Bollywood hails Rahman

Mumbai, Jan 12 (IANS) Bollywood music director A.R. Rahman Monday became the first Indian to win the Golden Globe Award, for best original musical score in Danny Boyle's movie "Slumdog Millionaire". The honour bestowed on the maestro has brought much cheer to the Indian film industry.

"The Golden Globe is a coveted award and it is a rare honour for an Indian music director. By winning it, competing with composers from around the world, Rahman has not only proved his worth, but has also conveyed to the world that, given a chance, an Indian music director can deservedly vie with any composer in the world," fellow composer Anu Malik told IANS.

Rahman won the prestigious award for his musical score in the song "Jai Ho", for which Gulzar penned the lyrics. The song is a typical Rahman number and the composer stuck to his signature style while composing it.

Sukhwinder Singh, who has sung the song, told IANS: "Rahman has churned out great songs even in the past but he did not get an award so I feel that he truly deserves this one. I am very happy for him and when he comes back to India, I will meet him. I'm sure he will definitely ask me, 'Are you happy?'. The song 'Jai Ho' is a very naughty and playful number; it has a good combination of poetry and music and and I enjoyed singing it."

"The international recognition that Rahman has earned for himself makes every Indian proud. He deserves it more than anybody else for his wholehearted dedication to music. It's a rare honour. I congratulate Rahman," said director Aziz Mirza.

"Slumdog Millionaire" bagged four Golden Globe awards. Apart from Rahman, the movie won the awards - considered a precursor to the Oscars - for best motion picture, best screenplay and best director.

That "Slumdog Millionaire" will sweep the Golden Globe Awards was a foregone conclusion after critics from around the world, Hollywood in particular, hailed the film.

Most Indians expected Rahman, known for scoring soul-stirring music in Bollywood and other Indian films, to emerge victorious. And that was exactly what happened Sunday night, making the 43-year-old music composer the first Indian to bag a Golden Globe.

"We are very proud of Rahman. He is an internationally recognised music genius and Golden Globes is a significant win for the music fraternity in India too. Though I haven't worked with him as much as others, I admire him from a distance," said singer Shaan.

"Rahman is truly the king. He is one of the finest composers in the country. He has carried India's name on the global map and has achieved something, which no one from this country could do. He deserves every award that exists," singer-composer Shankar Mahadevan said.

Based on Vikas Swarup's novel "Q & A", the film starring Dev Patel, Freida Pinto and Anil Kapoor, is releasing in India Jan 23.

Rahman got his first big break in Mani Ratnam's "Roja" and later composed music for many films in southern India. His first full-fledged Bollywood project was Ram Gopal Varma's hit "Rangeela". Most of the songs, including "Tanha Tanha" and "Hai Rama" and "Yaaro sun lo Zara", were chartbusters. After that there was no looking back for him.

Later, Rahman became a name to reckon with through his soulful compositions in "Dil Se…", "1947 Earth", "Taal", "Lagaan", "Guru", "Rang De Basanti" and "Jodhaa Akbar".

Rahman not only won hearts in India, but also made a mark on the global music scene. He got his first international break when Andrew Lloyd Webber invited him to compose music for Broadway musical "Bombay Dreams", which won him immense international fame. He also composed for the stage adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's "Lord Of The Rings" that premiered in Canada in 2006 and in London in 2007.

Rahman launched his first full-fledged orchestra last year. It has been named 'Global Music' and is the first homegrown orchestra.

After winning the Golden Globe, Rahman is looking forward to bagging an Oscar for his soundtrack for "Slumdog Milloinaire".

"For the people of India to get an Oscar is a big thing. So for their sake, more than mine, I hope my song 'Jai ho' and my music score in 'Slumdog Millionaire' win the Oscar," said Rahman, whose latest hit back home was "Ghajini".

He is all set to enthral his fans with his upcoming projects "Delhi-6" and "Blue".

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Slumdog Millionaire