A.R. Rahman’s 'Infinite Love' for the world

December 25, 2012

ar-rahman

Long before Indian musician and composer A.R. Rahman became an Oscar-winning global phenomenon, the Jai Ho! writer was already legend in his home country, credited with changing the face of contemporary Indian music. In a nation obsessed with Bollywood music, his unique ability to blend Indian classical music with electronic sounds redefined an industry, and propelled him to the top, following his acclaimed debut in 1992 with the film ‘Roja’.
Then came 2008’s ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ and Rahman is officially one of the busiest composers in the world, shuttling between Los Angeles where he is lunching with Steven Spielberg one day, and Chennai in south India where his studio is based.


It’s no wonder then that it has taken the ‘Mozart from Madras [old name of Chennai]’ 15 long years to release his solo single. Following the seminal 1997 album ‘Vande Mataram’, which is still the largest-selling non-film album in India, Rahman last week released ‘Infinite Love’, a single and video, which he calls his “message of peace and hope amidst a time of dark omens of destruction”.


A project two years in the making, the song, and the upcoming album, sees Rahman back in his element. Although the first single is in English, details of the rest of the album are still held in secrecy.


The musician spoke recently about the inspiration behind the solo effort, music, world peace and living in Los Angeles.



‘Infinite Love’ was conceived about two years ago…
I worked on a scratch and then got busy and came back to it about a year ago and things sort of fell into place.
I think it’s a very relevant issue to talk about love and peace right now. There are so many things going on right now which we need to change and that was the trigger for the song.



If the world ended tomorrow…
I think it’s important to live your life every second. When you do that, you give your time to things that you get the most pleasure out of. Sometimes you can live 10 seconds and that could define your whole life. Sometimes you can live for eternity and it may not be valuable at all.



I want to inspire children…
I wanted to make ‘Infinite Love’ kid-friendly. Kids don’t have exciting content to watch these days. There are so many inappropriate things all around. I was focused on triggering some kind of inspiration for kids, to inspire them to be leaders and to remind them that we have such a great culture. There are such great pools of wisdom hidden in our country and we need to take them and give it to the world.



My son Ameen makes his acting debut in ‘Infinite Love’…
He really wanted to do it. He’s always wanted to be a musician but I’ve told him he has to work hard for it. For the video, he took acting lessons for three days before the first shot.



I like Priyanka Chopra’s voice and attitude…
She approached me when she was an upcoming actress and I didn’t really know her. And we lost touch. But I’m really glad that a major actress like her is taking this direction [moving into music]. She has fallen into the right hands and is working with the right people. I’m happy that people are branching out and expanding. I hope she grows and gets even more experimental.



Tabu and I are working on some songs…

It’s a work in progress. She has the right spirit and she loves singing. But we’re still working on it.



I am hoping for good things on qyuki.com…
The social media platform was Shekhar Kapur’s (Oscar-nominated director) brainchild. It’s a platform for creative people to express themselves with a mission to create creative leaders and to moderate the mediocre from the genius. It’s a great opportunity for people around the world and I am so happy it has caught on so beautifully.



I’m currently reading a book about screenwriting…
It’s called ‘Save the Cat!’. A really funny book. But I read half of it and slept off. Most of my reading is done on flights. It’s a long way to Los Angeles from Chennai.



I don’t have time to listen to music much…

I don’t even have an iPod. As they say, when you’re working in the kitchen, you don’t want to eat.


The last time I did something for the first time was drive in Los Angeles…
I recently received my international licence and I leased a convertible and drove all over town. It was interesting because in India, you drive in the left and in the US, they drive on the right. I haven’t driven for three years, so it was nice to take the top off and have the heater on full blast. It gets cold in LA, you know.


*Catch the full interview with A.R. Rahman on Josh Drive on Josh 97.8 with Samer and Valda tonight between 7 and 8pm. For more, go to joshfm.ae.




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Agencies
January 5,2020

Los Angeles: Kevin Feige may have confirmed that the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) will be getting its first transgender superhero but the Marvel Studios has said there is no definite timeline for that.

During a Q&A at the New York Film Academy, a fan had asked Feige about whether the studio plans to introduce LGBTQ characters into the MCU, "specifically the trans characters".

To this, the Marvel Studios president had replied, "Yes, absolutely, yes... And very soon. In a movie that we're shooting right now."

But sources in the company clarified to Variety that Feige only confirmed the first part of the comments that a trans character will appear in the MCU in future but he did not give a time period.

Though Feige did not reveal the name of the project that will introduce a LGBTQ character, fans speculate that he may have been referring to "The Eternals".

The film, which will feature an ensemble cast of Richard Madden, Angelina Jolie, Salma Hayek, Kit Harington and others, is set to unveil a gay superhero in the MCU.

Marvel Studios has been making efforts to incorporate more diversity in its films after the success of "Black Panther", which featured a virtually all-black cast, and its first woman-fronted superhero movie "Captain Marvel".

"Avengers: Endgame", which became the highest grossing movie of all-time, had featured the MCU's first gay character, a cameo by director Joe Russo.

In 2020, the studio has two releases -- Scarlett Johansson-starrer "Black Widow" and "The Eternals" -- which have been helmed by women directors.

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News Network
July 4,2020

London, Jul 4: Hollywood star Chris Hemsworth says he is really excited about the biopic on WWE legend Hulk Hogan, which is currently in development.

"The Thor" actor revealed that he will bulk up his physique for the much-anticipated film to be directed by “Joker” helmer Todd Phillips.

“This movie is going to be a really fun project. As you can imagine, the preparation for the role will be insanely physical. I will have to put on more size than I ever have before, even more than I put on for Thor.

''And then there is the accent as well as the physicality and the attitude. I will also have to do a deep dive into the rabbit hole of the wrestling world, which I'm really looking forward to doing,” Hemsworth told British magazine Total Film.

The project was announced last year, with “8 Mile” scribe Scott Silver and John Pollono attached to pen the script.

It is expected to look into Hogan's rise from the Florida wrestling circuit to becoming the face of the World Wrestling Federation in the 1980s where he squared off with villain Andre the Giant.

The 36-year-old actor, however, said that the team is still “quite a way away” from starting production on the film.

“'I haven't even seen a script yet. The project is deep in development. Todd Phillips and I met to chat about it maybe a year or two ago. We talked about the idea for the film, which I think was going to be a TV series at one point.

''There were a few different ideas about what portion of his life it was going to be set in, so we spitballed about what it could be and what I thought it might be. Thankfully, they ran with a few of those ideas and the script is in the process of being written - but Hulk Hogan is still quite a way away.''

The biopic will be produced by Michael Sugar through his Sugar23's first-look Netflix deal along with Joint Efforts' Phillips and Bradley Cooper, Eric Bischoff, and Hemsworth.

Hogan will also serve as executive producer along with Sugar23's Ashley Zalta. Steve Desmond and Michael Sherman will serve as co-producers.

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News Network
June 20,2020

Washington, Jun 20: American actor Angelina Jolie has now opened up about her 2016 divorce announcement with Brad Pitt, which shocked fans.

Fox News said the 45-year-old Jolie opened up about leaving the father of her six kids,18-year-old Maddox, 16-year-old Pax, 15-year-old Zahara, 12-year-old, Shiloh, and 11-year-old twins Knox and Vivienne.

"I separated for the well-being of my family. It was the right decision. I continue to focus on their healing," the Oscar-winning star told Vogue India magazine.

The 'Maleficent' star added, "Some have taken advantage of my silence, and the children see lies about themselves in the media, but I remind them that they know their own truth and their own minds. In fact, they are six very brave, very strong young people."

Since 2004, Pitt and Jolie were together but only married in August 2014 at their estate in France.

The 'Mr and Mrs Smith' star previously told Harper's Bazaar magazine how the last few years have been physically, emotionally and mentally turbulent for her.

"My body has been through a lot over the past decade, particularly the past four years, and I have both the visible and invisible scars to show for it," Jolie said.

"The invisible ones are harder to wrestle with. Life takes many turns. Sometimes you get hurt, you see those you love in pain, and you can't be as free and open as your spirit desires. It's not new or old, but I do feel the blood returning to my body," she added.

Besides her marriage ending on the public stage, Jolie underwent a preventative double mastectomy in 2013 followed by breast reconstruction after testing positive for the BRCA gene. In 2015, the actor 'Girl, Interrupted' star also had her ovaries and fallopian tubes removed.

She admitted it has taken a while for her to feel like her old self. She said, "The part of us that is free, wild, open, curious can get shut down by life. By pain or by harm."

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