'Being modern doesn't mean forgetting India'
18 Feb 2009, 0000 hrs IST
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Text:
Roja hooked A R Rahman to Hariharan. From `Chanda re chanda' to `Tuhi re'
and `Jana gana mana', the bonding has matured. Still, the Tamil
singer<http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Interviews/Being_modern_doesnt_mean_forgetting_India/articleshow/4145160.cms#>
who
signed in with Urdu ghazals, scored with Bollywood songs and ruled MTV with
the English fusion album, `Colonial Cousins', returns to Rajasthani Maand
and Sufi songs. Ratnottama Sengupta spoke to the versatile singer about his
quest for the soul of India:
What about A R Rahman makes him the toast of global music?
He's always been good. I'm lucky to have been his favourite voice. He became
an international figure with Andrew Lloyd Webber's
Bollywood<http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Interviews/Being_modern_doesnt_mean_forgetting_India/articleshow/4145160.cms#>Dreams,
and today he is being feted for Slumdog Millionaire. It is because
our kind of sound is new to western ears. Presented in a well-made film
that's also well projected, it has caught the fancy of BAFTA, Golden Globe
and others.
Rahman's USP is his aesthetics. He has an amazing soul in his compositions.
Seedha aadmi hai (he's a straightforward person), and his
music<http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Interviews/Being_modern_doesnt_mean_forgetting_India/articleshow/4145160.cms#>reflects
that. His melody is beautiful, and he gives it a larger perspective
with his orchestration.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Interviews/Being_modern_doesnt_mean_forgetting_India/articleshow/4145160.cms
--
regards,
Vithur
