He never fails to disarm with his matter of fact manner. AR Rahman has a Golden Globe nomination, is possibly well on his way to another Oscar and knows it too.
(Watch: Rahman performs Jai Ho at Nobel Peace Prize concert)But when he talks about scoring the music for Danny Boyle's 127 Hours, there are no flighty explanations of how creative highs were reached in moments of otherworldliness. Rahman talks about working close to the director's vision and being guided in the right direction.
I write this with R.I.P from the film playing along and at this point I do not think I have heard anything in recent times quite as magnificent. Danny Boyle sure seems to do a great job of guiding Rahman in the right direction though unlike the shy, self-effacing magician, I'd like to credit much of it to sheer genius.
Catch Rehman on the 127 Hours experience:
127 Hours is a biopic about mountaineer Aaron Ralston, who was trapped in a Utah canyon for five days, his right arm caught under a boulder. He finally freed himself by cutting off his arm.
James Franco, who we remember from Spiderman, plays the cockily confident Aaron and is winning accolades for the manner in which he has essayed the changes in the man's psyche in the five days that he is trapped and then on to liberation.
The hot debate from reviews: Will you be able watch the arm being severed?
The 127 Hours soundtrack includes "If I Rise" on which Rahman has collaborated with pop star Dido. The two musical superstars have done something extraordinary here. Catch it -
Each number on that soundtrack is worth spending some time on. Rahman in that interview helps me, with my limited repertoire, in describing the music. "Futuristic underlayed textures" he says, and that sounds apt.
R.I.P has fast become a personal favourite, so do lend me your ears:
I am unabashedly rooting for Rahman this awards season. Not just because it gets international honours home, but because he sounds like a winner here. Incidentally, the story goes that the real-life Aaron Ralston wrote to Rahman saying: "For A.R, Thank you for bringing your amazing music to my story - if only I had your soundtrack in the canyon, I could've lasted another 127 hours. Best Wishes, A.R. (Aron Ralston)." Can there be a better tribute?
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