there not much Indian population in vancouver ??? 4 very few reports v
had...... why ???
Anil Nair <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/article/221954
interesting ...the note about the Japanese fans !!!!
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WORLD MUSIC
TheStar.com - entertainment -
India's Elvis set to rock ACC
WHO: A.R. Rahman's 3rd Dimension Tour
WHERE: Air Canada Centre
WHEN: Sunday, 7:30 p.m.
TICKETS: $30-$150 @
ticketmaster.ca
Arguably the bestselling recording artist in history, A.R. Rahman
makes a long-awaited stop in Toronto
Jun 07, 2007 04:30 AM
Prithi Yelaja
Toronto Star
A.R. Rahman's loyal contingent of ethnic Japanese fans live in hope
that he will one day give a concert in their country.
The groupies follow him everywhere. A dozen of them, waving placards
besieging "Please come to Japan," were camped outside hotels where he
was staying in San Francisco and Vancouver.
They will doubtless be in Toronto when Rahman lands, along with a
troupe of 70 singers and dancers, for a nearly sold-out concert at
the Air Canada Centre on Sunday.
His huge fan base is a testament to his status, by some estimates, as
the bestselling recording artist in history. With more than 200
million album sales, he's arguably bigger than Elvis or the Beatles.
But in his characteristically humble way, Rahman, who has a degree in
Western classical music from Oxford University, explains it this way
over the phone from Vancouver: "I'm not a pop artist. Most of my
albums are film soundtracks and when the movies become a big hit, so
do my songs.
"It used to be before all the downloading started, you could easily
sell 20 to 30 million albums in India. I've had about 10 films that
went on to become big cult hits, so it's a calculation of that," says
the soft-spoken Rahman, 41, adding with a chuckle, "We don't get paid
royalties like (in) the U.S. If that were the case, I would be a very
rich man."
Further boosting his popularity was the fact that Rahman's films
previously were dubbed in three languages: Hindi, Tamil and Telugu.
Miami University in Ohio offers a course on his music and last year
150 students there put on a show with Rahman as the chief guest.
To say that his concert here is long-awaited, is an understatement.
It was supposed to happen two years ago as part of a world tour that
included London, Australia, Singapore and Hong Kong.
The North American leg was postponed due to scheduling conflicts with
other projects, namely the theatrical production of Lord of the
Rings, for which Rahman wrote the musical score in 2006.
Indeed, Rahman has often collaborated on crossover projects he
composed the music for the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical Bombay Dreams,
as well for Deepa Mehta's movie trilogy: Earth, Fire and Water. His
more recent Bollywood work includes Rang De Basanti and Guru, which
had its worldwide premiere here earlier this year.
With more than 75 film scores to his credit, Rahman confesses he is
on a mission with his music.
"In these hard times music is really an uplifting shrine where all
communities can come together. There's so much turmoil happening in
life whether it's religious, political or racial. Music is all about
love. It's a unifying force," says the Chennai-based Rahman, who is
married with three children.
"Even in India and Pakistan, when Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan was there,
most of the Indians were listening to him and Pakistanis were
listening to Lata Mangeshkar."
Bollywood could not come up with a better storyline than Rahman's
true life. Born A.S. Dileep Kumar to a Hindu family in Chennai,
India, his father died when he was nine. The family ran a small firm
renting out musical instruments. In 1988, after his sister was
miraculously cured of a mysterious illness by a Sufi saint, he
converted to Islam and changed his name to Allah Rakha Rahman. A
devout Muslim who prays five times a day, Rahman says he has never
faced a backlash because of his conversion.
"In life, the journey is what's interesting. Everyone has their
struggles. Each person gets led into a path. We had some trouble and
we got redemption through this path. Religion is a personal thing and
I think people respect that."
Rahman was doing jingles for television commercials in 1992 when
director Mani Ratnam tapped him to do the score for the movie Roja,
which became a massive hit.
Aside from performing his film songs, he has a few surprises in store
for fans on Sunday.
"Each concert is slightly different. I go by instinct. Nowadays when
you do a concert it's all over the Net ... but you need to keep some
mystery to keep the excitement going."
Laughingly, he adds, one thing he definitely won't be doing is
dancing.
"I don't dance. You wouldn't want to see me dance. The fans would all
ask for their money back."
-A
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