A. R. Rahman wins Golden Globe: International journey begins

India's very own talented musician A. R. Rahman has taken a giant stride forward as he won the prestigious GOLDEN GLOBE award in the Best Original Background Score category for the film 'Slumdog Millionaire'.

It was a moment to cherish for A. R. Rahman and all his fans when the hosts at the 66th Golden Globe Awards announced his name as the winner. A moment that told the world that Indian talent was well on its way in making its presence felt globally.

The man TIME magazine called 'Mozart of Madras' shook hands with many as he went on to the stage to collect the award. The first word that came out of Rahman was 'Unbelievable' followed by a chuckle. He pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket as he said he had a long list although he though he wouldn't win.

Rahman thanked Almighty God for the award. His thank you list also had Danny Boyle, Fox Pictures and all his musicians in Chennai and Mumbai. Rahman thanked the billion people from India who were looking forward to his winning the award.

'Slumdog Millionaire' was about a boy born and raised in the slums of Mumbai who eventually goes on to become a millionaire thanks to his winning the 'Who wants to be a millionaire' contest. The film was directed by Danny Boyle who also won a Golden Globe for Best Director. The film won two other awards as well – Best Picture and Best Screenplay (Simon Beaufoy).

Does Rahman's winning a Golden Globe signal to the world that Indian talent would be a breath of fresh air to World Cinema? In addition to this Rahman had also won Six popular Awards for his compositions in 'Slumdog Millionaire'.

The Broadcast Film Critics Association Award
The Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award
The New York Film Critics Online Award
The Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards
The San Diego Film Critics Society Award
The Satellite Awards - International Press Academy
This honor would most definitely be cherished by India's Film Industries and the scores of Rahman fans would be ecstatically jumping for joy.

So what can Rahman look forward to?….well, it sure is going to be the Oscars next up….and then some innovative compositions that would enthrall world audiences.

A dynamic musician's international journey has begun. Indian Cinema has been made proud of by Rahman and let's hope our filmmakers can utilize this extraordinary talent properly in such a way that the world bows down to India.

Hats off A.R. Rahman….the Oscar is waiting.

Indiaglitz salutes the incredibly talented A. R. Rahman….we rejoice with you….

Clint Eastwood locks horns with A. R. Rahman

What might have appeared unlikely for many is all set to happen at the 66th Annual Golden Globe Awards. How many of us would have though that the legendary filmmaker Clint Eastwood and our own music wizard A. R. Rahman will be in contention for the same award.

The Golden Globe awards would be presented tomorrow (January 11, 2009). One among A. R. Rahman (Slumdog Millionaire), Clint Eastwood (Changeling), Alexandre Desplat (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button), James Newton Howard (Defiance) and Hans Zimmer (Frost / Nixon) will win the prestigious award for Best Original Score in a Motion Picture.

Although every Indian's heart would be beating for a Rahman victory, the Mozart of Madras is up against some really big names such as Hans Zimmer, who scored the background music for the film 'The Lion King' and eventually went on to win the Oscar and Golden Globe awards in the year 1995. Zimmer also won the Golden Globe award for the film 'Gladiator' in the year 2000. Hans Zimmer is in the race for this year's Golden Globe for the film 'Frost / Nixon'.

Alexandre Desplat who has been nominated for the film 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button' has already won a Golden Globe for the 2006 film 'The painted Veil'.

Clint Eastwood has won many awards in many categories including best actor, director, outstanding achievement in film, Lifetime achievement etc. This years Golden Globe would be very special for him as he has been nominated in the music category for the film 'Changeling'.

A. R. Rahman, as we all know has been in exhilarating form churning out melodies that simply impress no matter what mood the listener is in. His composition for 'Slumdog Millionaire' is soothing and at the same time pregnant with emotions.

Let's hope A. R. Rahman overcomes all the other contestants and comes out as the winner. That indeed would be a terrific honor for India

Rahman's Oscar-favourite number originally for another film

Mumbai (IANS): A.R. Rahman's Hindi song from 'Slumdog Millionaire' is a now a hot favourite at the Oscars. What is not so well known is that the song, 'Aaja aaja shamiane ke taley', was originally written for another movie.
Song writer Gulzar had written the song for Subhash Ghai's latest release 'Yuvvraaj'.
"I wrote a song 'Aaja aaja shmiane ke taley/Zari wale neele aasman ke taley' for Subhash Ghai's 'Yuvvraaj'. But then for some reason Subhash felt he didn't need that song in the film," Gulzar said.
"So Rahman suggested that we use the track in 'Slumdog Millionaire' because it fits perfectly. We asked Subhash and he readily agreed. I must say it was very generous of him."
The number has now entered the Best Song category at the Academy Awards. It also fetched the Los Angeles Critics Choice Award for best score and has been nominated for the New York Critics Choice Award.
Brushing off the praise from Gulzar for allowing the song to be in another film, Ghai said: "Nothing generous about it. Give and take is an integral part of any creative field.
"Look at M.F. Husain Saab's generosity. He called me up all the way from Dubai to say he loved 'Yuvvraaj'. After the battering that it got his words came as balm to my soul, specially when Husain Saab said he saw the film twice and liked it even better the second time.
"I happily gave the 'Aaja aaja...' song to Rahman when he said it was needed for Danny Boyle's film. I felt the song was slightly too soft and subtle for the aggressive character (Zayed Khan in 'Yuvvraaj'). I'm glad they could use it."
Any regrets, now that the song is going places?
"None at all. Every film and every song has its own destiny. That song was meant to be in 'Slumdog Millionaire'. I'm just happy that a Hindi song is being noticed, heard and hummed in the US by non-NRI audiences," Ghai said.