http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Rahmans-sister-in-Chennai-is-elated/articleshow/4175754.cms
CHENNAI: musical genius A.R. Rahman's
sister Reihana couldn't stop thanking God and the prayers of millions of Indians
on Monday for her
brother's double win at the Oscars for his work in much
acclaimed film "Slumdog Millionaire".
"It is God's blessing and all
the accolades to Him (God)," Reihana said as she watched her brother stride
towards the Kodak stage in Los Angeles to receive his second Oscar for Danny
Boyle's rags-to-riches story.
"We are elated. Rahman has won, thanks
to the whole nation's prayers," Reihana, a well-known Tamil music composer and
singer said.
She had not yet called up her brother to congratulate
him, but said she would speak to him soon.
"I don't want to disturb
him in the middle of his glory at the function, right now. When he gets back, we
will express our delirious happiness and much more... We are speechless," said
the ecstatic sister.
Rahman picked up the awards for his best
original score as also the best original song "Jai ho" from the film with lyrics
by Gulzar and Sukhwinder Singh as the lead singer.
Asked if she had
any special gift in mind for her brother, Reihana said: "I haven't planned one
as yet. But I think Rahman should give me a gift since I prayed so hard for him
to win!"
She once again stressed that it was God's blessings that
had made Rahman triumph at the Academy Awards.
"Once he returns,
Rahman and I and the rest of the family will go on thanksgiving pilgrimages to
several dargahs (Muslim shrines) to express our gratitude to God for blessing us
so mercifully and in such magnitude," Reihana said.
"We hope this
means more Hollywood offers for Rahman after this," the proud sister added.
Accolades for the music maestro poured in from his colleagues from
the film industry here.
Tanvi Shah, who sang part of the Oscar
winning number "Jai Ho", jumped with joy and said that Rahman had won the Oscars
for the whole nation.
"I'm just so thankful to God for this. Rahman
deserves every bit of this. This award is for India," said Tanvi, who watched
the entire Oscar ceremony with her family.
"I was crying throughout
the ceremony and praying really hard for him to win. The one person our team is
missing the most is sound engineer H. Sreedhar, the sound engineer who created
the final copy. Sadly, he passed away recently," she added.
Madhumita, who sang "Liquid Dance" and "Millionaire" in the movie,
is also elated.
"Jai Ho Rahman sir! You have done our country proud.
I feel so blessed right now to be a part of 'Slumdog Millionaire' and am on
cloud nine," she said.
