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The Rising Star, the latest find of Rahman is the voice to watch out for in the music business.

Most of the songs that he has sung seem to reflect his personality to the Tee fun, confident and passionate. Twenty three-year-old Benny Dayal has had the dream start in the music industry that many dream of. His debut was with A.R. Rahman and from then on he has gone on to wield the microphone for the likes of Harris Jayaraj, Vidyasagar and G.V. Prakash.

His first song to hit the airwaves was Maduraikku Pogadhedi, from the film ‘Azhagiya Thamizh Magan’ in which he has also sung Nee Marylin Monroe Cloninga, both of which can get you to shake a leg or two. But it wasn’t just luck, there’s a lot of practice and exposure that earned him the call from Rahman’s studio.

Based in the Gulf, Benny came to Chennai to earn a graduation degree from MCC. That’s when he participated in SS Music channel’s talent hunt contest and became a part of the then-famous S5 band. A few years later, he was also spotted in Vijay TV’s ‘Paadum Office’, a singing competition between professionals working in corporate offices and is a part of a Rock and Roll band called “Rainbow Bridge”.

“We hope to expand the horizons of musicians in India by creating awareness about Western music and Music Technology, while continuing to respect and strengthen the art of Indian music. Aspirants will be trained to reach high standards of proficiency as musicians with good grounding in the technology that goes behind the process of making music,” explains the enthusiastic founder and principal of the Conservatory.

When it comes to acknowledging good work, Rahman is second to none. At the recent audio release function of the film Saroja, he heaped praise on music director Yuvan Shankar Raja. “Yuvan was seven or eight when I was working with Ilayaraja. I have seen him grow as a music director. I am happy that he is among the best composers in the industry right now. I am sure he will reach greater heights,” he says.

Continue reading “Rahman's Soul stirring Musical notes” »

Film is based on a true story, and it’s about a kid from the slums of Mumbai, who has nothing – he’s ill educated, he’s illiterate – and he goes on the Hindi version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire’ and wins it. It has tongue-in-cheek humor. This film is written by Simon Beaufoy.

As for Sukhwinder Singh he is all set to ride the Hollywood wave after winning over Indian audience with his voice and melody. His other Hollywood venture as a music director and singer is Steven Spielberg’s next film.

For this film Sukhwinder is recording a ‘kutch’ song. “I chose folk because it will stand out in the crowd.

Being asked had he ever thought of getting a chance to sing for Rahman, he replied “No No. I just wanted to see him at least once. I was such a crazy fan. I used to call the studios so many times and usually the studio manager or someone picks and keeps the phone. It was one of my cousin who was close to singer Srinivas who got me that golden opportunity to meet Rahman. It was purely by God’s grace. When I met him, he asked ” Do you sing? ” and I said yes and sang a song in front of him.

He then immediately said, “You have a nice voice. why don’t you choose singing as your career”. That was the moment, I left everything else and again started practicing daily. I was so happy to hear that from him. But I didn’t get a chance immediately. It was an interesting incident and unforgettable even now – The opportunity that I got to sing for Rahman. That day was one of my friends birthday. So we a gang of friends went out to a snooker parlor and decided to spend till midnight and give a surprise birthday gift to our friend. Those days Cellphones were not that popular and only one of our friend had. Rahmanji was looking for some fresh voices to do a chorus and Singer Srinivas was trying to reach Tippu, Harish Raghavendra and Gopalrao.

It’s easy to get slotted here and given that Bollywood is all about cliques and camaraderie, one is tempted to go that route with Rashid Ali as well. Rashid is the flavor of the season (apart from the boy-wonder Imran Khan) given that his song ‘Kabhi Kabhi Aditi’ from the film Jaane tu… is a chart buster. And yet the NRI singer is untouched by the feverish aspiration of making it big in tinsel town; he’d rather simply be a busy musician for now.

Music is not a running race. Its a spiritual journey. If some people, say, its good, it cant be believed, and if some say its excellent, then too it cant be believed. The future generations have to make a garland out of the beads, whichever is suitable

Who is your favorite Political leader ?

After the period of Umar Nabigal Nayagam, there was a person by name Umar, who ruled. He behaved like a servant, by lying down in a bed made of ropes, and lead a very simple life. I came to know of all this, after reading his bibliography. After him, I like Mahatma Gandhi very much. I don’t know much about World Leaders, but amongst the few people, who have had impact on me, these people play a prominent role. A good leader must have patience and forbearance. He shouldn’t have differences between the rich, poor, good and bad, and must have the benefit of the nation and the people to be at his top priority.

You have cherished your long standing dream of starting a Music College. What next ?

Starting a Music College has been my first desire, and it is over. There are a lot of faces which follow to the school, and they have to be done, and the school has to be converted into a moral school. I have the intention to transform it that way.

Which country doesn’t love Music in the world ?

There is no nation, which doesn’t love music. Music is the common language of the world. Is there a nation, which doesn’t love the language. If so, please tell me ?

Internationally acclaimed musical legend A.R. Rahman, single handedly known for re-energising the popularity of Indian film music, is the latest to leave his hand impressions on the Wall. Dubai Lifestyle City’s Wall of Fame is the UAE’s only initiative similar to Hollywood’s Walk of Fame and New York University’s Hall of Fame.

Expressing his gratification on this occasion, Raza Siddiqui, Executive Director, Dubai Lifestyle City, said: “Over the years A.R. Rahman’s music has attained a special place in the hearts of people with his unique quality and style. The recent popularity of his music score in the latest film ‘Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na’ and the innumerable accolades he received at the recent 53rd Filmfare, Zee Cine Awards and IIFA awards have reinforced his number one position in the music industry.”

In 2002, A.R. Rahman composed his maiden stage production Bombay Dreams (2002) following a commission from famous musical theatre composer Andrew Lloyd Webber. Furthermore, Rahman, along with the Finnish folk music band Värttinä, composed the music for The Lord of the Rings theatre production.

It may be recalled that Ilayaraja had rendered an album on Thiruvasagam with loads of spirituality in it. Rahman in the company of rap singer Blaze is working on the world famous Tamil literary work Thirukkural now.

‘We want to take Thirukkural to the next generation. We are doing it with utmost care and dedication in such a way that the poetic genius of Thiruvalluvar is retained’ says the highly talented Rahman. Rahman is producing the album which is sure to captivate the hearts of the young.

In a recent interview to a tabloid, A R Rahman expressed his desire to release the Tamil verse collection Thirukkural in rap format. He replied so when asked what would be his contribution to the younger generation.

Originally, the song was about 25 minutes long. ARR often write six or seven mukhdas and then there are many variations. He also recorded the song Ay Hairathe for the film but Mani Ratnam felt it was too heavy to be at the start of the film. So Mani thought of using Tere Bina.

Suddenly, the song got a life of its own. But there was one hurdle for Rahman. He had recorded it in the voice of Qadir Khan and Qadir did an excellent job, according to Rahman . But Mani wanted Rahman to sing it. Rahman added “I said, Qadir will get hurt, and I did not want to hurt him. But there was no way of getting out. It became something like: Either you sing it or it won’t be there.”

Asking whether it was a black mail from Mani Ratnam, Rahman replied “But in a good way (chuckles). I also told Mani sir that I was fasting then and didn’t have the energy to sing it. He said he would wait.

Shrewd business minds at Magnasound lost no time in printing brand new cassette-wrappers with Rahman’s name and face prominently displayed on the front flap and announced the release of the first international album by the whiz kid. Huge hoardings sprung up all over Chennai city, publicizing the new album obviously in a bid to capitalize on Rahman’s current popularity. Madhav Das, the executive director of Magnasound, didn’t even feel the need to confer with A.R.Rahman before releasing the album. “Why should I ask Rahman about re-releasing an old album with a new name? After all Rahman too changed his name without asking anyone, didn’t he?” says Das. On the other hand, Rahman is livid. “I’m not ashamed of my old album. Neither am I trying to hide my past,” explained the music director.