There has been so much buzz surrounding Rahman regarding his Golden Globe win. Hundreds of letters, cards and bouquets have been sent to Panchathan saying how proud they are to have him be a representative of India. Rahman must be absolutely overwhelmed by the response.Everyone in the faculty woke up early at 6 am to watch the Golden Globes live in LA. Faiz hooked up a cable box to the tv in Sasi and we enjoyed coffee, biscuits, and bananas while we watched in anticipation. Faiz, and the French girls Claire and Vivienne joined us for the big moment. Of course we didn't really care about anything or anyone else, especially because these movies haven't come out in India and we have no idea what's going on in the American film world right now. I was definitely surprised to find that Kate Winslet and Leonardo diCaprio have made a new movie together. I'm curious to see how their chemistry is as adults. And I didn't even realize that the movie Milk was made. Everyone seems to be raving about it. Hopefully one of these days I can find it online.
Finally when the category came up for best film score, we just sat and watched on the edge of our seats. Some of us thought it definitely wouldn't win because of the other people nominated in the same category. I mean, Rahman was in the same category as Hans Zimmer. And some of us just knew he would. When they finally read out "A.R. Rahman" Faiz jumped out of his seat and yelled Woooooooooo!!!! while we all stayed in our seats and just stared at each other in dumbfounded silence. I just kept saying...... "What?!" every five minutes or so while Liz was hysterically laughing and saying "Oh my god." After the results were announced, the rest of the faculty dispersed and went to work/gym/practice, etc. Liz and I remained at Sasi and continued to stare at each other in astonishment. What a fantastic time to be working for Rahman! Could we be any more lucky? We're working for a Golden Globe winner!Rahman was met at the airport by hundreds of people carrying signs saying Congratulations and people singing and dancing. He was followed home by a huge caravan of media and was welcomed at two in the morning at Panchathan by friends, family, and some of the students who, in two days, put together a choral version of "Jay ho". The next three days were filled to the brim with one interview after another; television, radio, international, emails etc. etc. He was doing about 30+ interviews a day. Liz was laughing and saying "can't these people think of more interesting questions???" Apparently they just kept asking the same boring questions such as "How does it feel to be the first Indian Golden Globe Winner?" I'm sure Rahman wanted to kill someone after answering that question for the 97th time.
And the frenzy continues. The Oscar nominations were formally announced yesterday afternoon and Chennai is going crazy. Slumdog Millionaire has accumulated a whopping 10 nominations. Achievement in Cinematography
Achievement in Directing
Achievement in Film Editing
Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures (Original Score) - A.R. Rahman
Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures (Original Song) - Jay Ho
Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures (Original Song) - O...Saya
Best Motion Picture of the Year
Achievement in Sound Editing
Achievement in Sound Mixing
Adapted Screenplay
I have to say, with all the talk that has been going on for months now, actually seeing the film was kind of a lukewarm experience. I've been so close to the project and hearing about it since August - it was difficult to detach myself from what all I've heard. To me it just seemed like a slightly more sophisticated Bollywood melodrama but with serious social commentary. I'm going to watch it again. It'll probably be better the second time. Sadly this experience has become somewhat bittersweet for Rahman and poor Anil Kapoor. A slums organization in Bombay has decided that the usage of the word "slum" by Indians was obscene, offensive, and inappropriate. This org is now suing both Rahman and Mr. Kapoor for I don't know how much. What a waste of money that could actually be helping the slums! What are they thinking?!
A man, who claims to fight for the rights of slum dwellers, has taken the Indian artistes of the acclaimed film "Slumdog Millionaire" to court, contending that their sensibilities have been offended by the movie title that he found abusive of people who live in slums. "Vishwakarma made it clear that he hardly expected anything positive from a British filmmaker as their ancestors described us as dogs. But what hurt him was that even Indians associated with the film hardly bothered to object to calling us a slumdog," Shruti Singh said.
I think Mr. Vishwakarma missed the point. Maybe Success is always bittersweet. People always seem to want a piece of the pie no matter what it takes to get it.
2 comments:
Hi,
I noticed many talk shows hosts here..like Charlie Rose Show and others talking about Oscar nominations go in depth about actors, actresses and their performances but hardly mention or discuss about the nominations for music. I was dying to see them talk about Rahman.
For me though, Rahman getting the golden globe with Hans Zimmer, James Newton Howard competing in the same category and in their presence was awesome. I have seen Rahman quote Hans Zimmer on how much there is to learn. Rahman sir made himself known to them and many others in the western world in a fabulous way.
All said, I want Rahman to have long, healthy and happy life.
Thank you again for taking your time to blog.
saw slumdog here in paris and it was very much appreciated by the audience.. people actually clapped at the end (like, at the screen) and it was a full-house! i recommended it to my italian teacher... there's a lot of buzz in these woods about the film. i hope the org loses the lawsuit. let's face it, a slum's a slum.
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