The Oscar Glory
9:23 AM Edit This 0 Comments »by Bharadwaj M.V
The wait is finally over. Slumdog millionaire has bagged not one or two, but eight Oscars. And it's a very special moment for India, as three of the awardees are Indians. The Mozart of madras, (A.R.Rahman as he is fondly called) bagged two awards, out of which one was shared with Gulzar, the lyricist for the song “Jai Ho”. These people have really made India proud and what's more heartening is their humble attitude. “Ella pughazhum iraivanukke” (all praise to the Lord); I'm a holding a piece of history in my hand and I'm so glad to have made my country proud; these were the statements by Rahman and Resul Pookutty.
Looking down the memory lane, it has been quite a long journey for Indian film music. Earlier, the songs were purely classical based, with the likes of G Ramanathan, M.K. Thyagaraja Bagavathar, etc. One can still not forget the song sequence in the film “Thiruvilaiadal”, in which actor Sivaji Ganesan plays the role of Lord Shiva. On comparison of such songs to the ones released recently, one cannot just simply miss to note the huge transformation undergone by the Indian film music. It all started with the Indian music directors adopting western techniques. Popular music directors like M.S.Vishwanathan and Ilayaraaja brought western influences to their compositions. The tune was very much classical based, but the orchestrations were done using western equipments. Obviously, their music appealed to a wide range of audience, namely the classical audience for the employment of Raagas, the urbanites for the western sounds, and the rural audience for the presence of folk elements. This was the scenario till 90s.
With the release of “Roja”, the Tamil film industry saw the entry of A.R. Rahman, who was till then working as key board player for Ilayaraaja. Born to a musician father, Rahman had to undergo several rough patches in his life before he finally got the much deserved acclaim and popularity. Rahman used technology to his aid, which has given rise to the production of completely different type of music.
But on the flip side, many feel that there are various other marvelous compositions that deserved an Oscar. Even Rahman accepted that Slumdog is definitely not his masterpiece. Considering the various opinions published in the newspapers, Rahman should have been awarded an Oscar for his maiden venture, the Tamil film titled “Roja”, which was an instant hit. One enthusiastic fan of Rahman said, “I don't think he can perfect himself than his work in Roja. “ Nevertheless, getting nominated for Oscars is in itself is a big achievement and winning two awards in one stroke is something which no Indian would have even dreamt of in his wildest dreams. So let us just join in the celebrations and wish that the award brings in a sea change in the attitude of our producers, who, of late, have been passing off top rated crass as entertainment. Let us hope that art gets its due recognition.
The wait is finally over. Slumdog millionaire has bagged not one or two, but eight Oscars. And it's a very special moment for India, as three of the awardees are Indians. The Mozart of madras, (A.R.Rahman as he is fondly called) bagged two awards, out of which one was shared with Gulzar, the lyricist for the song “Jai Ho”. These people have really made India proud and what's more heartening is their humble attitude. “Ella pughazhum iraivanukke” (all praise to the Lord); I'm a holding a piece of history in my hand and I'm so glad to have made my country proud; these were the statements by Rahman and Resul Pookutty.
Looking down the memory lane, it has been quite a long journey for Indian film music. Earlier, the songs were purely classical based, with the likes of G Ramanathan, M.K. Thyagaraja Bagavathar, etc. One can still not forget the song sequence in the film “Thiruvilaiadal”, in which actor Sivaji Ganesan plays the role of Lord Shiva. On comparison of such songs to the ones released recently, one cannot just simply miss to note the huge transformation undergone by the Indian film music. It all started with the Indian music directors adopting western techniques. Popular music directors like M.S.Vishwanathan and Ilayaraaja brought western influences to their compositions. The tune was very much classical based, but the orchestrations were done using western equipments. Obviously, their music appealed to a wide range of audience, namely the classical audience for the employment of Raagas, the urbanites for the western sounds, and the rural audience for the presence of folk elements. This was the scenario till 90s.
With the release of “Roja”, the Tamil film industry saw the entry of A.R. Rahman, who was till then working as key board player for Ilayaraaja. Born to a musician father, Rahman had to undergo several rough patches in his life before he finally got the much deserved acclaim and popularity. Rahman used technology to his aid, which has given rise to the production of completely different type of music.
But on the flip side, many feel that there are various other marvelous compositions that deserved an Oscar. Even Rahman accepted that Slumdog is definitely not his masterpiece. Considering the various opinions published in the newspapers, Rahman should have been awarded an Oscar for his maiden venture, the Tamil film titled “Roja”, which was an instant hit. One enthusiastic fan of Rahman said, “I don't think he can perfect himself than his work in Roja. “ Nevertheless, getting nominated for Oscars is in itself is a big achievement and winning two awards in one stroke is something which no Indian would have even dreamt of in his wildest dreams. So let us just join in the celebrations and wish that the award brings in a sea change in the attitude of our producers, who, of late, have been passing off top rated crass as entertainment. Let us hope that art gets its due recognition.
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