While India revels in the news about Oscar-winning Indian composer A. R. Rahman making it to the list of 114 probables for the 87th Oscars in the Best Original Score category, the man in question is adopting a cautious approach.
Three of Rahman compositions have made it to the Oscar probable list including those for the Hollywood films The Hundred-Foot Journey and Million Dollar Arm and the Rajinikanth film Kochadaiiyaan.
“I am not excited yet. To be nominated will be exciting, but this is fine,” said Rahman in an interview prior to his Dubai Sufi Weekend concert in Dubai on Thursday night at the Dubai World Trade Centre. The Oscar nomination announcements will be made on January 15.
Rahman brought Oscar glory to India in 2009 when he won two Oscars for Danny Boyle’s Slumdog Millionaire.
“I have already won the Oscar which many people get late in their life. [There are] people who really deserve [it], like Danny Elfman [American composer behind the 1989 Batman film theme who was nominated for an Oscar four times in his career]. He always says if there’s a Danny Elfman Oscar, I will only be nominated. It’s about timing and destiny and I am incredibly lucky. So it is nice to be recognised but it is about musicality and whether my music after 20 or 25 years would still excite me,” said Rahman.
On Thursday, he will reveal a slice of his personality by highlighting his love for Sufi music. It’s the first time in his prolific career that he will be headlining a Sufi concert.
“In 1997-1998, when I watched [late] Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, I was inspired because it was an amazing experience watching him perform Sufi music. In some ways, it influenced me a lot,” said Rahman. It will also be a departure from his usual concerts.
“Usually my shows are full extravaganzas… This is more hypnotic. It’s my first time so I am excited and nervous.”
Rahman has never missed an opportunity to include Sufi music into popular Bollywood films. His songs Khwaja Mere Khwaja from Aishwarya Rai Bachchan film Jodha Akbar, Piya Haji Ali from Hrithik Roshan’s Fiza, and Ariziyan from Abhishek Bachchan’s Delhi 6 stand proof to his Sufi leanings.
“Sufi music is about love — whether it’s about love for the prophet [PBUH], God or somewhere that is the essence of it,” said Rahman. While the first day will see A. R. Rahman take to the stage, the second day of the Dubai Sufi Weekend will have Sunidhi Chauhan and Rahat Fateh Ali Khan performing.
Tickets to the Dubai Sufi Music Weekend are Dh195, Dh295, Dh395, Dh495, Dh750 and Dh1,000, are availabe at platinumlist.com.
