Excited... Hyper... Ecstatic... Thrilled... Elated... Touched... Euphoric... Moved...

How else will I be, when the man picked up not one, but two Oscars! And, accepted the awards calmly... with so much composure.... and what a thank you speech, he gave!!!
And, no post about AR Rahman's Oscar wins would be complete without a mention of his words in Tamil in the global stage - "Ella Pugazhum Iraivanukkae"!

When the whole world is celebrating the genius of the man, some in India have already started questioning if AR deserved it! Such is the mentality here.

For all those who're skeptical - Did you not watch the movie and listen to the score at all? Did you not feel the pulsating "O Saaya" transport you right into the slums? Did you not feel the energy of the chase in "Mausam & Escape" & "Liquid Dance"? Did you not feel the romance - the love, the pain, the longing - in "Latika's Theme"? Didn't the score remind you of scenes in the movie, each time you listen to eachtrack? Did you not notice that the score was so perfect for the movie, and it elevated the movie so much?
If the answers have been negative, then there's no point arguing!! You're probably an absolutely incorrigible, jealous creature. And arguing with you would be waste of time for both of us!


PS: This post has been in "draft" for more than a month.. finally found time to complete this post!
By Aravind on Tuesday, February 24, 2009 at 11:42 PM Post Categories:
Comments
  1. Anonymous

    Hey Arvindh,

    A correction. Its not whether ARR deserved it. It is whether he deserved it for this work of his.Even ARR knows this is certainly not his best.Well you are happy, fans of ARR are happy thats about it. Why brood over what others think. Anyways ppl with sound music knowledge always give ARR's music a pass. You know what I mean. Yes indeed you would know.Cheerz!

  1. Aravind

    @ Eddie:
    Good sense of humour, you have!!

    //ppl with sound music knowledge always give ARR's music a pass//

    That's like the joke of the century!!
    grow up, kid!

  1. Anonymous

    He Arvind,

    Thanks for your compliments. I am indebted to you & a few others for bringing humour into my life. Else I might have been a very serious type. Its humorous indeed that some of you cannot distinguish music from sound. Yes indeed I have to grow up trying to understand what goes into your Genetic programming. Ha Ha. I am already 39 and guess I have a long way to go. You've still got years to rot, kid. Oops, that was a mistake. You already are. LoL

  1. manju

    Eddie, what have you achieved in your life that you can judge Rahman and his music ? Have you become someone greater than Acadamy Awards that you question their judgement ?

  1. Eddie

    @ Manju: U'l not understand it kid. Because you don't understand Music. Period

  1. Aravind

    @ Eddie:
    it is u who doesnt understand music...
    of course, you are the one who said Rahman created good music only in the good olden days, not any more!
    How can I expect something sensible from you - one who can't understand the beauty of melodies like Jashn-e-Bahaara or Khwaja or Kaise Mujhe or Kahin Toh or the sheer brilliance of "Mausam&Escape" !!!

    It is obvious - you are a fan of some other composer (everyone will know which composer) and just can't take the fact that AR has achieved so much! You jus wanna criticise Rahman, and you end up making contradictory statements!!
    you're making such a fool of yourself, you know!

    If that's not true, then there's only one other explanation - you've totally lost your sense of hearing!

    Seriuosly... Go, get a life!!!

  1. Eddie

    Wow! Achieved so much??? You get a life Kid. Anyways, you are short circuited now (or) at least I made you to be so. Ha ha ha. Am going to be a regular visitor to your blog Arvind. Lets have interesting discussions.

    Listen, I am not a fan of any particular composer. Understand it kid. I love all composers who create good music. Period. When somebody does a gud one, I say 'Bravo' and when the same person churns out trash I would be the first person to 'Boo". There are a lot of other composers who can never come out of the garbage bin. They just keep throwing out the Garbage. We will not discuss about them.

    ARR used to be a good composer, and one main issue with him is that most of the times, he finds it difficult to finish a song. When you experiment, you can't finish, cos you'l never be sure. You can only fade out the song. This can be overcome only if you have a proper structured music. No point discussing this, since anyway you are not going to accept it.

    I have only one favourite, that too its a band "Bela Fleck & the Flecktones". You might not have heard about them anyway. I have accompanied them on a couple of tours as well.

    So, if you were trying to stir up a controversy by saying that I am a fan of some particular Indian composer, tough luck kid. It just didn't work.

    Gud that you spoke on behalf of Manju.

  1. Poornima

    Aravind, no one forced me to read your blog. It would be a heinous crime indeed,if someone does! But on the bright side you can entertain people with your immature comments.
    More than the blog, the comments are worth the read.

    A lot of people in this world are ARR fans and unbiased at the same time - read this sentence slowly and try to understand.

    And read your own sentences and you would truly understand the meaning of 'senseless'!

    Cheers Bro!

  1. Eddie

    Poornima! Wow! Thats all I can say. Else it will be again misinterpreted by Arvind & other like minded souls ;-) Guys pls remove your blinkers.

  1. Aravind

    @ Eddie:
    I'm not branding you... u are branding yourself by making such comments! You say you are not biased, but your comments suggest otherwise!

    I've seen many like you, i can identify your type - ppl who just have one motive - to try and bring down ARR! They fire without any ammunition - make all blanket statements which hold no value - statements like "oh... this song has been copied.. sounds very familiar"... They wont say anything pointed or in particular, cos nothing can be found! And that is exactly what you're doing here! Check back your comments and you'll know what I mean!

    I'm sure there have been a few weaknesses in AR like any other great composer's music... He's human too! But, the thing is you dont even try to analyse all that... You just make some disparaging statements without any logic!

    In such a state, is it even remotely possible to have an interesting discussion?

    @ Poornima:
    Anyone reading the blog will know which comments are immature!

  1. Eddie

    Gud one Arvind,

    Looks like you are exhausted. Ok get a breather. We will continue later. Life is a game! Go play! Cheer up dude!

  1. VambeSivam

    Eddie & Poornima,

    Why are you wasting your time & energy in a fanatic's blog. This guy who calls himself a fanatic accuses others of being "biased" (!). Thats the irony.

    Since he is not a 'normal' fan of ARR but a fanatic, one can't expect any reasonable critique from him on ARR's work. According to these ARRogant fanatics, being a ordinary film music listener is NOT qualified to criticise ARR's works. Nor anyone who knows or understands music. Then, who can review ARR's music? According to them, its only "themselves", who are qualified to do that. Whats their qualification, you may ask. The answer is - being a blind (or rather, is it a deaf?) and an ARRogant fanatic, nothing else.

  1. Aravind

    @ vambesivam:
    I am not against criticism...
    I'm against meaningless, baseless criticism...
    look at what eddie and Poornima have written.. totally baseless...
    they also dont wanna get into any healthy argument...
    whenever I place an argument, they dont even consider that, and keep on ranting the same non-sensical blanket statements!

    I am at least stating that I am a Rahman fan, these two are totally against Rahman, and they dont even admit it!

  1. VambeSivam

    When you can sing(?) praise without any rhyme or reason or logic for a music (SDM) of ARR which even he himself was quite surprised that it has reached Oscar levels, what is wrong in someone else saying that though ARR deserve an Oscar but don't deserve it for the work for which he got it?

    Pl bear in mind that whatever words you are using against them can be used against you too - meaningless or baseless or blind or deaf support to whatever ARR does. Just because someone criticizes ARR, it doesn't mean he/she has to be a fan of some other music director.

    Anyway, whether people like me like it or not, the good news is Jai Ho song keeps rocking in US. I saw yesterday that it was in 19th position among Top 20 songs in Apples iTunes' US Stores chart. But, today it has moved up to No. 18.

    Americans seem to have developed a liking to it or may be Desis in US are buying it in loads from iTunes. Hope, in due course, ARR's other really good numbers (to me at least) will also be liked by them. If it happens, then we need to thank SDM and Jai Ho for that.

  1. Aravind

    @ VS:
    You seriously don't find Mausam & Escape to be magical??

    And, you are now using Rahman's humility against him!! Do you know that Rahman thought Roja would be his last film as he thought he couldnt shine as a film composer? and, it went on to be listed as one of the top 100 movie soundtracks of all time!

    Moreover, best Background score is selected based on how well the score fits with the movie.. and, SDM's background score was just perfect...
    Not just oscars, but BAFTAS, Golden Globes, and many other critics societies including NY Critics, San Diego critics presented the best background score award to ARR for SDM! You guys are doubting the voting process at EACH OF THESE awards?!?
    You guys are falling flat on on your face with each argument that you guys make! LOL!

    And, the argument that ARR has composed so much better stuff and so he doesnt deserve it for SDM is the stupidest argument ever!!
    Are all these awards there to evaluate all works of Rahman and find the best out of those?? Out of all the movie scores that competed this year, the award committees felt that SDM is the best! How could that be wrong???

    You guys seem to be here to try and tarnish Rahman's image.... So, you wont accept any argument, however logical it may be, as I've seen over the past few weeks!

  1. Eddie

    R I P bro. You are a gone case. "Beyond repair", if I were to technically phrase it. Blinkers have been welded to you. Same ol' pointless crap again & again. Even ARR wouldn't endorse your views bud.

  1. Aravind

    @ Eddie:
    looking at all the crap u've written here, i should tell that to u dude!!

    look back at all those comments u've written in my blog and tell me if u have made any reasonable, meaningful, logical argument!
    Nothing.. absolutely nothing!
    the only thing u kept saying was ARR used to make good music, and he lost it now...
    no counter arguments, no justifications, no proofs!!~
    u're incorrigible!!

  1. Eddie

    You've lost your mind Arvindh...if you ever had one. You can only put back whatever I say. Even there you copy, well you guys are so used to it. What more should I say?

  1. Aravind

    @ Eddie:
    there u go again...
    typical of you!

    you never respond to any of the points i make... u keep saying the same rubbish again and again!
    whats the use of arguing with u?

  1. VambeSivam

    //Out of all the movie scores that competed this year, the award committees felt that SDM is the best!//

    May be you are right, here.

    What can the Awards Committees do? They tried to select the Best from among the Worst presented to them, right?

    Nobody is trying to use ARR's humility against him. It is a fact that even he didn't expect to receive an award for his work for SDM. Don't try to play the "Holier Than Thou" act, buddy.

    What we are trying to drill down your brains is though ARR has done much much better work in many of his previous movies than the crap work in SDM, he didn't get the recognition for those works. Unfortunately, as fate would have it, he got the international recognition for a work which nobody in India is even listening continuously (except of course some blind, err rather, deaf people).

    I find no difference between you & a Dravidian party worker who blindly eulogises his leader, howsoever good or bad their achievements. Grow up - you educated Visiladichan Kunjus(!)

  1. eddie

    Hey Arvindh,

    Show me one complete scoresheet written by ARR, if you can find one ever. You'l know what I am talking about buddy. Meanwhile I understand you might be busy preparing a reply for Vambesivam. Tough ask. Keep trying.

  1. Aravind

    @ Vambe sivam:

    //Nobody is trying to use ARR's humility against him//
    That's exactly what you are doing!

    //crap work in SDMThis is exactly why u guys are a what one may call "uLLoor Vayitherichchal ghoshti"!

    Everyone, including AR himself, agrees that SDM is not his best work... but to call it "crap" just shows how hell-bent you are on trying to tarnish his image!

    What's wrong with you people? Is Hans Zimmer crazy to say that Latika's theme is the best Love theme? Ok, leave Hans Zimmer!

    Unga manasaatchiya thottu sollunga - Don't u find even a little brilliance in "Mausam & Escape"? Or in the amazing east- meets-west fusion of Liquid Dance?

    Idhellam "crap" nu solla ungalukku ellam apdi manasu varudhu?

    As I've mentioned earlier, there are a few songs of AR which I'm not too fond of, which I wish he hadn't composed... But SDM definitely doesn't belong to that category!

    You guys are criticising SDM only because it got so much fame, not because it's a weak soundtrack, which it isn't!

    UngaLa ellaam thirutha mudiyaadhu!! whats the use of arguing with u!

    @ Eddie:
    oh.. so now, u're bringing back the same age old argument of "he's not a composer, he's only a sound engineer" crap..
    what are u hinting at? that he can't write music?
    CRAP!

    anyways, how many Indian film composers do u know, who publish their sheet music of their songs? Why do you expect AR alone to do that?

  1. Aravind

    @ Vambe:
    //They tried to select the Best//

    Exactly.. this is the point i've been trying to drive home to ppl like u... Finally, somehow, it percolated into ur head, i guess!

    Then isn't the argument that "it doesn't deserve all the fame" so idiotic??? Isn't it absolutely senseless to compare SDM with other work's of AR to back up that idiotic argument?

    //a work which nobody in India is even listening continuously//Again, another argument which may sound great, until someone like me burst the bubble!
    How many ppl in India keep listening to movie soundtracks? Except the two full songs, all are background score pieces and u very well know background scores are never popular in this part of the world and people dont listen to them continuously!
    If you're talking about the songs - Jai Ho is a rage, and no one can deny it!

    This argument is one more proof that u're not unbiased as u claim to be, but u are anti-arr... probably because u are pro-someone-else!!

  1. Anonymous

    "background scores are never popular in this part of the world and people dont listen to them continuously !"....????

    W T F do you mean? This is a degrading comment on all Indian movie buffs & ppl with a sincere ear for BGMs. Well you are not one, and this ridiculous statement of yours clearly proves it.

    Moreover my friend, ARR can only ask others to write music for him based on what he wants to experiment & perhaps he can play along with a score sheet in front of him, discounting the number of rehearsals he may have to do before he plays a piece right. Ask him to write a full score for his own tune, he'll disappear as fast as Mr. Bolt.

    Now if you ask me for the source of information, if you are willing to take the risk, I can share it on this blog and mind you, this will be really really embarassing for all you guys & your blog might go out of the window.

  1. Eddie

    "background scores are never popular in this part of the world and people dont listen to them continuously !"....????

    W T F do you mean? This is a degrading comment on all Indian movie buffs & ppl with a sincere ear for BGMs. Well you are not one, and this ridiculous statement of yours clearly proves it.

    Moreover my friend, ARR can only ask others to write music for him based on what he wants to experiment & perhaps he can play along with a score sheet in front of him, discounting the number of rehearsals he may have to do before he plays a piece right. Ask him to write a full score for his own tune, he'll disappear as fast as Mr. Bolt.

    Now if you ask me for the source of information, if you are willing to take the risk, I can share it on this blog and mind you, this will be really really embarassing for all you guys & your blog might go out of the window.

  1. VambeSivam

    //They tried to select the Best from among the Worst presented to them//

    This is what I have written & you have conveniently cut it short to suit your convenience. Very Smart work. But the fact remains SDM is Best Among Worst musical scores in Oscar 2009.

    //but u are anti-arr... probably because u are pro-someone-else!!//

    Another GEM from an "insecure" ARR fan. Don't try to do a BUSH, man. Do you remember the famous lines "You are Either With US or Against US" - post 9/11?

    Just because I criticize ARR for his work in a movie or a couple of movies, it doesn't mean I am anti-ARR or pro-someone else. I too like ARR's songs but definitely am NOT a fool to say I like every song of ARR even though I actually don't like some like in SDM, which, according to me, is among his crappiest lot.

    You are so blinded by being a fan of ARR, you guys can't even see simple things in life as they are & now even seemed to have lost the ability to differentiate the good or right from the bad or wrong.

    All said & done, I can only pity people like you, who call yourself a rahMANIAC. Till now, I used to take that word lightly but now I realise how truthful you are to your self-proclaimed pet name. No normal human being can deal with a Maniac, who needs to be kept under protective environs (for the sake of others, I mean) & to be dealt with only by a qualified Phychiatrist.

    I pray to God to give you maniacs a second chance to live & enjoy life.

  1. Aravind

    @ VS:
    You're evading all my questions!!
    how can a true music-lover not like a track like mausam-and-escape?
    U didnt know what to answer, so u conveniently avoid that bit... see, ungalukkum konjam conscience irukku!!

    anyways, unga screen name la ye theriyudhey.. vambu panna thaan vandhu irukeenga nu! vambu panna thaan vandhu irukeenga na, unga kitta argue panni enna use?

    I state facts, i give reasoning.. all u can give is just one line that SDM is crap! whatever I say, ur reply is going to be that only!

  1. Aravind

    //Another GEM from an "insecure" ARR fan.//

    ha ha ha! insecure, it seems!
    I didnt make that statement that u're anti-arr without any reason...
    show ur arguments to any person who has at least a little bit of music sense, u'll definitely get the response that i gave!

  1. Aravind

    @ Eddie:
    Off you go into denial mode again..
    did I ever say that NO ONElistens to BGMs here? I myself am a great fan of BGMs, I rip voiceless BGMs from DVDs and try to lay my hands on as many OSTs as possible...

    But the fact is that the background scores are not officially released, and only a handful actually download and listen to the tracks which are ripped and posted on the web!
    that would be max about 1-2% of the entire movie-watching public? and u call that popularity of BGMs? Right!!

    //ARR can only ask others to write music for him based on what he wants to experiment & perhaps he can play along with a score sheet in front of him, discounting the number of rehearsals he may have to do before he plays a piece right//

    This is absolute slander and nothing else! He didnt get scholarships from Trinity college, for nothing!

    Moreoever, I've interacted with ppl who have worked closely with ARR - people like Srini sir and Chinmayee... And they always mention about his spontaneity, and his natural ability, his adeptness on the piano! I myself have worked for his concerts, been on the backstage, been with the crew during rehersals - and I can only say, HE IS A NATURAL! Even before the microphones are connected, he just goes and sits in front of the piano and starts playing! he goes into a world of his own... and listening to that is pure bliss...

    If you've had that wonderful experience, you wont type such non-sense here... may be u will...
    When have you been reasonable, even a little bit? you're on a silly mission to try ant taint his name, and u wont stop!


    You're reducing ur credibility day-by-day by making such statements, dude!

  1. Nash

    ARR truely deserved Oscar.....but one thing i think is that he got Oscr for not one of his best .

  1. Untitled

    Arvind, I am so glad you have this blog. Just ignore the people who are arguing over here. They obviously dont feel the music in the way we do. Slumdog has Rahman's finest work ever. I have been a great fan of ARR since Roja. Mausam, Latika's theme, O Saya, Jai Ho the soundtracts are just unbeleivable. Do you seriously think that these would have listened to the soundtracks!! I still know people who say Jaiho is not a great track. But f*ck them man, MJ appreciated the chords progression. Screw the world!

  1. Unknown

    @ eddie agree wit u.. its true, even he said that he really was surprised to get an award for the this particular film.. one of the songs were composed for his hindi movie, but they didnt want it.. so he decided to use it in slumdog millionaire.. he deserved an oscar for ROJA.. or dil se.. or even now Vinnaithaandi varuvaaya.. not shitty slumdog millionaire.. its the worst album of his ever! and he wud agree on that!

  1. Anonymous

    we can say that ar rahman sir`s best was jodhaa akbhar or Roja,Bombay ,Lagaan

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