AR Rahman in Billboard Hot 100 Singles

As the Pop stars running the show of late it seems that the classical guys will have a tough time ahead. But the master musician – Dr. AR Rahman had other ideas.

Following his double win at the Oscars, the entire Indian music scene has been put on the international map of tunes.

However, the best part is that Rahman has been voted as the first Indian musician to be listed among the top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100 Singles. This recognition comes after the recent release of the Pussycat Dolls version of his Oscar-winning song 'Jai Ho' which quickly moved the single from number 100 to number 15 on the charts, and it shows no signs of slowing down.

Well, with this recent development all one can just say is “Jai Ho”.

A R Rahman escapes death

A R Rahman’s double Oscar is the talk of the movement. But none know that he just escaped death during the rehearsals for his stage performance for the Oscars.

This close encounter with death was revealed by Rahman after he returned to India on Thursday and blurted out the truth innocently. The accident could have proved fatal and could have ended A R Rahman’s Life.

“I really don’t know what happened. Two days before the Oscars we were rehearsing at one of the theatres for the Oscars, when a massive chandelier covering portion of the ceiling crashed to the spot just a split-second after I moved away,” recalls Rahman.

It seems as if god’s blessing has saved Rahman else he would have been history.

Movie Review of Slumdog Millionaire

Slumdog Millionaire – One of the most talked about movie of today is simply an out an out entertainer with the golden touch of reality. It is a story about a teenager Jamal, who has been taught by life answers to just the questions that are hurled at him at the game show. He answers all 14 questions right,” but is been arrested on suspicion of cheating.
In his attempt to explain how he knew all of the answers, Jamal is forced to recall the sometimes painful memories from his childhood. And through a series of flashbacks the secrets of Jamal’s life unfolds, filled with hardships, a tough relationship with his brother Salim and his unwavering love for his childhood friend Latika. Apart from the hardship shown one can also take a note of Slumdog being one of the sweetest love stories with all the thrills possible.
The film is told through a series of flashbacks linking the jailed Jamal in the present with the hardships of his past. While Jamal’s love for Latika remains the center of the story throughout, the film never strays away from giving big helpings of reality and gut-wrentching drama. It is fluffy, somewhat implausible love story in one moment and real world tragedy in the next, keeping its audience engaged at every turn.

The film sees some spellbinding performances. It's not just Dev Patel, who plays the oldest avatar of Jamal, but also the other kids who play the younger versions of Jamal and Salim have done an excellent job. Anil Kapoor is just perfect as the crooked superstar and host of the show. Irrfan Khan radiates excellence too. Freida Pinto and Madhur Mittal – the oldest versions of Latika and Salim respectively, hardly have much screen space. But they are good in the small roles.

Danny Boyle the director has the perfect vision for how to deliver this story unto the screen. He displays an amazing feel for environment as character, Boyle delivers what his fans have come to expect which is throbbing music, jaunty editing, showy cinematography and when necessary, a delicate touch for the intimate moments. Technically, Slumdog Millionaire has got some of the most innovative camera work in recent times. The film's editor too deserves praises. And of course, the music by AR Rahman deserves all the praise that he has garnered.

Overall, it is really hard to find a fault in Slumdog Millionaire. This is definitely Danny Boyle's most competent job till this date. It definitely deserves every Oscar nomination it has bagged and stands to win some too.

Ghajini is a Perfect Blockbuster

Ghajini is an out and out revenge saga But there is a slight twist to the tale. The director has very cleverly tried to mix the revenge story with a soft romance between the two protagonists, Sanjay Singhaniaplayed by Aamir Khan and Kalpana played by Asin.

Sanjay is a very flourishing business tycoon. One day, in order to promote his venture, he decides to display a board on Kalpana's roof top. But Kalpana doesent allow it to be done. But her commercial director overhears the conversation and presumes that Asin has refused Sanjay's love offer. Here comes the romantic touch. He pursuades her to accept the offer and slowly romance blossoms between Kalpana and Sanjay. But all of a sudden Kalpana is muddered. The violent murder of his girlfriend sets off an acute short term memory loss in Sanjay. But he fights with the circumstances. He works around the handicap to reach her murderers is the rest of the story.

Hindi movies have often depicted people suffering from memory loss, but in Ghajini the protagonist recalls events only for 15 minutes. And the manner in which he works to regain his memory has been depicted meticulously and very differently. He keeps writing the time, name and dates of clues about the killers as when he remembers them. He also carries a Polaroid to keep him updated in case he forgets.

Performance wise, this is completely an Aamir Khan movie. He has done a brilliant job as usual. He hardly talks. It's his facial expressions and body language that do all the talking. His leading lady Asin has put up a sterling performance, so has the villain, Pradeep Singh Rawat. Ravi Chandran's cinematography is excellent and AR Rahman's music is top-notch.

The film is three hours long and each scene of the film is so gripping that never once do we feel bored. The story has been told in such a novel way with so many twists and turns that it keeps the audiences on the edge of their seats guessing what up next. Director AR Murugadoss has tried to de-route Ghajini when compared to the Tamil version. The climax is different from the original. He cleverly weaves in the past and the present.

All in all Ghajini is a refreshing change. The film does not have a happy ending as both lovers do not get united in the end. Although this concept has never been approved by the Indian audiences, but Ghajini is sure to change that for the sheer brilliance of the movie. To sum up, Ghajini has everything to turn it a blockbuster hit.

A.R. Rahman Composes Theme Song for Champions League

This has really been a rocking year for all A.R.Rahman fans. The music maestro gave some really different, catchy and foot-tapping music in films like Jodhaa Akbar, Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na and the soon to be released Yuvvraaj. Before the year comes to a close Rahman will also unveil the musical score of Aamir Khan starrer Ghajini.

However it's not only film compositions. A.R.Rahman has also composed the theme song for the Champions League Twenty 20 Cricket tournament. This would be the first time that the music maestro has composed the theme song for any major sports tournament. The theme song doesn't have any lyrics but only chants accompanied by Rahman's foot-tapping composition.

So now all Rahmaniacs, there is one more strong reason to tune into this cricketing extravaganza when it kicks off on Dec 3rd this year.

IIFA honours Rahman with the Best Music Director Award

A.R. Rahman was named the best music director for his score in "Guru" at the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) 2008 awards here Sunday night, while the Shah Rukh Khan starrer "Om Shanti Om" swept a number of technical awards.

Shreya Ghoshal won the honours for the best playback singer (female) for "Barso re" from Mani Ratnam's "Guru", which film also bagged awards for the best background score (Rahman) and best song recording (H. Sridhar).

The best playback singer (male) award was bagged by Shaan for "Jab se tere naina" from "Saawariya".

Veteran Javed Akhtar was named the best lyricist for "Om Shanti Om", which also garnered awards for best special effects (Red Chillies Entertainment), best art direction (Sabu Cyril), best costume design (Manish Malhotra, Karan Johar and Sanjeev Mulchandani) and best makeup.

The award for best screenplay was won jointly by Anurag Basu ("Life in a Metro") and Jaideep Sahni ("Chak De! India").

"Chak De! India" also took home the trophy for best cinematography.

Imtiyaz Ali was named the best dialogue writer for "Jab We Met".