The Indian Sense of Freedom... Viswaroopam...

No where in the world one would dare to make a mockery of a artistic sense of freedom except in India in the name of secularism.  World Cinema celebrates every attempt of an initiative which is never attempted before and in the name of religion and its so called purist who god knows what they want guard can stand against a movie from being viewed by one and all and can declare it against the sentiments of a religion.  Who are these guardians of India can vehemently deny the right to view the movie in a country watching a movie is a culture. Who are they?.

As NDTV reported its more than the eyes meet.  An insider reveals over the distribution rights of the movie some vested interest playing possum in a democracy and absolute talent like Kamal Hassan cannot fight against such idiosyncrasy.  I am at a pain to understand how many more times one will divide India in the name of religion and we the public will stand to watch it and accept it.

Is the will of the people of India is small in front of the religious miscreants?.

Is it justified?.

A. R. Rahman Chennai Concert and " KADAL" motion Picture Album..

I have already written about ARRs Chennai Concert.  I cant stop myself from writing some more.  If any of us seen the MTV Un Plugged Season 2 - which kick started with A. R. Rahman's unplugged songs - also featured one Shaktisri Gopalan singing the song called " Nenjukulle" which went Viral in the internet within hours of its telecast.
The energy this album displays is of different kind.  A sort of divine serenity... which touches you more than one way.  I am not even referring to lyrics here which elates you to a different level altogether which some of us can understand and follow. In the Chennai concert ARR - presented almost all the soundtrack of "Kadal".  His proud " Guru " Maniratnam was all smiles.  Undoubtedly this duo has mesmerized the Indian audience with their work - individually as well as together.
I was in a flight from Delhi to Mumbai this afternoon and had the good fortune of traveling with the lesser flamboyant Khan called Irfan Khan ( the Life of Pi fame ) who was once referred by Shoba De in her column " the most over rated actor in India is Amir Khan and the most under rated actor in India is Irfan Khan" - also heard my praises for this album and promised to download this album as soon as he access his iTune store.  Yes he was using a Apple Pro lap top. :-).
This album is going to be another trend setting methodology in the music industry for India. Many will struggle to cope up with the changing times and the composition of ARR which clearly moved from the set path. Only an ARR can take such a risk.  He learnt is formula quickly and dominates the Indian music industry for over two decades now. A pathetic Blue and Jab Tak Hai Jaan - are of course need to be forgotten. His acknowledgement openly for Maniratnam as his guru proves a point a creative mind needs the freedom what he deserves. No one would have thought a rejected " Jay ho" by Subhash Ghai would have made it to Oscars through Slum Dog Millionaire.
Jaya TV did telecast this event twice during the PONGAL celebrations.  The grandeur with which the concert was executed, the super director Shanakar's presence, amicable Hasini and Maniratnam, Mass hero Kartik in the front row and a young crowd breaking into frenzy.... in our own soil one experienced an international concert .. probably first of its kind.
ARR welcome back. Every change is good and I am sure you will rock for decades to come.

 

Finally returning to my blog...

Returning to my blog pager after a very long time... it has two objectives to express. One I was mesmerized by the grandeur of A. R. Rahman's concert in Chennai. Two his new motion picture album " Kadal" yet another winner the Maniratnam & ARR duo combo. Seldom one would have seen such a frenzy in this Southern capital of Tamily Nadu - Chennai. An audience who not only went crazy but stood the test of even rain god to watch their favorite Mozart of Madras performing live. Little did people know of this maestro when he began his journey with the trend setter " ROja" again a Maniratnam & ARR duo combo. The freshness which he brought to the audience to a nation which was routinely getting no fresh ideas, ARRs entry was a welcome change with a bang. Even today he is learning and re learning himself without boundary. Kadal is one good enough proof. Amazingly rendered by all young voices, Rahman choose to experiment once again. I will not get into much details of which song is better and which one is superb which I am sure every one who listens to it will realize on their own. I was remembering the day I picked up the audio cassette of Roja in Chennai, how mesmerized I was. I had a Sony Walkman and now I have a iPod Classic 160. I still carry my music as I travel and move and cant stop from listening to Kadal again and again. In the past two decades or so the young population of India had doubled. An estimate says by 2020 the below 25 year population in India will 51% of the total population of India. And the demands of this generation is different. A global audience who not only lives in an era of information explosion but who also learns to deal with it on daily basis. Both a common man and a learned man together are learning a process of evolution which are so different from what it was some two decades ago. Why a Musician should be different. For those who frown let me assure you there will never be another R. D. Burman or there can never be another Ilayaraja. A. R. Rahman is a living legend who will stand the tests of time against all odds for the simple reason he has never stopped learning in his life and even today in the concert he played a new electronic instrument which had the our traditional instruments as a bank. He was so humble that he even went to the extent of making an appeal to the audience to forgive him if there are any mistake since he was learning the instrument and not fully conversant with it. This is the Oscar pride of India. He still talks like a kid on an exploratory trip. He does not talk in circles which will make most of us wonder what does he mean or what he doesn't mean. No nonsense and non complicated communication and to the point. He lets his music talk. The Chennai concert was almost ruined by the rain gods. Even the rain god decided to let her favorite child play the music and in the end the maestro acknowledged the prayers of the audience and allowed an eruption of smiles on all those faces. A true inspiration to watch performing live. Great gong ARR. Keep it up. The millions who loved your music when you started have only quadrupled now and some of us fading in the back ground with age. Your music makes us feel different. Current. Connected. Thanks a ton.