AR RAHMAN’S SCHOOL TO HAVE INTERNATIONAL FACULTY

AR Rahman

A R Rahman’s school for music K M Conservatory in Chennai will now have international faculty. The music maestro wants to give the students global exposure of music.

The musicians who have been roped in to be a part of school’s faculty team include soprano Kavita Baliga,harpist Alison Maggart, percussionist Michael Lindsey, pianists Andrew Thordahl and Das Daniel, violinists Joshua Pollack and George Philips and cellist Ellid Martin .

The K M Conservatory founded by Rahman aims to hone young talents in music and produce world class musicians.

The school also imparts free music education to students from the schools run by the Corporation of Chennai apart from students who are learning music by paying fees. According to close sources of Rahman, the school is also planning for expansion by admitting more students in the future.

I NEVER RATE MY MUSIQ : AR RAHMAN

Post the colossal fame and the trappings that came with the Oscar-winning Slumdog Millionaire, Rahman’s finally back doing what he does best –

music. His first Hollywood score after the double delight – Couples Retreat (CR) – has just hit screens abroad and he’s excited that it’s doing well.

Working on a Hollywood score has given the musician a chance to explore a variety of genres. “The music might be subtly mixed in the film, but it serves the purpose perfectly,” says Rahman about his experience, “My primary aim while composing the music was to bring out the spirit of the island the couples go to. At some places, I had to give them what the film required and at some, I gave them the type of music that I’m known for. Getting that balance was quite a challenge.”

LYRICALLY YOURS

One of the highlights of the CR score is that it features a Tamil song titled Kurukuru Kan ... . So, how did Rahman decide to provide local flavour to a global film? “The makers wanted something exotic to suit the spirit of the island,” recalls Rahman, “It could have been African, Indian or anything else. But then, Tamil can be exotic too!”

That’s when the idea of including a Tamil number crept into the ace musician’s mind. “I sat down and penned the lyrics myself,” he reveals, “But honestly, it wasn’t much of a task as I just needed a string of words that sounded interesting phonetically. They loved the track and gave me the go ahead.” So, is this the first time that the musician has tried his hand at penning lyrics? “In a way, yes,” he states.

THE STUDENT PHASE

Used to the routine give-me-a-track-for-the-situation, Rahman found the manner in which Hollywood works, interesting and radically different. “Marks were given to each department once work was finished,” he says, “For instance, once I composed a track, it used to be played out and the unit would judge it and give it points. They would then discuss whether it would work or not for the audience.”

This method of working was something entirely new to Rahman, who feels that it would be great if local filmmakers took a leaf out of their book. “It happens all the time — after a film releases, we have the audience saying things like ‘one song didn’t work, the second half was a bit boring’,” he says, “If an outsider’s point of view is taken before the film releases, it sets the ground for better films.”

PERFECT ‘SON’RISE

The Nana... song is the most popular piece of CR, which features 15 tracks. And, it’s close to the musician’s heart as it marks the singing debut of his son! “Yes, Nana... is the hot favourite abroad,” he gushes, “Making my son sing a couple of lines was not a big ordeal at all. He was fooling around in the room when I was composing the song. And, just as an experiment, I made him sing a couple of lines and recorded it. I used it because it fit the mood of the track perfectly.”

How many marks would he give himself out of ten for his first Hollywood soundtrack, post the Oscar success? “I never rate my music,” he states matter-of-factly.

A R Rahman's Chennayil Oru Mazhai Kaalam

A R Rahman composes for Gowtham Menon’s next flick Chennayil Oru Mazhai Kaalam. Being Harris Jayaraj as his favorite, its a surprise that why Gowtham switched to Rahman. When Gowtham Menon approached Rahman, the first question asked by Rahman was “You and Harris have been working together as a good team. It would be wrong , if that gets disturbed by me suddenly” Gowtham replied, ” No, its not like that. Harris is also busy with some other projects. So, he will not mistake me nor you for this”.This Gowtham made ARR accept this project Chennayil Oru Mazhaikaalam.

As the name suggests, movie would be an absolute chill for the teen. It is the love of teens coming all the way through love at first sight, readily approaching the Girl Friend then comes the First Kiss and so on. Four guys who are friends since their childhood and similarly there is also Four Girls.

The love story of these people in between is the story line. Trisha is the highlight of the movie. Nikitha, Nethra and Sandhya are the three of her friends. Male friends accompany Karthik, Veera, Shyam and Sathish. The movie is slated to be released on this Diwali. Hope Rahman’s music in this movie will shower rain into the hearts of the music lovers.

ABOUT HARRIS JAYARAJ:

Harris Jayaraj (Tamil: ஹாரிஸ் ஜெயராஜ்) is a Tamil film composer from Tamil cinema. He has written scores and soundtracks and played music for many Tamil films, as well as Telugu and Hindi films. He lives in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. Over a period of seven years, Jayaraj has established himself as one of the leading composers of Chennai film music in South India.

Early life
Harris Jayaraj was born into a pious Tamil Christian Nadar family in Chennai, Tamil Nadu . He studied at the Krishnasamy Matric School, Chennai and later obtained a music degree in Trinity College of Music, London, England. His father, S.M. Jayakumar, is a film guitarist who later became a noted musician and Chennai film composer. Jayaraj was an early admirer of the work of Hans Zimmer, percussionist Aruljothi Balagopal, A. R. Rahman and predecessor M. S. Viswanathan.

Career
Harris Jayaraj entered the world of film music as a musician, programming scores and drum–percussion for films under the famous Tamil music director A. R. Rahman. Jayaraj began his career as a keyboardist for several music directors over twelve years including Rahman,Manisharma Vidyasagar and Karthik Raja, in addition to composing beats for TV advertisements. His first music score for a commercial film was for the Tamil film Minnale. The music was well received, particularly the song "Vaseegara", which made the film a box office hit, running the charts for weeks. After Minnale, Harris composed music for the Tamil movies 12B and Kovil which met with high acclaim. His score for Minnale was later dubbed.

In 2005, he composed for movies like S. Shankar's Anniyan, A. R. Murugadoss's Ghajini (2005) and Thotti Jaya. The song "Andangkaaka" in Anniyan reached all classes of people and was the major hit song of that year and of course in his career.

Jayaraj's collaborations with director Gautham Menon have been widely acclaimed, both of them being very successful in Tamil film industry. They have worked together in a series of hit movies like Minnale, Kaaka Kaaka (2003), Vettaiyaadu Vilaiyaadu (2006), Pachaikili Muthucharam (2007) and Varanam Aayiram.

On 13th November 2008, just before the release of Varanam Aayiram the duo split. Without divulging any reasons for their break up, Harris Jayaraj said, 'we are forced to take the decision. There is no ill-feeling between us. I wish him all the best in all his future endeavors'. A. R. Rahman is composing music for Gautham Menon's next film Vinnai Thaandi Varuvaaya.

WORKS OF RAHUMAN AND HIS AWARDS

National Film Awards (India)
1993 - National Film Award for Best Music Direction - Roja
1997 - National Film Award for Best Music Direction - Minsaara Kanavu
2002 - National Film Award for Best Music Direction - Lagaan
2003 - National Film Award for Best Music Direction - Kannathil Muthamittal

Filmfare Awards South (India)
1993 - Filmfare Best Music Direction - Roja
1994 - Filmfare Best Music Direction - Gentleman
1995 - Filmfare Best Music Direction - Kadhalan
1996 - Filmfare Best Music Direction - Bombay
1997 - Filmfare Best Music Direction - Kadhal Desam
1998 - Filmfare Best Music Direction - Minsaara Kanavu
1999 - Filmfare Best Music Direction - Jeans
2000 - Filmfare Best Music Direction - Mudhalvan
2001 - Filmfare Best Music Direction - Alaipayuthey
2006 - Filmfare Best Music Direction - Sillunu Oru Kadhal

Filmfare Awards (India)
1995 - Filmfare Best Music Director Award - Rangeela
1998 - Filmfare Best Music Director Award - Dil Se
1999 - Filmfare Best Music Director Award - Taal
2001 - Filmfare Best Music Director Award - Lagaan
2002 - Filmfare Best Music Director Award - Saathiya
2002 - Filmfare Best Background Score - The Legend of Bhagat Singh
2004 - Filmfare Best Background Score - Swades
2006 - Filmfare Best Music Director Award - Rang de Basanti
He also won a "Filmfare R D Burman Music Debutant Award" for Roja's dubbed Hindi version.

Tamil Nadu State Film Awards
1993 - Best Music - Roja
1994 - Best Music - Gentleman
1995 - Best Music - Kadhalan
1996 - Best Music - Bombay
1997 - Best Music - Minsaara Kanavu
2000 - Best Music - Sangamam

Zee Cine Awards (India)
2000 - ** 2002 - Zee Cine Award Best Music Director - Lagaan
2006 - Zee Cine Award Best Music Director - Rang De Basanti
GIFA Awards (Malaysia)
2006 - GIFA Award for Best Music - Rang De Basanti
2006 - GIFA Award for Best Background Music - Rang De Basanti

IIFA Awards (India)
2007 - IIFA Best Music Direction - Rang De Basanti
2002 - IIFA Best Music Direction - Lagaan
2003 - IIFA Best Music Direction - Saathiya
2000 - IIFA Best Music Direction - Taal
Star Screen Awards
2002 - Best Background Music
2007 - Best Music Direction - Guru

Swaralaya Yesudas Award (India)
2006 - Swaralaya-Kairali- Yesudas Award for outstanding performance in music field
2000 - Padma Shri (India)

Screen-Videocon Awards Kadhal Desam (South - Tamil; 1997) Minsara Kanavu (South - Tamil; 1998)Vande Mataram (Non-film; 1998) Taal (Hindi; 2000)

Other Awards was nominated for Laurence Olivier Theatre Award (2003) (The Hilton Award) for "Best New Musical of 2002" - Bombay Dreams Musical

Sangeet Awards 2005 Best Music Director (Film music - Swades)

The Mahavir-Mahatma Award (Instituted by the Oneness Forum)

National Lata Mangeshkar awards for 2004-05 ( The awards instituted by Madhya Pradesh government )

Sangeet Awards 2004 Best Music Director (Film music - Yuva) Best music arranger (Critics award) for 'Yeh Rishta' - Meenakshi 2004 American India Awards R D Burman Award at the SuMu Music Awards (1993) Madras Telugu Academy Puraskar (1992 to 1994) Bommai Nagi Reddy Award (1995/96) Lux-Kumudam Award for Kadhalan (1995) Mauritius National Award (1995; for contribution to music) Malaysian Award (1996; for contribution to music) Sanskriti Award from Delhi based Sanskriti foundation (1994) Kalaimamani Award from Tamil Nadu Government (1995) Thangapillai Award Rajiv Gandhi Award 3rd Channel [V] Awards - Coca Cola Viewer's Choice Award 1998 The Channel [V]-IMI Award for Best Producer for Vandemataram 1998 Fanta Award in 1999 Stardust Cine Honours Taal (2000) Filmgoers's Award Taal (2000) First Bollywood Music Awards (Best Music Director and Best Song) Taal (2000) V Shantaram Award: Taal (2001), Best Music(Guru)2006- 2007 Bollywood US Awards (2003) Best Music Director : Saathiya 8th Annual Planet-Bollywood Awards (People's Choice Awards! - Best of 2002) Best Music Direction : Saathiya, The Legend of Bhagat Singh Star Screen Award - Best Background Score - Rang De Basanti

Dinakaran Cine Awards Minsara Kanavu (1998) Jeans (1999) Mudalvan, Kadhalar Dhinam (2000)

MTV Awards MTV-VMA Award for Dil Se Re song from Dil Se.. 1999 MTV Asia Awards 2003 for Favourite Artist India MTV IMMIES 2003 - Best Music Composer - 'Saathiya' - Saathiya ( Hindi )

A. R. Rahman has been nominated for the following awards:
Laurence Olivier Awards (UK)
Laurence Olivier Theatre Award for Best New Musical - Bombay Dreams 2003
Dora Mavor Moore Awards (Canada)
General Theatre Division - Outstanding Musical Direction - The Lord of the Rings musical 2006