Criticism normal for me, you can't satisfy everyone: A R Rahman

November 24, 2016

Panaji, Nov 24: Criticism is part and parcel of fame but Oscar-winning music composer A R Rahman says his way of dealing with it is to take only the constructive stuff and leave the rest behind.ARRahman

"Criticism is important. But if you want to satisfy everyone, you'll satisfy no one. You make your music so generic. Some people like something, others don't like certain things. I like criticism which is constructive," Rahman told PTI in an interview here.

"Sometimes you know that it's out of spite so, I take the ones, which are constructive. Because we all are human beings, we tend to focus on certain things with a certain vision and sometimes we ignore certain things."

Rahman, 49, marked his music-composing debut with 1992 "Roja" and there was no looking back for the singer-composer.He said his absolute passion for music has brought him to the place, where he is today.

"My constant search is 'to feel alive'. Because, we need a 'reason' to search. And you have to keep inventing that reason. That keeps me passionate to make music. Anything without passion is useless. Passion brings love, dedication and hard work," Rahman said on the sidelines of NFDC Film Bazaar here.

The music maestro has performed all over the world with many global artistes and most recently he sang with British rock band Coldplay at a festival in Mumbai.

Rahman said he did not expect that band's frontman Chris Martin would be ready to sing "Vande Mataram" with him.

"It just happened. I didn't expect. I just had a 50-50 chance. But, it was good, they were nice people. They believed in what I said. Chris told me, 'I'm taking your word for it AR and I said just trust me'," he quipped.

Rahman credits his family and fans for helping him achieve global fame. He is the only musician from India to win two Academy Awards, a Grammy Award and a Golden Globe.

"I think I'm very blessed. I owe these blessings to God, my family and fans and also the love I get from the people, who listen to my music."

The singer was in Goa to launch his hit track "Vande Mataram" in virtual reality format by giving it a 360 degrees immersive experience at film bazaar.

"It's a coincidence that I've launched it on the 10th year of Film Bazaar. It's actually amazing. I slowly got introduced to VR and I was satisfied that this is going to be next big thing and it's such an unexplored thing.

"VR makes the real things even better. It makes you feel that it's there with you. It actually reinvents the whole nostalgia and makes you go back to experience it in a very different way. It's so beautiful," he said.

The composer is now looking forward to his upcoming project "Robot 2.0", which stars superstar Rajinikanth and Akshay Kumar.

"It's still a work in progress. We have just finished one song. And we are ready for the next one," he said.

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News Network
July 26,2020

Mumbai, Jul 26: Just days after actor Kangana Ranaut made some claims on Sushant Singh Rajput's suicide case and asked why the Mumbai police is not summoning some people of the Hindi film industry, Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh on Sunday said that film director Mahesh Bhatt and Karan Johar's manager will be called for the questioning.

"Tomorrow Mahesh Bhatt will be called for questioning and we will later call Karan Johar's manager too. If required Karan Johar can also be called for the questioning in Sushant Singh Rajput case," he said while speaking to news agency.

A day Rajput's suicide, Kangana had released a two-minute video speaking highly of the deceased actor and accusing certain sections of the film industry for not acknowledging the star's talent.

Kangana had also claimed that some of the last social media posts by the actor made it evident that he was struggling to survive in the industry.

According to the police, statements of 39 people, including film critic Rajeev Masand, director-producer Sanjay Leela Bhansali, and filmmaker Aditya Chopra have been recorded in the investigation so far.

Rajput was found dead in his Mumbai residence on June 14.

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Agencies
August 4,2020

New York, Aug 4: National Award-winning documentary "Son Rise" and Geetu Mohandas-directed "Moothon" were among the films that took home the big honours at the 20th New York Indian Film Festival (NYIFF), which switched to a virtual edition this year amid the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

Over 45 feature-length narratives, shorts and documentaries from the Indian subcontinent were showcased at the festival’s virtual edition that ran for 10 days beginning July 24.

The films programmed were in various languages including Assamese, Bengali, Haryanvi, Hindi, English, Ladakhi, Maithili, Malayalam, Marathi, Nepali and Tamil.

The award ceremony for the festival was held virtually Sunday, with the filmmakers, cast, award winners and festival officials joining from across India and the US.

The award for the Best Documentary (Short) went to Saurav Vishnu-directed "Tailing Pond", which highlights the "horrifying effects of uranium extraction on the health of the indigenous population" of Jadugoda, Jharkhand.

"Son Rise" by Vibha Bakshi won the award for Best Documentary (Feature).

The documentary had won the National Award for the Best non-feature film in 2019 and was among the two centrepieces hosted by the festival this year. NYIFF called "Son Rise" “a powerful documentary about patriarchy in Haryana and efforts by a few good men to bring meaningful change in the society.”

The award for Best Short (Narrative) went to Sanat Ganu's "Arabian Nights". The narrative focuses on a child, his imaginary friend and a family that attends a conference where the attendees believe the earth is flat.

Director and scriptwriter Sudhanshu Saria accepted the award for Best Screenplay for "Knock Knock Knock". Saria’s screenplay “explores the lonely life of a man, an unlikely friendship that may or may not be real.”

Sanjana Dipu won the award for Best Child Actor for "Moothon" for her performance of a teenager in search of a brother.

Garggi Ananthan won the Best Actress award for her role as Kalyani in the film "Run Kalyani" and the Best Actor award went to Malayalam star Nivin Pauly for "Moothon". The award for the Best Director went to 23-year old Achal Mishra for "Gamak Ghar".

"Moothon" won the award for Best Film and its director Mohandas accepted the award for the film, which is "about love and loss that travels from the quiet, lush beaches of Lakshadweep to the mad hustle-bustle of the streets of Mumbai."

Produced by award-winning Indian film director and writer Anurag Kashyap, "Moothon" had premiered at last year’s Toronto International Film Festival.

NYIFF festival director Aseem Chhabra said that the process of searching for films for the festival began last fall and they were ready to showcase them to audiences in New York in April but had to change plans for the festival due to the pandemic.

"I know the best way to enjoy films is in a theatre with the audience and have live interactions, conversations. But the virtual festival is the next best option and in the process, we have been able to reach out to a much larger audience in the US, North America as well in several other countries.”

NYIFF said that a virtual edition expanded the reach of the festival and audiences from 95 countries were able to access and view the films.

Dr Nirmal Mattoo, Chairman of the Indo-American Arts Council, co-founder and owner of Atlantic Dialysis Management services, the largest private dialysis provider in New York State, said NYIFF works with an independent jury - filmmakers, film professors, writers and critics.

Indo-American Arts Council (IAAC), the leading cultural organisation, presents the festival.

"The Covid-19 pandemic has forced the closure of theatres but we believe that in such trying times arts, including films are even more important for the community’s well-being. So, this year we have decided to bring the films directly into your living rooms.” IAAC Vice-Chairman Rakesh Kaul had said.

The New York Indian Film Festival is the oldest Indian film event in North America. Over the years, the festival has held New York premieres of a wide range of films, many of them critically acclaimed, including "Monsoon Wedding", "The Namesake", "Slumdog Millionaire", "Shahid", "Dum Laga Ke Haisha" and "Gangs of Wasseypur". 

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News Network
January 14,2020

Indore, Jan 14: Yoga guru Ramdev has said that Deepika Padukone should hire persons like him for offering correct advice, days after the actress had visited Jawaharlal Nehru University in Delhi following the violence at the campus earlier this month.

"Deepika Padukone needs to study about political, social and cultural issues. She should understand more about our country. Only after gaining knowledge, she should take decisions. I feel she should have persons like Swami Ramdev for correct advice," Ramdev said at an event here on Monday.

On January 7, Padukone joined the protest at JNU after a masked mob entered the varsity campus and attacked the students and teachers with sticks and rods on January 5.

Several BJP leaders questioned the support extended by Padukone. On the other hand, the Congress threw their weight behind the actress for her stand.

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