executive in a Glass company here in Sharjah. I know that I’m too late to post this, but coz of my busy schedule in my job I couldn’t post this, sorry. I’m a crazy fan of Rahman Sir and always I listen his music with my MP3 player which I carry out always with me. I cant sit without his music for a minute. Mostly I will be in my car and I can play his CD. My wife always says with a smile that I love his music more than her. She also loves his music a lot. My big aim in my life was to meet Rahman sir. When Roja released I was studying in 8th std. I love those songs and I planned to meet him or to get a job there as a driver or something else. I know driving very well since very young age. Let me start the story….

I love performing in Chennai - Ar rahman

Music maestro Ar.Rahman regaled audiences with a retrospective of his filmic repertoire at the Times Of India Changing Notes concert in Chennai, a city he says he “enjoys performing” in.”There was of course, the usual chaos before a concert over here. I love performing in Chennai. That’s where my roots are,” Rahman told IANS by phone from Chennai.

The Sunday event was organized to mark the launch of the Times of India’s Chennai edition.

“Basically, we chose to perform my film songs. That seemed to be the need of the hour. It was a rather special occasion. Besides me, there was my full orchestra, plus singers like Chitra,” he added.