Tuesday, February 24, 2009

The Mozart of Madras- Jai ho, Jai Hind

When accepting his Oscar, A R Rehman said that he had always been faced with the choice in life between love and hate. He chose love and that has brought him to that point... Watching him say those words made me wonder whether love had made him the musical genius he is.

Before there were the Oscars, and before there was Andrew Lloyd Webber and the hype reached the levels they are at now, there was Rehman and there was his phenomenal music. Even today listening to "Chhoti si Asha" or "Tu hi re"gives me goose bumps. He was that good from the onset. I always thought he was a class act- his music stood apart from the rest of the music I heard.

His unassuming and low profile persona also endeared him to me. He always let his music speak for itself. He is a classic example of someone for whom the sheer quality of his work gave him the success he has achieved. He did not have to toot his horn, or beat his own drum. What he did was toot his musical horn, and beat the rhythm of his music. And the world, listened. It was forced to bow its head in tribute, and it fell at his feet: a genuflection to genius!

When listening to his music, if you close your eyes, you can stand on the stage with him in his signature style: Arms flung up, legs braced for impact, and head flung back and singing with abandon.

He certainly is the Mozart of Madras! He is everything a true artist should be: someone who reaches out and conquers the world, with his art, his love, his compassion and his humility.

Every year as we watch the Oscars, and we see as emotions leap and jump at the announcements, we smile but we just think of the cast and crew who are caught up in it. But this year, the leaps and joy was not limited to the cast and crew. An entire industry, a nation leapt and was joyous!! Jai ho, Jai Hind!! We love you Rehman!!

No comments:

Post a Comment