That what was a great posting , Gopal and Rawat. Its good to see ARR
striving to search for new directions in his musical *journey*. The
*milestones* that have crossed him so far, have only rejuvenated our
beloved ARR Sir!!
(A great rapport with MR is well expressed too..)
--- In [email protected], Gopal Srinivasan <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
wrote:
>
> You shouldn't dream of the impossible
> So A R Rahman believes
>
> A R Rahman has a flight to catch to London. But before that he has
hazaar interviews to go
> through, innumerable phone calls to
>
> attend to and a long line of people to meet. I watch as the
tousle-haired composer copes
> patiently with it all, wait for my chance
>
> and finally manage to pin him down for a quick one-on-one.
>
> Q: So Bombay Dreams will finally come to India late this year. Is
this something you've been
> asking for?
> A: Yes. We urged the producer to stage it here since the play is
about India and they now plan
> to take the show several Asian
>
> countries as well. So we will reach out to a far bigger audience.
You want the world to listen
> to your music but you think, they
>
> already have great music, they may not be interested in listening to
yours. But I was lucky
> that God howed me the way with
>
> Bombay Dreams. And that they accepted my music.
>
> Q: What other international projects are coming up in 2005 for you?
> A: I'm currently composing music with the Finnish folk group
Varttina for JRR Tolkien's theatre
> production of Lord of the Rings: The
>
> Musical. We've just completed the basic tunes that make up 40 per
cent of the music. So,
> there's loads left to do. It's been a very
>
> refreshing experience, totally different from anything I've done
earlier. The production will
> debut on London's West End this year.
>
> And I'm working on my symphony.
>
> Q: You've done a Chinese film, Tian Di Xiong (Warriors of Heaven and
Earth), directed by He
> Peng. How difficult was it working in
>
> an alien language?
> (smiles) You know something? I love watching Chinese films. After
you've done quite a few films
> in regional languages and Hindi
>
> too, you want to broaden your horizons. Please don't misunderstood
me, I'm not saying I've
> achieved all there is to here. I just look
>
> on this as taking a step in one more direction, exchanging ideas
with new people. The only
> difficulty was learning the language,
>
> but the translator who made me understand the soul of the language
solved that problem.
>
> As for the music, they are out neighbours and there isn't much of a
difference between their
> music and ours. Most ofthen they use
>
> Raag Pahari, which is known as Raag Mohanam in Carnatic music. The
instruments they use are
> different of course, and I learnt to
>
> play them, so that helped.
>
> Q: Closer home, Swades had great music but the film itself didn't
fare too well at the box
> office. What do you think went wrong?
> A: There are two kinds of people: those who are focused on
commercial success (nothing wrong in
> wanting to make money) and
>
> those who want to make a statement and enjoy commercial success too.
Ashutosh belongs to the
> second category. I admit Swades
>
> was a bit slow but its heart was in the right place.
>
> To give another example, Mani Ratnam's films always have a moral. He
doesn't care about their
> box office fate. But he's also clear
>
> that he doesn't want to limit himself to an audience that watches
only offbeat films. He wants
> his films to be seen by everyone.
>
> That's why he insists on great music, great picturisation and
creates excitement about his
> movie.
>
> Q: Did you like the film?
> A: Many people liked the film. I liked the script; that's why I
scored the music for it.
>
> Q: Why did you score only two songs for Kisna
> A: After I had recorded four songs for Subhash Ghai's Motherland, he
changed his mind and
> decided to make an entirely different
>
> film. At that time I was busy with Bombay Dreams, Lord of the Rings:
The Musical and so many
> other projects. So, I told Mr. Ghai
>
> that I wouldn't be able to concentrate on his new film right away.
But I didn't want to let go
> of the project either. So, I offered to
>
> score two songs for it.
>
> Q: People keep complaining that the quality of Hindi film music is
deteriorating. What do you
> think?
> A: I don't think it's going down. The music of Devdas, the songs and
their picturisatiion
> infused vitality into the product. In Lagaan,
>
> too, there were little gems here and there.
>
> If a producer wants to make a successful film today, he needs to
have a very strong idea to
> work on as well as the conviction and
>
> the team to pull the product through. Else he has go for soft porn.
And that's exactly what's
> happening today.
>
> Q: Speaking of Devdas, Sanjay Leela Bhansali and you were supposed
to work together. What
> happened?
> A: I respect Sanjay Leela Bhansali for the incredible work he has
done. We were supposed to
> work together on Bajirao Mastani and
>
> I was about to let go of Lord of the Rings for Bajirao.... when he
suddenly announced my name
> as music director for Black. I asked
>
> him, "What's going on? This isn't the film I was supposed to do and
it has not songs!" He
> explained that there was a slight change
>
> as he wasn't ready for Bajirao Mastani. I promptly sent a fax to the
producers of Lord of the
> Rings to say I was on.
>
> Q: You are the only Indian film music director to have tasted
success outside India. Are you
> satisfied with what you've achieved
>
> abroad or do you hunger for more?
> A: I still yearn for different kinds of work. But I think everything
should come to you
> naturally. You shouldn't dream of the
>
> iimpossible; if it doesn't happen that leads to frustration. If God
wants the impossible to
> happen, it will. So I don't keep thinking
>
> about it, I wait for opportunity to knock on my door and make full
use of it. And I do work
> very hard.
>
> Get Firefox!
>
>
> __________________________________________________
> Do You Yahoo!?
> Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
> http://mail.yahoo.com
------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~-->
Has someone you know been affected by illness or disease?
Network for Good is THE place to support health awareness efforts!
http://us.click.yahoo.com/pKxVKC/UOnJAA/n1hLAA/iyUplB/TM
--------------------------------------------------------------------~->
Explore, Experience, Enjoy A.R.Rahman - The Man, The Music, The Magic.
Only at arrahmanfans - The definitive A.R.Rahman e-community.
Homepage: http://www.arrahmanfans.com
To Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Yahoo! Groups Links
<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/arrahmanfans/
<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
