i agree with you 100% roshan.... On Wed, Jun 16, 2010 at 3:32 AM, Roshan <[email protected]> wrote:
> > > I too agree with this. except CNN and MTV, there were no coverage on > american media except a little foot note that AR Rahman is performing. > > Why is it ? the answer is simple.. most of the western audiences haven't > really heard of Rahman yet. Some probably know him as the guy who won the > Oscar. But majority of them haven't really become "the fan" just yet. That > will only happen if he releases some albums in the US, collaborate with big > stars in the west and do good musical concerts that really represent > rahman.. the kind we see in a Yanni Concert. not the kind that Britney > spears or Madonna does. and I wasn't quiet happy with the way they tried to > replicate a MJ on Rahman. I mean, what is the point ? > > His music has lots of class that one would find in a western classical > composistions. instead of trying to make him a pop star, why not try to > showcase what really he is ? he is a composer. his compositions are to be > heard.. but not accompanied with lots of dancers and gimmicks. > > I know a lot of people might disagree with me. But, that is just me. :) I > would love to see him perform his song with his singers in a classy > atmosphere than to see acrobatics and dances. There is plenty of that in > Booollywood. > > > > On Wed, Jun 16, 2010 at 2:02 AM, A.R.Rajib <[email protected]> wrote: > >> >> >> Is *Jai Ho!* A R Rahman's best song? >> June 15, 2010 14:24 IST >> >> * >> * >> *Aseem Chhabra listens to the music played at A R Rahman's [ >> Images<http://search.rediff.com/imgsrch/default.php?MT=a+r+rahman> ] >> concert in New York. >> >> * >> >> *Also Read: Thousands flock to catch A R Rahman in >> action<http://movies.rediff.com/slide-show/2010/jun/14/slide-show-1-jai-ho-world-tour-kicks-off.htm> >> * >> Is *Jai Ho!* A R Rahman's best composition? Most India [ >> Images<http://search.rediff.com/imgsrch/default.php?MT=india> ]n >> fans of the composer in India and elsewhere in the Diaspora will disagree >> with that question. >> >> It is widely believed that Rahman has composed far better songs in >> Bollywood and for Tamil films. My personal favourites range from *Chaiyya >> Chaiyya* to*Taal [ >> Images<http://search.rediff.com/imgsrch/default.php?MT=taal> ] >> Se Taal Mila*, and *Sandhana Thendralai* from Rajiv Menon's Tamil >> film*Kandukonden >> Kandukonden*. >> >> Nevertheless the box office success of *Slumdog Millionaire [ >> Images<http://search.rediff.com/imgsrch/default.php?MT=slumdog+millionaire> >> ]* and the Oscar wins have clearly made *Jai Ho!* Rahman's most popular >> song in the West. It is also his only known song in the West other than >> perhaps the rest of the compositions from Danny Boyle's >> [Images<http://search.rediff.com/imgsrch/default.php?MT=danny+boyle> ] >> film. >> >> And so no surprise that the management team behind Rahman's new stage show >> would call it Jai Ho 2010: The Journey Home Concert. >> >> After all, the hope was that this concert was going to introduce Rahman in >> a big way to mainstream America. That 'journey home' expression comes from >> one of the original songs of Rahman's West End and Broadway musical *Bombay >> Dreams*. >> >> I did not understand whether this time the expression 'journey home' was >> supposed to represent Rahman's passage back to the US -- now that he >> reportedly spends more time in Los Angeles; or was this concert reconnecting >> his fans in the Indian Diaspora to their roots by traversing through the >> highlights of his rich career. >> >> Last Friday before the first show started at the Nassau Coliseum in New >> York, I stood with two friends -- an Indian musician and an American blogger >> -- at a bar at the venue doing something very politically incorrect. We were >> conducting our own non-scientific poll of white Caucasian faces in the >> crowds that were entering the arena. There may have been more than 15,000 >> people in the audience, but we counted about 20 white faces and perhaps we >> may have missed another 30 to 40. >> >> We posted on Twitter and later during the show other friends texted from >> different locations in the venue. Why did not Rahman's so-called non-South >> Asian fans show up? This much was clear -- 99.9 percent of the audience that >> arrived in their cars from New York and other neighbouring states (I even >> met a family that had driven six hours, all the way from Boston) were brown >> *desis* -- more Indians, but surely also other South Asian fans of >> Rahman. >> >> I am not an expert in booking musical shows, but I do know that when >> artists like Bruce Springsteen, Madonna [ >> Images<http://search.rediff.com/imgsrch/default.php?MT=madonna> ] >> or Lady Gaga [ >> Images<http://search.rediff.com/imgsrch/default.php?MT=lady+gaga> ] >> perform in New York, they seek venues like Radio City Music Hall or Madison >> Square Garden. And in order to reach all shades and colours of New Yorkers, >> those shows are promoted in the mainstream press. >> >> But this Rahman show was mostly promoted to the South Asian market. * >> Desis* know Nassau Coliseum since that has long been the site for >> Bollywood shows, but it is hardly a venue that would draw other New Yorkers. >> >> Some may argue that a brown man's dollar has the same value as that of a >> white man and I will agree with that. The Coliseum was filled to about 75% >> capacity and so how does it matter who bought the tickets? But I still feel >> that with a grand show such as this -- well produced by >> choreographer-director Amy Tinkham, who has worked on concerts with artists >> including Paul McCartney, Madonna and Britney Spears [ >> Images<http://search.rediff.com/imgsrch/default.php?MT=britney+spears> ] >> -- Rahman the artist was not able to crossover into mainstream America. >> >> The show -- one friend described it as a *desi* *Lion King* -- was >> stunning to watch. The lights, set design, sound, the selection of songs was >> simply quite spectacular. Rahman touched upon a lot of hits -- recent >> Bollywood films like *Rang De Basanti [ >> Images<http://search.rediff.com/imgsrch/default.php?MT=rang+de+basanti> >> ]*, *Delhi 6 [ >> Images<http://search.rediff.com/imgsrch/default.php?MT=delhi+6> ], >> Jaane Tu [ Images<http://search.rediff.com/imgsrch/default.php?MT=jaane+tu> >> ]... >> Ya Jaane Na* to his best works with Mani Ratnam in films like*Bombay* >> and *Dil Se*. >> >> There were quieter moments such as when Rahman sat down to sing *Yeh Jo >> Desh Hai Tera* from *Swades [ >> Images<http://search.rediff.com/imgsrch/default.php?MT=swades> >> ]* or*Khwaja Mere Khwaja* from *Jodhaa Akbar [ >> Images<http://search.rediff.com/imgsrch/default.php?MT=jodhaa+akbar> >> ]* and later when the orchestra performed the haunting theme from*Bombay >> *. >> >> We were treated to the celebratory Holi song from *Mangal Pandey [ >> Images<http://search.rediff.com/imgsrch/default.php?MT=mangal+pandey> >> ]* and *Mehndi Hai Rachne Wali* from *Zubeida*. And in a technological >> wonder, Rahman performed *Luka Chuppi* from *Rang De Basanti* with a >> projected image of Lata Mangeshkar [ >> Images<http://search.rediff.com/imgsrch/default.php?MT=lata+mangeshkar> ] >> -- quite like Natalie Cole's hit *Unforgettable* video in which she was >> featured with her father Nat King Cole [ >> Images<http://search.rediff.com/imgsrch/default.php?MT=nat+king+cole> >> ]. >> >> But the show had its inconsistencies. There was a flat attempt to pay >> tribute to Michael Jackson [ >> Images<http://search.rediff.com/imgsrch/default.php?MT=michael+jackson> ]. >> The performance of *Chaiyya Chaiyya* was dull. The male singer just did >> not have the range of Sukhwinder Singh's [ >> Images<http://search.rediff.com/imgsrch/default.php?MT=sukhwinder+singh> ] >> voice. In fact, his voice was drowned by the loud orchestra. >> >> Two months ago at a press >> conference<http://movies.rediff.com/report/2010/apr/20/what-rahman-has-in-store-for-the-world.htm> >> to >> launch this concert Rahman and Tinkham emphasised that they had picked the >> best back up dancers for the show. The big question though was why all the >> dancers dressed in colourful Indian costumes were white, with a trickling of >> black performers. >> >> Not a single dancer at the show was brown and a *desi*. Was this an >> attempt to appeal to Rahman's non-South Asian fans? >> >> Whatever may be the reason, it looked odd to see non-Indian dancers >> dancing to the beat of Indian film songs -- not once, but through the entire >> show. >> >> And one more contradiction. There were very two very strong Indian >> nationalist performances, one towards the middle of the show with colours of >> India's flag flashed in the auditorium and the other a rendition of *Vande >> Mataram* -- the encore act after the elaborate grand finale of the song *Jai >> Ho*! >> >> I am not opposed to Indian nationalist sentiments, but those tend to work >> much better in India. There were a couple of people holding an Indian flag >> at the venue, but Rahman should not forget that his popularity crosses >> beyond Indian Americans. There were certainly a number of his Pakistani, >> Bangladeshi and other South Asian fans at the concert. He risks losing their >> support and ticket revenues if he makes the shows very India-centric. >> >> *Image: A R Rahman during a moment in his concert at Atlantic City, New >> Jersey. Photograph: Paresh Gandhi* >> >> * >> * >> >> * >> * >> >> * >> http://movies.rediff.com/report/2010/jun/15/is-jai-ho-a-r-rahmans-best-song.htm >> * >> -- >> - Regards >> >> ~ ~ A.R.Rajib ~ ~ >> >> > > > -- > ----------------------------------- > http://roshanravi.com > http://ramblingsoul.com > http://cssheaven.org > > >
