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
March 28,2020

Mumbai, Mar 28: Bollywood superstar Akshay Kumar has donated Rs 25 crore to Prime Minister Narendra Modi''s initiative PM CARES Fund to lend support to the ongoing battle against the coronavirus pandemic.

Akshay wrote on Twitter: "This is that time when all that matters is the lives of our people. And we need to do anything and everything it takes. I pledge to contribute Rs 25 crores from my savings to Narendra Modi ji''s PM-CARES Fund. Let''s save lives, Jaan hai toh jahaan hai."

Earlier, the government set up the Prime Minister''s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund, or the PM CARES Fund, with the objective of dealing with emergency situations such as the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Contributors to the fund will enjoy tax benefits, it has been announced.

"People from all walks of life expressed their desire to donate to India''s war against COVID-19. Respecting that spirit, the Prime Minister''s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund has been constituted. This will go a long way in creating a healthier India," PM Modi announced in a tweet on Saturday.

The Prime Minister is the chairman of the trust that includes the home minister, the finance minister the defence minister

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Agencies
May 17,2020

Mumbai, May 17: TV actor Manmeet Grewal, who worked on shows like "Aadat Se Majboor" and "Kuldeepak", committed suicide after struggling with dwindling finances amid lockdown, family friend-producer Manjit Singh Rajput said.

Grewal, who was originally from Punjab, hanged himself on Friday night at his Kharghar residence here where he lived with his wife. He was 32.

Rajput, who had known Grewal for nearly seven years, said the actor was facing "financial crisis" and wasn't able to earn due to the lockdown. 

"He was going through a major financial issue and he was also in depression. The added pressure of not being able to repay loans amid this (no work phase) got to him. His wife is completely shocked and devastated," Rajput told PTI.

The producer said last rites of the actor were performed on Saturday. 

Grewal was working on projects like a webseries and some commercials, which were put on hold due to the nationwide lockdown amid the coronavirus pandemic. 

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Agencies
July 25,2020

Mumbai, Jul 25: Movie theatres have been shuttered for months due to the coronavirus pandemic in the country, but the Information and Broadcasting Ministry has now recommended that the Union Home Ministry allow cinema halls to reopen in August. 

I&B Secretary Amit Khare indicated this at a close-door industry interaction with the CII Media Committee on Friday. He said Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla at the Home Ministry would take the final call.

Khare said that he has recommended that cinema halls may be allowed to reopen all over India as early as August 1, or at the latest, around August 31.

The formula suggested is that alternate seats in the first row and then the next row be kept vacant, and proceeding in this fashion throughout.

Khare said that his ministry's recommendation takes into consideration the two metre social distancing norm, but tweaks it gently to two yards instead. The Home Ministry, however, still has to revert on the recommendation.

Cinema owners, present in the interaction, however, pushed back and said this formula is unwise and merely running films at 25% auditorium capacity is worse than keeping the cinemas shut.

The attendees at the meet included media CEOs like N.P. Singh of Sony, Sam Balsara (Madison), Megha Tata, (Discovery), Gaurav Gandhi (Amazon Prime), Manish Maheshwari (Twitter), S. Sivakumar (Bennett Coleman and Co Ltd), and K Madhavan, Star & Disney, and also Chairman, CII Media Committee.

The OTT platforms present, including Gandhi of Amazon Prime, did not push back. Some Bollywood producers, notably those of Amitabh Bachchan's Gulabo Sitabo, have posted their movies on OTT, rather than live out the lockdown uncertainty.

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