On 10/13/2009 10:47 PM India Time, _Madhavan Rajan_ wrote: > And why did Rahman accept this film as his first post-Oscars project? > > May be just for the heck of it!
yes, for "just the heck of it" he accepted it and I still feel that ARR did a right thing by doing this movie irrespective of its outcome. ARR's second film didn't do well and we are predicting doom. What is this buddy? There is a term called "calculated risks". If Manirathnam had not taken the calculated risk by giving ARR a chance, then we all might not be here talking about him and loving him and his music. ARR needs to give more and more exposure to international audience so that the name, ARR, gets etched in the minds of all the inhabitants of the Earth. It boils down to adverstising really, when a phrase gets repeated and repeated and repeated till the brain gets to remember it. There is nothing wrong in it. It is the way the brain works. So, I think ARR should keep on accepting most of the international projects that are offered to him. He will give great music in them all, and even if the movie doesn't do well on box office, or even if it is not well made, ARR's music will be liked and remembered. That is how his reputation will get built as a trustworthy/ consistent MD. And the other logic is, if a James Cameroon or a Spielberg movie having ARR music does well, or if a James Bond or super/spider/bat-man movie having music by ARR does well on box office, even then ARR will not get the full credit because people will think that the director or series or production house made the movie hit - and they are right about it really. So, ARR working with newbies is going to help ARR a lot even if a few of such movies become hit on the strength of ARR music Wait and watch. -- Rawat > > On Sun, Oct 11, 2009 at 3:55 PM, mohammed sajin <[email protected] > <mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: > > � > > Rahman under-used in flop film > > Early this year, A R Rahman was discovered by Hollywood and America. > He may have worked in the Indian film industry for nearly two > decades, composing some of the most memorable songs of our time. But > it took one film - Danny Boyle�s Slumdog Millionaire for him to gain > fame in the West. > > Now, after a couple of Oscars, a Golden Globe, television > appearances and several articles, Rahman has bagged his first > post-Slumdog project. Rahman has composed the soundtrack for a new > film Couples Retreat, written by Vince Vaughn and Jon Favreau, the > writing-acting team that brought us hit films like Swingers, Iron > Man, The Break Up and Wedding Crasher. Unfortunately, Couples > Retreat � the story of four couples on a peculiar, new age-like > retreat, trying to straighten out issues in their marriages � is a > dull, unimpressive film. The dialogues are boring and it is mostly > not funny. > > A still from Couples Retreat. A R Rahman has composed > soundtrack for the movie > > > That is too bad because with a cast that it has, Couples Retreat > could have been a fun film for the fall season, just before the > studios start to burden us with a deluge of the Oscar potential > movies. Sometimes even films with a lot of promise do not work out. > We can search for answers, but there is no sense in it. The film > should do well in its opening weekend, the big name stars are a > draw, and then it will disappear fast from the theatres. > > I went for the press screening of Couples Retreat because of A R > Rahman. Having had a taste of his music in the US, from Andrew Lloyd > Webber�s Bombay Dreams, to slick stage shows and then hugging > friends at a bar near Times Square when his Oscar wins were > announced in February, this was the moment I was waiting for. This > was going to be the mainstreaming of the genius musician. He had > worked on this project for three months, first in London and then in > Los Angeles. > > I spent some time listening to the film�s soundtrack on its website. > I knew that this was not going to be an Indian soundtrack. > > Rahman recently told the Associated Press that after Slumdog > Millionaire, he has started getting work where he can set his own > artistic terms. �Since the Oscars and all the appreciation, people > come for what I am,� he said in the interview. Meanwhile, the online > site OneIndia quoted the composer as saying: �I�ve reached a stage > where I�ve to do new things. There�re so many avenues to be > explored. So Couples Retreat will be their (Hollywood) kind of music > with my touch, done in my way.� > > The music, as we hear on the film�s website, is mixed with Caribbean > sounds (although most of the film is shot in the Pacific island Bora > Bora), but Rahman also uses some Indian touches, a few instruments > and voices, including that of Kailash Kher. > > The movie was unimaginative, but Rahman has often done great work > for films that are flat out bad. If nothing else, we could say that > the songs were good. But while watching Couples Retreat, I forgot > about Rahman�s compositions. It is so much in the background, that > it is barely audible. His music does nothing to enhance the > situations in the film. It is a complete waste. > > Last year, Boyle told me that he admired the loud soaring sounds in > Bollywood movies. In Hollywood films, the music tends to be subtle > and quieter, he added. That does not help Rahman�s case in Couples > Retreat, where his talent is almost unrecognisable. > > Why did Rahman take three months, composing sounds which hardly > matter in the film? Why did the producers hire him from the pool of > composers in Hollywood? Was Rahman supposed to add prestige to what > was perceived as a weak project? And why did Rahman accept this film > as his first post-Oscars project? Was it just for money? And is > money that important for Rahman at this stage in his life and career? > > These are questions that all of his fans should be asking. > > *Aseem Chhabra is a freelance writer based in New York who has > previously written for The New York Times, The Boston Globe, > Philadelphia Inquirer and Time Out, New York* > > > http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?page=article§id=56&contentid=2009101120091011000754187481e865d§xslt > > <http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?page=article§id=56&contentid=2009101120091011000754187481e865d§xslt>=
