Well written article!
--- In [email protected], Gopal Srinivasan <catchg...@...> wrote: > > http://www.desipundit.com/baradwajrangan/2009/01/17/the-chosen-one/ > > THE CHOSEN ONE > > It wasn't mere lip service that AR Rahman was paying to the almighty after winning the Golden > Globe. It was a heartfelt acknowledgement of a guiding force that's shaped his miraculous > career. > > JAN 18, 2009 - "UNBELIEVABLE," HE SAID, AFTER HIS NAME WAS ANNOUNCED, after he sprinted onto > the stage and fished around in his pocket for the piece of paper containing his acceptance > speech. That was the exact word in my mind. Unbelievable! We knew our cinema was going around > the globe, but who would have dreamt that one of its shining ambassadors would go to the Golden > Globes. AR Rahman's subsequent words, too, appeared to have been lifted from my head. "I > thought I won't win, so anyways " he declared, to much laughter from the audience, and I knew > what he meant for even if he deserved to win, would voting vagaries and political > considerations take their toll on a relatively unknown musician from a land far, far away from > Hollywood? > > Thankfully they didn't and it was one of those moments we're going to play in our minds over > and over. Thank you Rahman, for winning, for putting a face to the great tradition of Indian > film music. Thank you Rahman, for acknowledging, on that resplendent platform in Beverly Hills, > all your musicians in Chennai and Mumbai, those nameless faces that untiringly translate the > ideas in a composer's head into concrete musical form. Thank you, Rahman, for that shout out to > the billion people from India, for raising a toast to the brown face amidst that sea of white. > "Thanks for all your prayers," he concluded, with characteristic humility, as if it were simply > our outpourings of faith that propelled him to his win, and not his dazzling talents. > > But the most touching aspect of Rahman's acceptance speech was surely when he acknowledged, > "Thanks to the almighty God for bringing me here." On one level, this is entirely expected, for > Rahman's faith in the divine is no secret. But even otherwise, this invocation of God (or > destiny or providence or fate or however you wish to name the mysterious forces that shape our > lives) is entirely appropriate for Rahman has been fortune's favoured child in ways that no > Indian film music composer before him has been. A look at his miraculous career appears to > indicate that it may not be simple coincidence that he has always been guided to the right > place, and always at the right time. > > When Mani Ratnam, the most visible and influential face of Tamil cinema, was shopping for a new > music director, Rahman found himself there. Roja was a spectacular musical success, not only in > Tamil but also Hindi. The fresh strains of music that emanated from Rahman were, it seemed, > just what a jaded nation wanted even if it appeared, for a while, that dubbed versions of his > Tamil hits were all that would sneak through to the north of the Vindhyas. And then Rahman > found himself the chosen one again, when Ram Gopal Varma made Rangeela, and he got himself a > smash of a Hindi soundtrack and beginning then, no composer before Rahman has bridged the > tastes and the terrains of the North and the South so spectacularly. > > And the reach of Rahman's sound just kept expanding first from South to North, and then from > India to the world. When Dil Se became the first Indian film to break into the UK Top Ten, at > the box office, Rahman found himself, again, at the right place, at the right time. On the > strength of Chhaiya chhaiya, Andrew Lloyd Webber beckoned, the London's West End beckoned. And > thus, with his global sound, Rahman became the global face of Indian film music, the way > Aishwarya Rai is the global face of Indian cinema the one name that springs to the lips of > people outside the country when they refer to the curiously fascinating world of Bollywood. > > But more than anything else, Rahman has been extraordinarily blessed to arrive as a musician at > a time the world has shrunk beyond recognition. The great composers before him were, at best, > cherished and celebrated within their states or perhaps, if they worked in the Hindi film > industry, within the country. But today, thanks to the Internet and a gaggle of news channels > traversing the breadth of the nation in search of stories can you imagine a Tamil masala > movie named Sivaji, starring a Tamil hero named Rajinikanth, becoming a nationwide sensation > even ten years ago? the world is clued into what is happening at our doorstep, and when we > raised a toast to Rahman, it's was always only a matter of time before the world did too. > > And Rahman continues to be at the right place (Bollywood) at the right time (the present day). > He still dignifies the odd project in Tamil or Telugu, but a significant portion of his > energies are channelled towards gilding the visions of Bollywood filmmakers who are ambitious, > who understand the value Rahman brings to their films, and who do not mind giving him the space > and the time and the collaborative creative inputs to bring out the best in him. Where a > composer from an earlier era may have burned out because of having to conjure up, for the > millionth time, a generic love song or a generic estrangement number, these directors today > have kept Rahman's creative fires burning. > > To say that Rahman is extraordinary is to state the obvious, but his circumstances have been > almost as extraordinary. The talented composers before him couldn't have even imagined scaling > the heights that he has today, and that's surely why Rahman chose to thank God at the podium. > The fates have shaped the story of AR Rahman into one that rivals the fictional happenings of > Slumdog Millionaire a young lad is picked out of utter obscurity to become the beacon of > inspiration for millions. At the beginning of the film, a title card questions the titular > underdog's unprecedented success: "How did he do it? A) He cheated. B) He's lucky. C) He's a > genius. D) It is written." At least in Rahman's case, the latter appears to be the answer. > > Copyright ©2008 The New Sunday Express. This article may not be reproduced in its entirety > without permission. A link to this URL, instead, would be appreciated. >
