that was a gr8 article...hats off Anand. and thanks vithur for sharing.. On Thu, Jan 15, 2009 at 10:30 AM, Vithur <[email protected]> wrote:
> > > AR Rahman is a genius no doubt, but > > iView Author: *Anand* (Chennai, India) > Email: withheld > > *AR Rahman is a genius no doubt, but* > > ————————————————————— > AR Rahman has won his first golden globe and all of us are shouting from > the rooftop that he has done us proud. > <http://passionforcinema.com/about/#iview> > > Yes indeed, but let me play the devil's advocate and ask you the question, > how many of us have actually listened to the soundtrack of SM? (I am not > talking about NRIs here). Many of us who have not listened to the soundtrack > are now predicting that he would even get an Oscar! > > My opinion: AR Rahman is a genius and he does not need a Golden Globe to > prove that. I have not listened to SM so far, so I cannot form an opinion > for sure if he deserved it. What I can surely say is that he deserved the > biggest of awards for his score in Roja, Thiruda Thiruda, Kannathil > Muthamittal, Dil Se, Alaipayudhe, Rang De Basanti, Minsara Kanavu, > Kandukonden Kandukonden, Lagaan, Swades, Bombay Dreams, 1947 Earth..the list > is huge. Does a Golden globe change our perception of him? We do not need a > golden globe to recognize his talent. But I notice that many of us (by us, I > mean Indians) do not comprehend the magnitude of talent that is available > with us. All of us went ga-ga when Elizabeth was nominated for 7 Oscars. Did > we even think about what a talent Shekar Kapur was/is, before Elizabeth? I > remember only bad things said about Shekar before Elizabeth. After > Elizabeth, he has not won any award..does that make him a lesser filmmaker? > In my opinion, his 'Four feathers' and 'Golden Age' were equally good films. > And so were Mr. India and Masoom. > > It is unfortunate that many of us badmouth our geniuses and need West to > recognize their contribution. I have several examples. Take any blog about > Kamal Hassan, there are at least a few comments which criticize him…that he > hams, that he wants to project only himself etc. A performace like > Mahanadhi, Guna, Hey Ram and Virumandi anyday can be compared to the best in > the West(or East). Yet we ridicule him saying that his ambition is to win an > Oscar. > > > > Ilayaraja..After Subramaniabharathi, this is one artiste who has never been > given his due(by the State, by the society at large). We are doing a big > mistake by not appreciating the kind of talent that Raja is. There are many > die hard fans of Raja and I am sure they would object to my opinion, but can > you justify not giving a Padmashree to a talent like this man, who has > contributed for the last three decades? > > AR Rahman himself - Do you know that ARR was ridiculed for his background > music when he initially entered films? Just watch Roja now and you will > understand how his music enhances the film. Dil Se, 1947 Earth, Golden Age - > a number of films where the BGM has been exceptional. > > K. Viswanath - The contribution of this genius to Telugu Cinema has never > been appreciated by the 'Neo Pan Indian' media and therefore his genius has > never come to limelight outside AP, and to some extent, Tamilnadu. At a time > when films all over India were nothing but Masala potboilers, he thought of > Sankarabaranam, a carnatic musical. He had the comprehension to rope in KVM > for music and the master stroke was to rope in SPBalu for rendition of > songs. Sagara Sangamam, Swathi Muthyam - such gems…! > > I am not much aware of Malayalam films, but in whatever I have seen, > Mohanlal and Mamooty are no lesser than any talent that is ruling the world > today. > > > > And to top it all, Bachchan's over the top performance in Agneepath. After > he won the National Award for it, so many people criticised him. Yet today > we are praising Slumdog and from whatever I have seen bits and peices of it, > it just looks like a 'Classic over the top' Indian masala film. > > Does it mean that the Golden Globe is not important..Let us put this in > perspective. The GG is important. In two aspects. Any recognition is > inspiration for an artist and therefore as a recognition it is important. > Also, a GG or an Oscar enhances the business potential of a film. It > enhances visibility for the GG/Oscar winner's other works. Once an Indian > gets a Golden globe or an Oscar, it opens a lot of business avenues for > Indian filmmakers across the globe. Mind you, these are two important > benefits that we get from a GG or an Oscar and I am not undermining that. > Today the news is out that Taare Zameen Par is out of the Oscar race. It is > not in the top 9 shortlisted films by the academy. With due respects to the > academy and to the shortlisted other 9 films, Academywaalon, we respect your > decision, but I personally think that most of your members have either not > watched our film or have not comprehended it completely. > > > > Let us not wait for GGs and Oscars to appreciate huge talents that we have > amidst us. I am happy for Rahman, the kind of genius that he is, this is > only another beginning for him. But make no mistake, GG or no GG, Oscar or > no Oscar, he is one of the best of all times! And so are our own Kamal, > Raja, Mani, Mammooka, Lal sir, K Viswanath, Naseer saab and many others. > Oscar and GG - Yeah, you are welcome, it enhances our business potential, it > gives us a good feeling, but thanks - we have people who have given better > performances than some of the GG and Oscar winning performances. > http://passionforcinema.com/ar-rahman-is-a-genius-no-doubt-but/ > > -- > regards, > Vithur > > > > >
