That last comment about dancing was a blast!!! Very funny!!!
Thulasi Ram <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/article/221954
Arguably the bestselling recording artist in history, A.R. Rahman makes a
long-awaited stop in Toronto
Jun 07, 2007 04:30 AM
Prithi Yelaja
Toronto Star
A.R. Rahman's loyal contingent of ethnic Japanese fans live in hope that he
will one day give a concert in their country.
The groupies follow him everywhere. A dozen of them, waving placards besieging
"Please come to Japan," were camped outside hotels where he was staying in San
Francisco and Vancouver.
They will doubtless be in Toronto when Rahman lands, along with a troupe of 70
singers and dancers, for a nearly sold-out concert at the Air Canada Centre on
Sunday.
His huge fan base is a testament to his status, by some estimates, as the
bestselling recording artist in history. With more than 200 million album
sales, he's arguably bigger than Elvis or the Beatles.
But in his characteristically humble way, Rahman, who has a degree in Western
classical music from Oxford University, explains it this way over the phone
from Vancouver: "I'm not a pop artist. Most of my albums are film soundtracks
and when the movies become a big hit, so do my songs.
"It used to be before all the downloading started, you could easily sell 20 to
30 million albums in India. I've had about 10 films that went on to become big
cult hits, so it's a calculation of that," says the soft-spoken Rahman, 41,
adding with a chuckle, "We don't get paid royalties like (in) the U.S. If that
were the case, I would be a very rich man."
Further boosting his popularity was the fact that Rahman's films previously
were dubbed in three languages: Hindi, Tamil and Telugu. Miami University in
Ohio offers a course on his music and last year 150 students there put on a
show with Rahman as the chief guest.
To say that his concert here is long-awaited, is an understatement. It was
supposed to happen two years ago as part of a world tour that included London,
Australia, Singapore and Hong Kong.
The North American leg was postponed due to scheduling conflicts with other
projects, namely the theatrical production of Lord of the Rings, for which
Rahman wrote the musical score in 2006.
Indeed, Rahman has often collaborated on crossover projects he composed the
music for the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical Bombay Dreams, as well for Deepa
Mehta's movie trilogy: Earth, Fire and Water. His more recent Bollywood work
includes Rang De Basanti and Guru, which had its worldwide premiere here
earlier this year.
With more than 75 film scores to his credit, Rahman confesses he is on a
mission with his music.
"In these hard times music is really an uplifting shrine where all communities
can come together. There's so much turmoil happening in life whether it's
religious, political or racial. Music is all about love. It's a unifying
force," says the Chennai-based Rahman, who is married with three children.
"Even in India and Pakistan, when Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan was there, most of the
Indians were listening to him and Pakistanis were listening to Lata Mangeshkar."
Bollywood could not come up with a better storyline than Rahman's true life.
Born A.S. Dileep Kumar to a Hindu family in Chennai, India, his father died
when he was nine. The family ran a small firm renting out musical instruments.
In 1988, after his sister was miraculously cured of a mysterious illness by a
Sufi saint, he converted to Islam and changed his name to Allah Rakha Rahman. A
devout Muslim who prays five times a day, Rahman says he has never faced a
backlash because of his conversion.
"In life, the journey is what's interesting. Everyone has their struggles. Each
person gets led into a path. We had some trouble and we got redemption through
this path. Religion is a personal thing and I think people respect that."
Rahman was doing jingles for television commercials in 1992 when director Mani
Ratnam tapped him to do the score for the movie Roja, which became a massive
hit.
Aside from performing his film songs, he has a few surprises in store for fans
on Sunday.
"Each concert is slightly different. I go by instinct. Nowadays when you do a
concert it's all over the Net ... but you need to keep some mystery to keep the
excitement going."
Laughingly, he adds, one thing he definitely won't be doing is dancing.
"I don't dance. You wouldn't want to see me dance. The fans would all ask for
their money back."
.
" The search is more important than the destination "
- a r rahman -
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