Ming Pao Report
明報 2006/2/20
印度音樂大師拉曼(A. R. Rahman)前晚在會展舉行一場《Live in Concert 2006》，吸引圈中藝人陳慧珊、夏韶聲、黃耀明、及張錦程前來捧場外，名人霍震寰與太太陳琪琪亦是座上客，不過兩人低調分開而坐。拉曼前晚準時開騷，打頭陣唱出《Fanna》，配合背後大銀幕3d 立體的星際太空短片，贏得全場掌聲。
陳慧珊透露最近寫了兩首新歌，今次睇騷也是為新碟找靈感。至於新碟何時推出？她說：「不會太急。好開心做到真正有意義的事新碟或會找夏韶聲監製，不過下月我會先拍劇，之後再投入新碟製作。」
Translation: Indian Music Master, A. R. Rahman held his "Live in Concert 2006" in Hong Kong Conference & Convention Centre. Celebrities, namely Chen Hui Shan, Flora; Danny Summer, Anthony Wong... joined the crowd. Mr. Rahman started his concert with his song, "Fanna", with a 3-D Space Odynessy Short Film showed on the background.
Flora Chen said that she hoped to get some inspiration from this concert in order to input more new ideas in her next album. She said Danny Summer would be the producer of the new album.
A. R. Rahman Hong Kong reports
S.C.M.P. 18/2/2006
Indian star A.R. Rahman chose to pray quietly at the Mosque Street mosque and enjoyed a curry lunch as the city's Muslims took to the streets over the publication of cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed in Europe. He said he shunned politics.
My theory of life is love and music, said Rahman, in town a day early to catch Friday prayers and to prepare for his first Hong Kong concert tonight at the Convention and Exhibition Centre, where the most expensive ticket costs $3,880.
I feel blessed that I'm able to play music. I hate politics. Politicians divide the world, while musicians unite it, he said.
Born Allah Rakha Rahman in 1966 in India, he is considered one of the world's finest composers and has written scores for more than 50 Bollywood films. He began playing music at an early age and earned a scholarship to study western classical music at Oxford University.
His first movie album, Roja, was listed in Time magazine's top 10 movie soundtracks of all time. He is best known for combining technology and classical Indian musical instruments, and has sold 100 million records worldwide.
Rahman, who has cut his signature long hair since a trip to Mecca last month, has been to Hong Kong before and enjoys the shopping. He was eager to see who would turn up at tonight's concert. I'm quite anxious to see the audience, whether there will be southern or northern Indians or Chinese.
Tonight's show has been labelled the city's first three-D concert. A 60-square-metre LED screen will project three-dimensional images. Glasses will be distributed to the audience to view the special effects. Tonight's three-and-a-half-hour show cost US$1 million to produce.
Rahman, who wrote music for Andrew Lloyd Webber's hit Bombay Dreams, has been working on the West End version of Lord of the Rings. He composed the score for Chinese movie Warriors of Heaven and Earth and said he was looking forward to working with more Chinese filmmakers.
I'm a big fan of Chinese films, such as Raise the Red Lantern and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, he said. If there was an opportunity I would jump on it and say yes.
蘋果日報 《印 度 音 樂 大 師 靚 聲 響 徹 會 展》 18/2/2006
印 度 著 名 歌 手 拉 曼 〈 A R Rahman 〉 前 日 抵 港 ， 昨 日 隨 即 在 紅 磡 一 酒 店 舉 行 記 者 會 ， 宣 傳 他 今 日 在 灣 仔 會 展 新 翼 舉 行 的 演 唱 會 。
身 為 虔 誠 回 教 徒 的 拉 曼 ， 在 記 者 會 前 先 往 中 環 一 回 教 寺 參 拜 ， 會 展 方 面 亦 安 排 了 一 房 間 方 便 他 禱 告 。
拉曼 表 示 雖 然 首 次 在 港 開 演 唱 會 ， 但 曾 多 次 訪 港 購 物 ， 他 以 英 語 說 ： 「 我 經 常 來 香 港購 物 ， 最 鍾 意 去 尖 沙 嘴 。 」 他 又 表 示 曾 幫 台 灣 歌 手 蔡 依 林 造 音 樂 ， 而 他 先 後 推 出 過五 十 多 張 唱 片 ， 其 中 一 張 名 為 《 World Wide 》 的 大 碟 ， 全 球 賣 出 一 千 萬 張 。
Hong Kong Media reported A.R. Rahman
South China Morning Post, Hong Kong, 15/2/2006
He has sold more than 100 million records and is a household name in India. And Unus Alladin says it's only a matter of time before the rest of the world catches on to the musical genius of A.R. Rahman
MOST MOTORISTS trapped in Toronto's rush-hour traffic were snarling. But for Indian composer A.R. Rahman, gridlock offered a welcome respite from his punishing schedule.
Emerging from a gruelling six-hour rehearsal for his latest project - a stage musical of The Lord of the Rings that opens next month in the Canadian city - he must, nevertheless, fit a telephone interview into the time it takes for the traffic jam to be freed up.
Often described as the greatest Indian composer of his generation, Rahman has dominated contemporary music in the country for more than a decade. He has written hit tunes and film scores for more than 50 Bollywood movies and sold more than 100 million albums.
His 1997 album, Vande Matram, released to mark 50 years of Indian independence, helped rekindle a patriotic fervour not seen in years. Similar passions could be ignited among Indian fans when Rahman and his entourage make their Hong Kong debut on Saturday.
Due to budget constraints, the show won't feature the 3D special effects seen on previous tours, but the 39-year-old promises an evening to remember. "We'll have the band, dancing and live performances, plus a surprise or two," he says.
He first visited Hong Kong during the 1990s, but spent that trip shopping for musical instruments and gadgets. "This will be my first time performing in Hong Kong, and I'm really excited," he says. "There's a big Indian community in Hong Kong, with a lot of Punjabis and other minority groups, so it's going to be fun."
During the three-hour-plus concert, Rahman will share the stage with a glittering cast, including classical Indian singers Alka Yagnik and Hariharan, pop star Shankar Mahadevan and rapper BlaaZe. But there's no doubt the Chennai-born composer is the star of the show.
Rahman's admirers extend well beyond South Asia. Andrew Lloyd Webber tapped his talents for the 2002 musical Bombay Dreams; he has collaborated with Jean Michel Jarre; and three years ago, Sony Pictures brought him in to write the score for mainland director He Ping's costume epic, Warriors of Heaven and Earth.
"All the initial meetings for the film were held at the Sony office in Hong Kong," says Rahman. "I also composed most of my work there."
Although the music for Warriors presented a different challenge from the demands of Bollywood, he says he enjoyed the experience. "It was the first time I had done work for a Chinese audience. It was a great opportunity. I like to do different things. It makes you feel that you have grown inside, experiencing different traditions and cultures."
The Lord of the Rings stage extravaganza, with music by Rahman and Finnish folk group V酺ttin? is a project that offers similar stimulation. Rahman won't reveal whether the music will retain the ambitious scale and dark overtones of the Peter Jackson productions, but says "it will be an extension of the original music [by composer Howard Shore]. You try to improve the work of other people. You're always improvising and improving."
The show is expected to open in London next year.
Rahman was born into a middle-class Hindu family that fell on hard times after his father, musical arranger K. Sekhar, died when he was nine. He inherited his father's musical talents. The young Rahman, who began learning the piano from the age of four, was helping to support his family by the time he was 11 as a touring keyboardist.
His experience with troupes led by such Indian musical luminaries as composer Ilayaraja and tabla maestro Zakir Hussain led to a scholarship to Trinity College, Oxford, where he earned a degree in western classical music. He established a successful career after returning to India, writing jingles and theme songs for TV shows.
The turning point came in 1991, when Tamil director Mani Ratnam invited him to score his film Roja (Rose). Both movie and soundtrack became mega-hits - Time magazine listed it as one of the top 10 movie soundtracks of all time - and made Rahman a household name. He has been on a roll since, contributing hit tunes to popular Indian movies, including Kadhalan, Rangeela, Minsaara Kanavu, Dil Se, Taal and, recently, Rang de Basanti.
His family converted to Islam in 1989, when his sister recovered from a severe illness after receiving the blessings of a Sufi mystic. As a result, he changed his name from the Hindu A.S. Dileep Kumar to Allah Rakha Rahman.
"Sufi is very closely associated to both music and spirituality. They complement each other," says Rahman, who draws inspiration from his religion.
"Life is full of surprises and you never know what will come next. I keep myself open to all possibilities," says Rahman, who enjoys Peter Gabriel as much as Bach. That eclectic style is reflected in musical partnerships that span the traditional - with carnatic violinist Kunnakudi Vaidyanathan, for example - to rock, with guitarist Dominic Miller.
Rahman is ready to work with any artist who appreciates his music. "Music is a kind of language that can transcend boundaries," he says. "There is so much hatred in the world from different communities, different countries and different continents. This [music] is the language that can be a healing language."
Cai Jindong, the director of orchestral studies at Stanford University in California, compliments Rahman for drawing from other cultures while remaining rooted in Indian tradition. "This makes the music very fresh, very compelling, especially to young people."
Having ruled the musical scene in Bollywood during the 90s, could Hollywood beckon? The US film industry is a "different syndrome", Rahman says. "But whether it's Hollywood or it's in India, there needs to be people who understand my style of music and who want to work with me."
The financial rewards in the US will certainly be greater. "But that's not really my goal. I don't want to be involved in any movie without passion," he says.
The huge record sales in his native India haven't made him as wealthy as some might imagine. "It's good that I have sold millions because my music has reached so many people," Rahman says. "But in India, the artist just gets a particular sum of money. It works in a different way from the west where artists get royalties."
Still, Hollywood may come knocking sooner than he thinks. Already his Bombay Theme was used in the recent Nicolas Cage movie Lord of War. Another of his songs will feature in Spike Lee's latest feature, Inside Man.
Moulin Rouge director Baz Luhrmann has also shown interest in his work and raised the possibility of collaboration.
Rahman often uses western instruments on his Hindustani and classical carnatic compositions, but he dislikes labelling his music. There is no definition, and music is "a journey that one has to take in life", he says.
"The influences, the dos and don'ts and likes and dislikes and a person's inner self - all of that forms part of the art. That makes the person an individual," he says. "It's not my mission to become famous. It may well happen, but I am not looking for that kind of thing. I already love what I am doing and I am happy with that."
A.R. Rahman Live in Concert, Sat, 7.30pm, Convention and Exhibition Centre, Wan Chai, $380-$3,880 HK Ticketing and Tom Lee. Inquiries: 3128 8288
Bollywood maestro - see Gigs tomorrow
Alice Patten in Rang De Basanti
Alice Patten
最後一任港督彭定康的幼女彭雅思，接拍的首部電影是印度電影 Rang De Basanti ，夥拍印度大明星Aamir Khan。電影上月在全球上映，單單在北美和英國就有七十和四十間戲院放映。當然，在香港，放映的數目又是零蛋，看來又要到重慶買碟才能看其處子演出。
還是節錄影片上映時的訪問，讓以漢字為主要閱讀媒介的人看看：
問：為何一名劍橋畢業生會與印度寶萊塢的天皇巨星演對手戲？
答：我看過劇本後很喜歡，因為這是一個現代的故事，而且女主角的角色寫得很有深度，於是我就飛到孟買跟Aamir Khan 等一眾員試鏡。當我回到英國後，就獲得通知入選了。
問：令尊，彭定康勳爵，有何想法？
答：呀，他戥我很高興。就像其他演員的父母一樣，很高興子女有工開。
問：你事前知道男主角在印度影圈的巨星地位嗎？
答：我知道他很有名氣，也看過他在Lagaan裡的演出，但也是來到印度才知道他的天皇級聲勢。他是一個可愛的男人、風趣、平易近人、真誠而又勤奮。
問：聽說你為了演好角色而學印地語喎
答：對呀。片中的對白有七成五為印地語。我在大學唸過現代語言學，而幸好印地語不是太難學。我希望印度的觀眾會明白我的印地語吧。
（據聞，彭雅思花了兩個月時間就學會印地語）
問：傳統上，作為寶萊塢電影的女主角，會有一些 "spot boy" 被按排來待候她，你也有嗎？
答：他們也給我安排了一個，感覺怪怪的。他會幫你做諸如替你拿鏡子、為你開傘子等事情。這顯示你在片中的地位。我想他們人人都以為我傻，因為我每天都會說「多謝」和「唔該」十九幾次。
問：你會再拍一部寶萊塢電影嗎？
答：暫時不會。
Alice Patten in Rang De Basanti
