It was a rare occasion on Sunday as musicians from across Kollywood gathered to felicitate music director A R Rahman for having won the Oscars,
TOP HONOURS: Musicians wishing Oscar winner A R Rahman the Bafta and the Golden Globe. It was a sight to behold as almost all the legendary music composers gathered on stage at the Cine Musicians Union auditorium to praise the man of the moment, even as a packed auditorium cheered lustily almost everytime his name was mentioned. The first to bless the young achiever was veteran Carnatic singer and music director Balamuralikrishna. “I shouldn’t praise him too much, as a father should praise his son only in his heart,” he said. He was followed by Producer AVM Saravanan, who showered praises on Rahman. However, Saravanan also made use of the opportunity to point out that the Indian government hadn’t honoured veteran musicians like M S Viswanathan, who had been contributing to Kollywood for the last 70 years, and lyricist Vaali, who had been penning lyrics for the last 50 years. “I don’t know why they haven’t been honoured. I believe there is a committee to look into it. I’d like to use this opportunity to draw the attention of those concerned to this issue,” he said. Maestro Ilayaraja, who spoke on the occasion, said, “Even if they place a golden crown on Rahman’s head (and he deserves it too) in a function, it would still not match this evening.” “Not all buds bloom and not all those that bloom become fruits. Similarly, not all the movies go to the Oscars and not all that go get selected. Only a select few get selected. This does not mean that those that have not been selected are inferior,” he said. “Awards have no value without composers. But for the first time, a person from here has gone to the west and commanded the honour. We need to honour that,” he said, to loud cheers. The veteran music director also gifted a gold chain on the occasion to A R Rahman. But the best description of the function came from veteran singer S Janaki, who said, “Today, music has felicitated Rahman.” In his acceptance speech, Rahman started off with his famous phrase — Ella Pughazhum Irraivanukke. Rahman said that his parents had sown the seeds and that he had only reaped the harvest. “It’s the aspiration of all the musicians... I think God selected me to collect the award on their behalf,” he added. Others who spoke on the occasion included director K Balachandar, music directors M S Viswananthan, Harris Jayaraj, Vidyasagar, Yuvan Shankar Raja, Bharadwaj and Shankar Ganesh. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Bollywood/When-music-felicitated-Rahman/articleshow/4212439.cms
