WRITTEN BY WELL KNOWN NEW YORK COLUMNIST ASEEM CHHABRA Last week, A R Rahman was at a party in Los Angeles where he met three A-list Hollywood film composers - Danny Elfman, Hans Zimmer and Howard Shore.
"It was a great honour," Rahman later said from Los Angeles, adding that it was Subhash Ghai who had predicted that one day he would compose music for a Hollywood film. It is ironic that even though Rahman is among the top 25 selling artists in the world, he has yet to gain notoriety in Hollywood. His work has featured in international projects - from Bombay Dreams to The Lord of Rings and his music has appeared in a couple of Hollywood films - Inside Man and Lord of War, but he is still not known in North America. All of that is going to change with Rahman's stunning, buoyant soundtrack of Danny Boyle's Slumdog Millionaire, which is already winning accolades and awards from critics. MTV's Kurt Loder wrote the following about the Slumdog Millionaire's music: "The propulsive score, by Bollywood soundtrack auteur A R Rahman, is hip-hop fusion of a very up-to-date kind." Slumdog Millionaire has earned four Golden Globe nominations - including one for Rahman's soundtrack. He also has been nominated by critics from Los Angeles, for the score and for the upbeat song Jai Ho, featuring Sukhwinder Singh and others. The National Board of Review and critics in Washington DC have also recognised Slumdog Millionaire in their annual awards. And now there is an Oscar buzz for the film, Boyle and also Rahman. Just last week, I saw Boyle at a party for Slumdog Millionaire. "It will be nice if India wins an Oscar," he said to me, referring to Rahman's potential to win the golden statue. "Let's hope" Rahman later said, laughing, sounding embarrassed. Given the recent attacks on Mumbai, Slumdog Millionaire, is a perfect film to see, he said, adding, "Danny is almost like an ambassador for India." Rahman was thrilled about the opportunity to work on the project. "I am rediscovering myself doing this kind of film, and when you work with a new director, there are new challenges, new expectations." And he seemed delighted because the Slumdog Millionaire's soundtrack could pave the way for people to discover more of his music. "If they love a piece of work, then they want to follow the composer," he said about American critics and audience. "This could be the biggest bridge, connecting them to all my work." Boyle knew Rahman's music from films such as Taal and Rang De Basanti. "That was a good starting point," Rahman said. "After I started the work, I got a lot of feedback from him and then it became something else. I was surprised to hear the whole soundtrack in the end which is quite different from what I have ever done." "It's younger, it's more today and contemporary and it's completely taking risks," he said about the soundtrack which includes the song Ringa, Ringa Rahman's homage to Choli Ke Peeche, featuring the voices of Alka Yagnik and Ila Arun. "It's very edgy, hard kind of music and it will make you sit up. Especially the composition Mausam & Escape and the song O Saya (Rahman sings with MIA). If you are driving, it will definitely make you drive faster." In Bollywood films Rahman often gets 150 to 200 music cues. Jodha Akbar, for instance had music in every scene, he said. But Boyle highlighted sections of the film which required Rahman's music. "So I could put all my energy into that, rather than spreading my energy," he said, adding that the entire soundtrack was produced in mere three weeks. Earlier, in another interview, Boyle told me that he was impressed by the role of music in Bollywood films. "I particularly like the way the music is mixed in Bollywood films," he said. "It is right in front. In the west we try to hide it." "Danny took inspiration from Indian films," Rahman said. "The music plays a kind of character. When somebody gets angry, we hear thadain (he made the loud sound). In this he wanted the level of the music to be very high."
