Thank You A. R. Rahman

Today has been the day...

- When I experienced one of the happiest moments in my life.
- When my dreams as a school-going kid, praying, hoping and having an epiphany that one day my hero will attain the mother of recognitions, came true, despite the fact that I had no clue then on the basis of how it is given (That’s childhood for you).
- When a few million across the globe felt happy that their co-citizen has won such recognition.
- When a few thousand or probably a million more, came to know or wanted to know & eventually fall in love, with the works of The Genius.
- When I was so excited, when I clapped so hard it hurt later.
- When the A.M.P.A.S awarded A. R. Rahman with two Oscars for his work on the movie Slumdog Millionaire.



You are the best that anyone could get and am honored to be in a lifetime that is the same as yours. Thanks for your excellent contribution that you have given and going to give.

Congratulations A. R. Rahman!

CEO 02: A. R. Rahman - Praying For Your Success

As a kid, before even I hit my teenage, I used to think that fans existed only for the heroes and heroines of movies and not for a music director. When all the friends and relatives I knew were fans of actors, I used to think that I am probably the only great fan for A. R. Rahman. It can be right as much as it can be wrong.

You don’t think too deep when you are a kid and that is exactly what I did. Here are few of the stuff that I could recollect about my craziness for A.R.

Around the time Kaadhalan was released.
- I used to collect magazines which had an A.R’s photo or an interview and stuck the pages to an old diary. I was not bothered about the frustration of those who bought the magazine’s subscription. I just removed those pages. I documented each and every film of his in that diary.

- Konica was a film-roll brand that was popular in the 90s which had a nice packaging. When I first saw it, I was fascinated as it had a picture of the Taj Mahal and a hologram. I started to collect it (There was a photo studio on my way to school which throws off the package). I thought that would be the best thing to pay as a tribute and would carefully cutout the holograms and pasted them side by side (6 rows & 5 holograms in a row) on a handmade, pocket sized cardboard with the Taj Mahal on top. Then on the left over spaces on the side, I wrote A.R.RAHMAN. That was what I thought was a grand tribute to The Genius.

- Found out that A.R’s name was listed as A.S. Dileep Kumar in the telephone directory, got his address and telephone number and wrote it down on the diary. Telephone was a luxury back then. So I gave the number to our landlord's daughter who had a telephone. She called his residence, introduced herself as a fan of A.R and talked to Him! I was standing there with the utmost jealousy that I have ever had on any person that I could recollect. I curse myself for the shyness in me that deprived me of such a great opportunity.

Around the time Rangeela was released.
- It took me a few years for me to venture out and find his residence. I had to wait till I learnt cycling and get a cycle for myself. It took me many days to enquire people who knew Kodambakkam and get an approximate location. Once I went to Kodambakkam, it took me 3 days in all to figure out his place. Every now and then I used to go and stand in front of his apartment for a few minutes, just wishing that he might come out so that I can get to meet him, but I never got to see him that way.

Around the time Vande Mataram was released.
- When I was told that I can go with Simmam Kumar (A journalist/disciple of my carnatic-singer relative) for an interview with A.R, I decided to throw away my Chemistry exam by finishing it in an hour to rush to A.R’s residence. I had no trouble finding his place :). By the way, my Chemistry teacher was the one whom I dreaded and respected the most. It is a shame that I did not talk to/get an autograph/photograph with The Genius. I was so awestruck I think I had my mouth open the entire time. I was flying off the ground for a simple fact that he looked at me in the eye and asked me for my pen (to sign his consent letter for airing the interview). By the way, that was one of the happiest moments of my life and took my craziness for him to a new level – It was the day that I realized that the man himself is as great as his work.

- My other childhood wishes were to die listening to an A. R. Rahman’s song and working for A. R. Rahman, which I think is still possible.

- Even very recently, I was the first person to buy the first concert ticket as a part of his 3D tour. First row first seat as soon as it opened for sale at Ticketmaster. I was devastated when the show in Atlanta was postponed. I had to settle for a 3rd row in Chicago. During the concert when the audience stopped clapping for the next song to start, I shouted “Thalaivaa”. I am 100% sure that he heard it, it was a shout out from a humble fan to a humble achiever.

Today, when I think of all those, a great nostalgia sets in, cheering his works in good times and bad. I was proud that I stuck with him all these years. I am never embarrassed about myself when it comes to what I have done as a fan, however silly it might be if I had done it to anybody else.

The Man’s work has helped me at many times, in getting over whatever emotions I have gone through. For that, I thank you. For that, I wish you all the good things in life. For that, I pray to The Almighty that you win one of the most coveted awards of all time – The Oscars.

Godspeed, my beloved A. R!

CA 04: Slumdog Millionaire - Truth Hurts

I am really getting annoyed by the criticisms on Slumdog Milllionaire, particularly in India. I am actually not surprised that the likes of Shiv Sena, Preity Zinta and Shilpa Shetty criticizing, but well-informed movie makers? Come on. Give me a break. I saw the movie and liked it for the movie.

It is not new that the slums are being shown in a movie. There are hundreds of movies made each year which portray slums and its dwellers. For example, take the two Oscar nominated short documentaries this year, "Smile Pinky" and "The Final Inch". Both these show India, not in an exotic or a romantic way. You get to see the slums. Please do not deny that slums are highly sanitized green rooms.

These people who criticize were fricking sleeping all the time and wake up all of a sudden when the movie becomes a hit. Who wouldn't want to take a piece of the publicity pie. These people behave is as if the people of the world were thinking that India is a rich, developed, uncorrupted and a highly moral society. Please.

Another sideshow are the claims that the kids were exploited and that the parents were demanding more money. The justification - Now that the movie is making more money why don't you share your profits. Yeah right - Now the movie makers are the devil not sharing the profits when they had signed a profit-sharing contract with royalties and copyrights to the kids' parents. Talk about exploitation!

First of all, the movie is not about the slums, it is about a person who is a slum dweller, that too only in the intial part of the movie. The movie starts in the Mumbai slums of the 80s and 90s goes on to depict how Mumbaikars have been improving. There is clearly a scene that shows that the slums do not exist anymore, instead high rise bulidings are built in that area.

The anger that is being vented is not because India is being shown wrongfully in a bad light, but because of bringing it out to the open the actual filth that exists, that too in a subtle way.

If a kid jumps in a pile of shit, it is the creative freedom that the director enjoys and does not say that every Indian would jump in a pile of shit for a movie star.

If the movie shows kids kidnapped/bought, eys removed/hands/leg amputated, for the sole purpose of making money out of begging, it is an absolute fact. If you deny that such things do not exit, then you are doing nothing but burying your head in the sand and pretending that the world doesn't exist.

If it is shown that there are people who swindle money from tourists by acting as a fake guide and that a parked car has its parts removed, it is the truth that is being told. How many times have you parked your vehicle in a place to find the vehicle itself missing, forget about its parts. Do not tell me that no one does that in India. If you stll tell me that it is not so, you are nothing but an ignorant twit and I don't have anymore patience to explain it to you.

If you thik that you are voicing your concern on a falsehood, and think that you are expressing your patroitism, my opinion is, you are not. You are just exhibiting your callowness.

In short, truth hurts. So stop being in denial, accept the harsh facts, try to deny the opportunity for future filmmakers by making things better. And yes, finally, move on and get a life. After all it is a fictitious movie and enjoy it for what it is and don't take it personally.