The article which appears below, was originally published on Star Box Office in June 2009. ©The rights to this material are reserved to the owner. If you have any concerns or comments, please send an email to info@rahmaniac.com.
Rahman is indisputably the best music composer around. We all know how Rahman has given breaks to many new talent whom he has spotted at events and shows. StarBoxOffice takes a look at the new talent whom he has given a much needed break to in the music industry.
Karthik
If you remember Shano Shano from Yuvraaj, Behka Re Behka from Ghajini – they are sung by Karthik. Ever since he was a boy, Karthik dreamt of becoming a singer. He has even learnt Carnatic music in his early years but had to abandon it midway for family issues. “Since my school days, I have been a great fan of A.R. Rahman. Singer Shrinivas happens to be my friend’s cousin, and I realised the only way I could meet Rahman was through him. So I thought, ‘Why not meet him?’
When Rahman and I met, he asked me to sing a few lines. After hearing me sing, he appreciated my talented and suggested that I pursue a career in singing. I was completely shocked to hear that from him. His statement changed my life; I began taking classical lessons again. At one point of time, Rahman wanted a fresh voice so Shrinivas called me and I recorded for the song’s chorus. That is how my career began.” Rahman seems to chosen the correct gem.
Blaaze
One of the first rappers in Bollywood, Blaaze was brought up in Zambia and the UK before he moved to Mumbai. Starting off as a radio jockey with Mumbai’s Radio station, he quit the day Rahman summoned him to Chennai for an urgent recording. And as he rightly says, that day changed the course of his life.
He has come a long way from the time he worked on East or West, India is the Best with Anu Malik on Judwaa (1994). But Rahman then picked him up and made his career. “I came to Mumbai in December 1999 and picked up one of his CDs that had his studio address printed on the cover. I mailed him a letter and a demo. A year passed but nothing happened. I then met Louis Banks, who is like my godfather because he introduced me to many musicians. He also introduced me to Sivamani, who introduced me to Rahman at his Mumbai studio.”
“When I spoke to Rahman, he told me that we would do something together but another year passed and I joined Radio City. Then my wife came down to India and was working in Chennai when she met Rahman. She reminded him about me and the amazing thing is that he remembered. The same day he called me to Chennai to record urgently.”
“Opportunities like these beckon once in a lifetime so I had to make a choice quickly. The same day I quit my job and flew down to Chennai. Today, I am what I am because of what I decided on that day.”
Raqueeb Alam (Lyricist)
As Slumdog Millionaire enjoys its dream run across the world, one man from Bihar who always harboured dreams of being a singer is pleasantly surprised.
Rahman picked up Raqueeb and gave him a break. Raqueeb says, “I am grateful to late P.K. Mishra for introducing me to Rahman. Mr. Mishra wrote lyrics for the film Roja, and introduced me to Rahman as a singer. At that time, I would just sing a few lines for different songs. I had sung a few lines for Columbu Columbus for the movie Jeans as well.”
“My first proper offer as a lyricist was for Deepa Mehta’s film Water. Rahman asked me if I could write. I told him I would try to do my best. In that one night, I wrote ten mukhdas. Out of those, one song was for Holi. Deepa Mehta selected that one and it was decided that I would sing it along with Surjo Bhattacharya and Richa Sharma. The next day, we recorded Shyam Rang Bhar Do.”
Tanvi Shah
The sensational voice of Tanvi Shah who has sung Jai Ho the female voice, Delhi 6 title track and many more now. Even Tanvi got a break in the music industry through Rahman. “I met him through one of our common friends in the Tamil film industry during the making of Mani Ratnam’s Aayutha Ezhuthu. That movie was later remade in Hindi as Yuva, and Fanaa came to be my break as a playback singer.”
Naresh Iyer
Naresh Iyer made everyone sit up and take notice of his vocals as soon as one heard the first two words – Aye Saala! – from his Bollywood debut in Rang De Basanti. While artistes long for years to get that call from musical genius A.R. Rahman’s office, Naresh Iyer got a chance to perform before the maestro himself in a talent hunt show. And Rahman being the expert at spotting talent didn’t waste any time in presenting yet another gifted artiste before the audiences.
“I had participated in Super Singer Contest on Channel V. And although I didn’t win the show, I did get a chance to make an impression. I got a chance to perform in front of Rahman sir and when I came back from that event his secretary called me to say that Rahman sir wanted to meet me, I just packed my bags and went to Chennai. On meeting me, Rahman sir told me which songs I should sing as per my voice, which he said was very good. And then I got a break in Tamil song called Mayilirage.”
