The pics are really cool...
Thanks a lot arvind..thanks for everything..You Rock da...
Aravind AM <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
Hi all,,
In today,s TOI there's a full page article with some superb photos of ARR. The
article is also available in e-paper format...
I've also attached a pdf of the article...
(to view the photos visit TOI e-paper site, or download the pdf here:
http://www.mediafire.com/?bvnz44z1poj
It's also attached with the mail.
Change is about moving forward On April 20, A R Rahman will perform at The
Times of India Chennai Changing Notes Concert. As he shot a promo video for the
concert, the mellifluous maestro told us why he loves Chennai, and what changes
hed like to see Shalini Umachandran | TNN
AndrewLloyd Webber, among others, likes to call him the Mozart of Madras.
But A R Rahman defies definition. The prodigy who studied western classical at
Trinity College of Music went on to redefine Bollywood scores. Having brought
world sound to Indian cinema, he also put his version of contemporary Indian
music which blends techno, rap, latino, disco, reggae and ragas into a
sumptuous potpourri on the world map. He made Broadway swing to Bollywood
Dreams, and composed stirring anthems for the stage version of The Lord of the
Rings.
Through it all, Rahman has constantly reinvented himself. But then, so has
the city which will always be home to him. Simultaneously centre of culture and
commerce, traditional and cosmopolitan, Chennai blends the old and new with the
same effortlessness as Rahman. Maybe the controlled chaos of Chennai's constant
flux has seeped into Rahmans soul, and is reflected in his dazzling ouvre
always fresh, never predictable.
Like Chennai and its famous child, The Times of India too has always
celebrated change. Like them, we too believe in staying in tune with changing
times. That's why it made perfect sense for The Times of India to launch an
edition in Chennai. And why Rahman is the perfect person to help us celebrate
the city and our launch, with The Times of India Chennai Changing Notes concert
on April 20. To be held at St Georges school grounds, the concert (co-sponsors
SAE, TVS Flame, United India Insurance, Olympia) is already creating a buzz,
with TOI readers lining up to get passes for what promises to be a
standing-room only blockbuster.
Rahman has already composed music for a special Times of India promo, which
hell perform at the concert. A tip-off: therell be many distinctively Chennai
sounds in it, including waves breaking on the beach, an auto driver tooting a
horn, a pujari with sunglasses revving up his bike, a boy beating out a tattoo
on a kodam, a streetside vendor making egg parathas.
But that will be then. Right now, were waiting to interview Rahman as he
shoots a video to promote the concert. Technicians drape a bright green
monochrome cloth on a wall and set up lights, while a harried director calls
out directions. A red and orange towel with a dolphin covers the camera, four
electricians struggle to get the air-conditioning working, and assorted
assistants drift around chatting on phones. Cans of film, umbrellas, a rack
full of mens clothing and, bizarrely, a shower head lie scattered around the
room. Apart from the view of a surprisingly green Chennai from the
floor-to-ceiling glass windows on one side, theres nothing to distract from
the fact that were all in an immense, stuffy, grey space on the top floor of
the Acropolis building on Radhakrishnan Salai.
An hour later, the director decides to move the non-action upstairs to
the terrace of a 12-storey building at 3 in the afternoon. He gets his
assistants to remove all the railings, set up a round trolley that looks like a
giants toy railway track and re-assemble the camera this time without the
dolphin towel.
Back downstairs, the producer gets a phone call. Hes crossing Gemini,
she shouts. The make-up man whos been doing a good imitation of a meditating
Buddha comes to life and shakes his assistant awake. They drag chairs across
the floor to create a make-up table. The light boys do a quick check. The
air-conditioner booms to life, as if its been waiting for Indias most famous
contemporary musician too.
Rahman walks in wearing a blue kurta over jeans, looking surprisingly
schoolboylike, and greets the director with a cheery, I tried calling you, ya,
to tell you I was late but you were out of range.
Hes taken to see the clothing rack; he prefers the sherwani to the suit,
the blue scarf to the red. The make-up man goes to work with his brushes,
sponges, combs and clippers and once hes done, clicks a photograph on his
mobile phone and passes it across to Rahman for his opinion. What do you
think, better without gel, no? Rahman asks the director. You decide, is the
answer. A yellowand-white striped towel is whipped out and Rahman willingly
submits to having his head toweled vigorously. Then its time for him to slip
into the sherwani and head upstairs for the round trolley shot.
Rahmans keyboard has been set up in the centre of the circle created by
the trolley. While the cameraman makes some final adjustments and a couple of
boys pleat his blue scarf, Rahman walks around the terrace shaded by one of
the umbrellas and takes in the view of Chennai. Cloudless blue sky above,
shimmering sea in the distance, buildings, trees and roads below.
Id like to see this city greener, he muses. Id like to see more
artists, more space for artists, actually. I'd like to see less cluttered
traffic. Id love to see an underground. Id like to see preservation of the
old, while we move ahead with the new. Change is good, change is about moving
forward, I'm always receptive to change. Shooting starts and were told to
stay behind the camera. As the trolley picks up speed and circles Rahman at the
keyboard, we find ourselves running to stay out of sight. The director sends us
all downstairs to wait with a disgusted, If you cant run fast enough to stay
behind the camera, you cant watch. Once the trolley shots are done, were
allowed to troop back upstairs to watch Rahman being shot against the distant
sea, with buildings in the background, silhouetted against the setting sun.
Hes made to let his scarf fly out behind him, like Batman, he jokes with the
crew. You should have got my son to shoot this. Then he
looks out to sea, savouring his city.
Food, family, roots
these are just some of the things that make this city
home. And then there are the important, intangible factors certain things
that cannot be explained, he sighs.
Bombay Dreams, The Lord of the Rings
and other projects required him to spend twothirds of his year in London a few
years ago, not his idea of fun. I missed Chennai. London is a wonderful city,
but its not Chennai, not home. We have much to preserve and much to look
forward to thats something we need to remember while we change. We also have
to be the change, says the man who missed listening to a symphony orchestra
and so decided to do something about it and start my own orchestra. Time for
the next shot. Rainmaking with Rahman. The shower head is fitted to a hose
connected to a tap and passed up to a technician on a stool holding a sieve.
Rahman puts his hand out gingerly,another technician at the tap turns it on. A
few minutes of getting his hands wet and were done for the day. The yellow and
white towel appears again and Rahman dries his hand.
As his make-up is removed, he says, Id love to see an underground, a
symphony hall, big productions of musicals like The Lion King who knows, it
may happen sooner than you think
Oh! and Id love to see snow in Chennai.
Cheers
Aravind
http://arrahmaniac.blogspot.com
