A R Rahman goes unplugged in Delhi.

The Golden Jubilee celebrations of Doordarshan got off to a grand start here with a live concert featuring the Oscar-winning A R Rahman apart from popular singers Hariharan and Kailash Kher. ‘A R Rahman Unplugged’ was meant to be a curtain-raiser for the Golden Jubilee Celebrations which will commence on 15 September and continue for a full year.

Doordarshan had commenced telecasts on 15 September 1959 with a one-hour daily transmission. AR Rahman was felicitated, who won two Oscars for the music in the film ‘Slumdog Millionaire’, with a shawl and a memento.

Earlier, Doordarshan Director General Aruna Sharma told a news conference that the opening event will be in Mumbai on 15 September and programmes will be held in different Kendras. There will also be a concert in Delhi . In addition, there will be several discussions looking back at the growth of Doordarshan, and the final one on 15 September 2010 will examine sports evens, in view of the Commonwealth Games. She claimed that with the help of DTH and satellite TV, Doordarshan was reaching the entire country. Rahman announced that he would shortly be doing a reality show based on music with Doordarshan. K R Harish, Managing Director of Phat Phish India which put the concert together for Doordarshan, also spoke on the occasion.

Amin Rahman sings for Couples Retreat

Music maestro AR Rahman, who is one of the most celebrated personalities in the music world, has reason to be proud not only professionally but also personally. His six-and-a-half-year-old son, Amin, aspires to become a playback singer.

And he is wasting no time to reach his goal. Last week, Amin sung a song in the Hollywood film, Couples Retreat for which AR Rahman has composed the music.

A source said, “AR Rahman’s family and people in his office have still not got over the fact that Rahman’s little son has sung the song.  They are very excited and happy and can’t stop talking about it. His mom and dad are very proud of him.”

AR Rahman’s life has become super-hectic after his international win. This Chennai-based music composer who has been dividing his time between Chennai, Mumbai, London and Los Angeles, has now begun to miss the time he used to spend at home with his wife and children.So Rahman took a totally unscheduled break from his assignments in LA and was back in Chennai on Friday for two weeks. Confirming the news, Rahman said, “The kids were always there with me when I worked regularly from home in Chennai. Now I get to spend less time with them.”

“Even now when I’m here in Chennai, work for my pending Hindi films like Blue has to be taken care of. I’ve come at a time when I cannot afford to take a break. My first Hollywood soundtrack for Couples Retreat has to be ready because the film is releasing on October 6.”

The Journey of a Musical Genius.

1978: An 11 year old kid, with some hesitation, moves into a recording studio in Kodambakkam. Many masters are waiting for him.

“Come on Dileep. We’re waiting for you. There’s some problem in the synthesizers you brought. Could you please look on to it?” asks Arjunan master to Dileep. Dileep starts to work upon the problem in the synthesizer by dismantling the parts in a classy way. After some moments, it’s working fine. Arjunan master hugs Dileep and says “You’re a brilliant boy”

Tears roll down from Dileep’s eyes, so does Arjunan master on seeing him and asks “Dileep, thinking of dad? What to do? It’s fate, this isn’t the age for him to pass away from all of us. It feels that your father is still with us”. Arjunan master gives some money to Dileep, it’s for letting the music instruments like Univox, Claviolin.

With that money Dileep buys chocolates and biscuits for his sisters and comes home. Gives the remaining money to his mother. On seeing him, his mother moves and wonders “In this small age he carries the family on his shoulders. On a studying age, I send him to recording studios”, worries Dileep’s mother. But on seeing the visionary eyes of Dileep, she understood that her son goes in the right path.

Dileep isn’t jovial at home. His world is all about the musical instruments. His favorite game is to dismantle the parts of musical instruments and join them again in his room. He has no other time pass such as cinema, playing cricket other than music.

Dileep enters his room and starts playing a tune in the harmonium. That’s Bethlahamil Raavil, composed by his father. On hearing her son playing that tune, she thinks as if her husband is back. Added to that, little Dileep does some modification to that tune and plays it, hearing it takes her to another world. At once, she comes and hugs her beloved son, shedding happy tears.

A R Rahman : The Musical Storm

AR Rahman : The Musical Storm by Kamini Mathai
Penguin Publishers | Price: Rs 499 | Pages: 280 | Official : No

Writing about Allah Rakha Rahman requires one to be a hound rather than a fox, a sleuth rather than an artist. And yes, it requires the patience of a saint to wait for hours at his Kodambakkam home along with directors, producers, wannabe singers and his large and ever-growing staff. The genius, when he appears, is chatty, cheery and charming enough. But he is not given to revealing too much about himself, whether it is about his faith or the way he works.

The best way to get to know him is to speak around him, which is exactly what Kamini Mathai has done. So yes A.R. Rahman: The Musical Storm may look like a quickie and even smell like a hard-headed business move rather than a long-nurtured editorial decision but it is still enlightening about one of India’s most private public figures, who began by earning Rs 50 as a record player operator and can now put any figure on desperately preferred bank cheques.

What it is rich in is a lot of trivia for Rahmaniacs. Of how he was about to go to the Berkeley School of Music before Mani Ratnam offered him Roja or how he made Subhash Ghai stay up for 58 nights in a row while working on Taal or how he once dyed his ponytail red or even how the K.M. in his K.M. Music Conservatory stands for a 16th century Sufi saint, Khalishah Mastan, who had the same name as Rahman’s mother’s guru, Kareemullah Shah Qadri.

Mathai does have a muckraking sort of sensibility but clearly Rahman is the wrong guy for it. The vilest thing that can be said about him that he would sometimes have a

Rahman pays tribute to Michael Jackson

A.R. Rahman issues statement on Michael Jackson’s death.

I am shocked at the untimely passing away of Michael Jackson, one of the greatest musicians of our time. MJ, for most of our generation was an icon who made uncompromising music. He pushed the milestone of Pop music to unbelievable levels through the 80s and 90s. I am yet to find an artist with that energy, perfection and vision.

I met him personally after the Oscars in Los Angeles and we vibed very well. He said that he loved India and the Indian people. He said he heard good things about me and he was praising the chord progression of Jai Ho’s chorus. He was bursting with energy and told me that every dance move he did,came from his soul and did a five second stunning example. It was like a lightning strike.

He was concerned about developmental issues such as Global Warming and about wars and its damages to the human community. He asked me to compose a unity anthem on the likes of “We are the World ” for him. I nodded in awe !

He introduced me to his three lovely bright kids.The kids told him “I love you dad” and he replied “I love you more” as a proud father. I wished him well for his concerts and he said “God Blessyou”.

After hearing the shocking news I wished it was another rumor which would fade away soon. It took me time to believe that he is no more. I remember,my late sound engineer Sridhar had brought me a video of the premiere of “Remember the Time” when I was recording “Kadal Rojave” for my first movie Roja. Seeing it inspired all of us that afternoon.

A Honorary Doctorate from Middlesex Uni

A visit from an Indian superstar brought Middlesex University and its students to a standstill yesterday. AR Rahman is an Indian composer, record producer, musician and singer and is probably best known as the winner of two Academy Awards for the music he wrote for the smash hit film Slumdog Millionaire.

His visit to Middlesex University in Hendon, London had two purposes. Along with Middlesex’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Michael Driscoll, he signed a Memorandum of Understanding between his KM Music conservatory in Chennai, India and the University. AR, as he is known, was also awarded an Honorary Degree, making him a Doctor of Middlesex University, the highest honor the University can bestow.

Middlesex is an extremely popular British university throughout India and hundreds of Indian students come to study on its London campuses. When the word got out that their musical hero, AR Rahman, was coming to receive his honorary degree, excitement started to mount. When he arrived on campus, there were scenes reminiscent of Beatlemania; women screamed and men mobbed him for an autograph or just a glance in their direction!

Lata Didi is Everywhere ~ A R Rahman

When the Nightingale of India’ lends her voice to the Mozart of Madras’, the result is bound to be magical as seen in Dil Se’ and Lagaan’. As A R Rahman gets ready to perform at the Times of India Jai Ho concert to be held at Balewadi on Sunday evening, TOI met the maestro and Lata Mangeshkar, and their interaction too turned out to be as magical as their songs on the eve of the show.

When TOI requested them to pose together for a photograph as it was a historical moment, Latadidi as she is fondly called said: “Together? I’m nothing before him.” Taken aback by the compliment, Rahman shook his head vigorously, saying, “No… no”.

Lata told Rahman that she has a lovely photograph of his in which she is seen singing in his ear. “Oh! She must have been teaching me music… sa re…,” Rahman smiled. Asked about their first meeting, Rahman said, “You don’t meet Latadidi. She is everywhere”. Recalling their first meeting at his home for the recording of their first song together, Rahman said, “I think it was Khamoshiyan Gungunane Lagi, was it?”

“No it was Jiya Jale..,” Lata reminded him, to which Rahman added, “Yes, actually both the songs were recorded in a span of a week.”

Oprah off to India with A R Rahman

The long list of honors  including the two Oscars,  a Golden Globe and making it to Time magazine’s  choice of the 100 most influential people in the world, has not changed anything in namma Chennai’s music maestro A.R.Rahman. The down-to-earth musician has plans to build a team of young creative professionals and develop innovative, refreshing scripts that are a far cry from existing stereotypes.

When I was featured along side Obama and Oprah in Time, I casually asked her if she had ever been to India? She said no and asked if I would be willing to bring her here. I replied in the affirmative. If she does make that trip, I would take a week off from work and show her around. I admire and respect Oprah for the woman that she is and for voicing her concerns on various global issues.

I’m not collaborating with any composers in Hollywood. I’m just doing independent films with a few renowned names in Hollywood. Some of them are getting released this Christmas.  I will certainly reveal the names later. And no, it’s not the new James Bond film quotes ARR.

The Golden Boy of India ~ A R Rahman

He’s the man who helped make “Slumdog Millionaire” an international hit, scoring the soundtrack of the Oscar winning film. Despite his performance at the Oscars ceremony and being caught up in all the glitz and adulation, Rahman is a reluctant star.

He’s worked on films since he was a teenager, taking over the role of family breadwinner after his father died and followed in his footsteps as a composer.

While he had stints writing advertising jingles in India, composing for films has been his life’s work so far, yet from his studio in Chennai he admitted to CNN he didn’t want to score films.

“I kept saying next year I’ll quit, next year I’ll quit. And finally because I was sucked into it more and more, now I have the Oscars,” he said. His Oscar performance and acceptance speech was one of the most memorable at this year’s awards.

“I thought if I get it I’ll be quiet, if I don’t get it I’ll be quiet, so I was training my mind not to get over-emotional. So when I first got it I didn’t feel it at all, it was like a rehearsal for me. When I finished my performance then I felt at ease and then I became very philosophical as you know, and I chose love over hate and all this stuff,” he told CNN.

Feted by many in media, his hit “Jai ho” was covered by the Pussy Cat Dolls, but the softly spoken Rahman doesn’t find it hard to remain grounded.

Passage ~ A R Rahman’s next Holly Flick

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.

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”

The 25-minute film “Passage” stars Haley Benett, Lily Cole and Julia Stiles.

Synopsis : Three estranged sisters reunite one night when the oldest, Ella, comes back for her two younger sisters after leaving them years before in mysterious circumstances. Ella’s absence has taken its toll and the two younger sisters now struggle to find their way in the world without her.