Bollywood in Hong Kong 寶萊塢在香港

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

posted by Lo So @ 10:07 am