On song, Rahman eyes Middle England
By Rashmee Roshan Lall/TNN
London: A R Rahman has finally launched a long-cherished attempted makeover
from Britain�s
so-called �Mozart of Madras� to �Maestro of Maida Vale�, a prim London locality
synonymous with
Middle England.
On Wednesday, Rahman revealed news of an ambitious �comeback� tour of
Britain, the country
that panned his classical Beethoven-to-Bollywood symphonic concert in
Birmingham last year.
�It�s not about conquering the white world,� Rahman told TOI on Wednesday,
with some
caution as he revealed he would bravely take to the Western stage in July with
dreams of
becoming India�s first real cross-over musical composer to the West.
But he said: �It would be nice if we could have a cross-over concert with
white audiences
mixed in with Asians.�
�It�s not about the money either, or not wholly so,� declared Rahman, as he
explained why
he was daring to take to a Western stage once again for the first time since
Bombay Dreams
suffered a nightmarish reception on Broadway. Rahman is clear that he wants no
part of the
grosser geo-politics of globalisation. The USA�s hostile reception to his
London musical
Bombay Dreams, he says, was because �the Americans thought Indians were taking
their jobs and
were now were taking over Broadway.�
Music, he insists, has no country, colour or preferred language. He is equally
adamant that
Britain is the ideal launch pad for his quest to wow white and Asian audiences.
His last such
unsuccessful foray was in Los Angeles five years ago. �The crossover element
was just 5-6% of
the audience,� he says. �I hope it�ll be more, here, at this point.�
So does everybody with an enlightened appreciation of Rahman. Not least,
music industry
commentators who have long identified Rahman as the best Indian spice export to
British fare
since chilli powder free of carcinogenic Sudan Red arrived on these shores.
But at least some are unsure if Middle England will understand � or even
hear � Rahman�s
Tamil-accented English.
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