My next dream is to sing for Bollywood Rahman Indian Idol winner

My next dream is to sing for Bollywood, Rahman: 'Indian Idol' winner  

By Radhika Bhirani

New Delhi, Aug 16 (IANS) For Hyderabad boy Sreeram Chandra, this Independence Day couldn't have been more special. He realised his dream of winning music reality show "Indian Idol 5", and can't wait now for his next dream -- of singing for Bollywood and Oscar winning music composer A.R. Rahman -- to come true.

"My next dream is to make it big in Bollywood," Sreeram, who was declared the winner of "Indian Idol 5" Sunday, told IANS over phone from Mumbai.

"I want to sing hit songs, be a well-known playback singer and be a star performer. I want to learn a lot. 'Indian Idol' has given me a concrete base to create a name for myself and I want to improve on it by working with all the music directors, especially A.R. Rahman sir," he added.

Sreeram, an engineer, is not from a musical family. As a struggling singer back in Hyderabad, he used to audition for regional reality shows, sing for small budget films and lend his voice for chorus, jingles and radio advertisements. 

But his consistently melodious performances on "Indian Idol" struck the right chords with judges - Sunidhi Chauhan, Annu Malek and Salim Merchant as well as various Bollywood celebrities and the audience alike. 

He says the feeling of waking up as "Indian Idol 5" was "amazing".

"Every morning before the finale, we used to wake up with the conviction of working hard towards the title. When I woke up today (Monday), it was a different feeling. I wasn't just Sreeram anymore. This show has given me a new identity - of being 'Indian Idol 5'," said the 24-year-old.

Along with this new identity, Sreeram has also won Rs.5 million cash, a one-year contract with Sony BMG, a Tata Winger car, and a golden chance to sing a song in a Yash Raj Films' project.

It couldn't have been bigger and better, he says.

"I feel blessed that I was a part of 'Indian Idol 5' where they are giving me a direct entry into Bollywood with the chance to sing for one of India's biggest production houses - YRF. No previous 'Indian Idol' has got this chance, and I hope this boosts my standing as a singer," he said.

He is also excited about the opportunity of creating his own album and says he would like to sing all kinds of songs because he considers himself a "versatile singer".

For now, he is in a party mood and wants to rush back to his hometown Hyderabad to thank and acknowledge all those who supported him. 

--
Mahi

A R Rahman asks media to project positive image of CWG

Rahman asks media to project 'positive image' of CWG  

New Delhi, Aug 16 (IANS) Oscar winner A.R. Rahman, who has composed the theme song of the Commonwealth Games, said Monday that he was pained by the negative publicity for the mega sporting event.

Appealing to the media to present a positive image of the Games, Rahman said: "It is my humble request to you (media) to present a positive image of the Games to the international community."

"Hundreds of people are working day and night for making the Games successful. People across the world are asking if India will be able to hold them successfully… so kindly bring a positive image to the Games," the music maestro told reporters during a function in the capital. 

Commonwealth Games Organising Committee chief Suresh Kalmadi quoted Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's Independence Day address in which he said the Oct 3-14 Games would be a "national festival". 

"With 30 days to go for the opening of the Games village, we are confident of a great Games," Kalmadi said.

With the delay in preparations and corruption allegations in the biggest sporting event being organised in India since the 1982 Asiad Games, Manmohan Singh Saturday issued clear instructions that the facilities for the Games be made ready in time and meet international standards. 

--
Mahi

Rahman asked to tweak CWG theme song

Rahman asked to tweak CWG theme song  

New Delhi, Aug 16 (IANS) Oscar winner A.R. Rahman is ready with the Commonwealth Games theme song but the Group of Ministers (GoM) on the Games has asked the composer to tweak it before the opening ceremony.

"I presented the theme song before the GoM and it was approved. I have been asked to tweak it and it will be released within next 10 days," Rahman told reporters here at a function organised to launch the theme song.

"I think it won't be good to release the theme song without making the necessary changes," he said when asked about the song. 

The GoM chaired by Urban Development Minister S. Jaipal Reddy met for the first time Sunday after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh intervened to take stock of the much-criticised preparations for the Oct 3-14 Games. 

The three-hour long GoM meeting also discussed other details related to the opening ceremony besides giving approval to the theme song composed by Rahman.

-- 
Mahi

रहमान बोले, ओ यारो..ये इंडिया बुला रहा है

रहमान बोले, ओ यारो..ये इंडिया बुला रहा है 
 
नई दिल्ली। आस्कर विजेता संगीतकार ए. आर. रहमान ने नई दिल्ली में अक्टूबर में होने वाले कॉमनवेल्थ गेम्स का थीम सॉन्ग आज लॉन्च किया। राजधानी के अशोका होटल में थीम सॉन्ग के लॉचिंग समारोह के दौरान कॉमनवेल्थ गेम्स की आयोजन समिति के अध्यक्ष सुरेश कलमाडी भी मौजूद थे। रहमान ने कहा कि "मैं इस सॉन्ग को महात्मा गांधी को समर्पित करना चाहता हूं।"

इस मौके पर रहमान ने थीम सॉन्ग की सिर्फ एक लाइन गाकर सुनाई। स्वागतम नाम के थीम सॉन्ग के बोल है- "ओ यारों ये इंडिया बुला रहा है।" उन्होंने कहा कि "कॉमनवेल्थ गेम्स का थीम सॉन्ग तैयार कर लिया गया है, लेकिन पूरे गाने को अभी नहीं सुनाया जा सकता।" थीम सॉन्ग में हिंदी और अंग्रेजी दोनों भाष्ााओं के बोल होंगे। गौरतलब है कि रहमान की धुन पर रविवार को मंत्रियों के समूह (जीओएम) ने मुहर लगा दी थी। 

--
Mahi

AR Rahman to arrive at Showing Off headquarters

AR Rahman

A superstar film composer who conquered the rest of the world from a position of dominance within his own Asian environment

Film composer AR Rahman talks about his craft Link to this video

Waiting for AR Rahman to arrive at Showing Off headquarters, I imagine some kind of powerful, glamorous giant will arrive, swathed in ego, surrounded by adoring entourage, encrusted in diamonds, trailing mist, ribbons and glitter behind him. I will need to bow in his presence, and the idea of asking about world music seems particularly preposterous. He's a superstar composer who conquered the rest of the world from a position of dominance within his own Asian environment.

Thinking of his achievements and successes, all the way up to the Oscars he won for the soundtrack to Danny Boyle's sweethearted fable Slumdog Millionaire, is enough to make me swoon. There are BAFTAs, Golden Globes, Grammys, National Film Awards, Time magazine named him the "Mozart of Madras" and estimated him to be one of the world's 100 most influential people, he's sold more than 150 million copies of his albums worldwide, which makes him one of the world's all-time best-selling recording artists, the only Indian and the only soundtrack composer, in the top 200. He's got this way of fusing classic Indian techniques with frenetic, bombastic ideas borrowed from modern Hollywood composers like Vangelis, Hans Zimmer and John Williams so that his music combines illuminating commercial glamour with flighty, spirited artistry. He's worked with the Andrew Lloyd Webber, M.I.A, Michael Jackson and the Pussycat Dolls; he's a pop star himself playing arena sized venues; he received an honorary degree from Stanford University for contributions to global music; his first film soundtrack in 1992 for Mani Ratnam's Roja was voted one of the top 10 greatest of all time alongside the likes of Citizen Kane, On The Waterfront, The Good, The Bad and the Ugly and The Man With The Golden Arm. Thinking of all that, it seems that the man who will arrive will be the size of a mountain and make a noise when he speaks that is beyond the hearing of mere mortals.

I compose myself to meet the great composer. When he does arrive, it's a surprise. He is normal sized. He does not breathe fire. I can hear him speak, although he does so very quietly, and with no sense of hurry. There are no diamonds. He wears quite modest clothes, indeed clothes you might buy at River Island. He boasts a subtle smile that is actually not boastful at all. He has a certain sort of genial serenity about him that suggests his ego is tethered elsewhere and only revealed on very rare occasions. He brings with him a video message on his iPhone from Danny Boyle's editor, who, so AR and Danny think, looks like me. "Frankie says," the message goes, "be kind to AR."

And of course, just in case he does in fact suddenly turn into a diamond encrusted giant complete with dramatic, kingdom come soundtrack that threatens to knock me out, I am kind to AR.

--
Mahi