Even though fellow-nominee Bruce Springsteen puts up tough competition, the scales tip heavily in A R Rahman's favour at the Grammys because Slumdog is still the hot new flavour of the West
Even though fellow-nominee Bruce Springsteen puts up tough competition, the scales tip heavily in A R Rahman's favour at the Grammys because Slumdog is still the hot new flavour of the West
Bruce Springsteen, who has won 19 Grammys till date, maybe America's biggest working class hero but AR Rahman and Slumdog Millionaire represent a global phenomenon right now, say Indian film and music stars. Springsteen's title track for The Wrestler and Rahman's Jai Ho have been nominated for the Best Song Written For Motion Picture, Television Or Other Visual Media at the upcoming Grammys next month.
"America is currently riding the Asian wave," says singer Kailash Kher, who has been working with Rahman since 2004, adding, "Springsteen could be America's sweetheart but Rahman represents the world right now. When we (Kher's band Kailasa) toured America, we noticed that the people are really curious about Asian sounds and music. The atmosphere is set for Rahman to win not just one, but God willing, both the Grammys."
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Will Oscar snub get Springsteen Grammy points?
This year, Springsteen was snubbed by the Academy Awards, setting off an outrage of sorts amongst world music media. The Spin magazine described Springsteen's title track for The Wrestler as "intensely affecting emotional specificity", found lacking in the other Oscar nominees, and the writer of the piece took a dig at the track's absence in the Academy shortlist for Best Original Song: "it's as if the nods are decided by throwing darts at a board labeled 'next best things'." Said Rolling Stone magazine: "In shocking news,
Bruce Springsteen's The Wrestler didn't even get a nod despite winning the Golden Globe..."
The fact that Rahman won all the major awards including the Golden Globe and the BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) for the Best Music Score for Slumdog should reflect on the Grammys as well, feels Sanjeev Thomas, lead guitarist and founder of Chennai-based band Rainbow Bridge. "All the other experts have recognised him and it would look weird if the Grammy jury didn't give him the award," says Thomas, who has also worked with Rahman on film scores such as Delhi 6 and has been a part of the composer's Jai Ho tour this year.
Springsteen's same ol', same ol'
There's also the most important aspect of breaking new ground. Most feel that Springsteen's gritty, soul-searching compositions and lyrics fall into a classic pattern and have almost become a formula, while Rahman offers a brand new sonic soundscape. "It's a bit of a tough fight against Springsteen but they've heard him before. Rahman is the new wave in America," says fanboy and Dev.D composer Amit Trivedi.
Some others like composer Salim Merchant, who also looks upto the Indian composer, is extremely optimistic when he says, "I'm sure Rahman will bring home both the Grammys. I haven't heard other songs or score in their respective categories but the way Jai ho and the Slumdog album has penetrated and reached out, I have a strong feeling that he will get it."
The 52nd Annual Grammy Awards will be held at the Staples Centre in Los Angeles on January 31, 2010.
Equal Music
The uncanny similarities in the lives of Springsteen and Rahman
>>Both are the only sons to their parents (Springsteen has two sisters and Rahman has three).
>>Both mothers were instrumental in helping their careers take off. Springsteen's mum took a loan to buy him a guitar when he was 16, which the rockstar has referred to in the song The Wish. Rahman's mother pushed him into a career in music and continues to be one of his biggest influences. The word 'amma' in Maa Tujhe Salaam is his tribute to his mother Kareema.
>>Both are devoted to their families and have three kids.
Springsteen is known to be as much of a workaholic as Rahman. "Springsteen has an unbelievable work ethic. He can work from early morning to late night. For him, it was all about the package, the art. It was all about making it right, and if it wasn't right, he would go back and do it over again until it was. Only then could it be released," Frank Stefanko, author and photographer of the book Days of Hopes and Dreams-An Intimate Portrait of Bruce Springsteen
'It's a bigger hit than any of the other Grammy nominees'
Shekhar Kapur
"The most important thing about being celebrated in the West is the fact that you can experiment a lot more and expand your horizons. I think that is what Rahman will do with Mick Jagger or the other artistes we keep hearing about. One gets over the feeling of headiness quickly as I'm sure Rahman has already. The rush is a constant. For me, it's still the same rush between the words 'cut' and 'action.' In the West, the costs are higher, it's a larger scale, we take 50 days to shoot the film, but the passion is the same. 
I went to China and heard a Chinese version of Jai ho, I've heard a Japanese version of the track. I think it's a bigger hit than any of the other Grammy nominees. Jai ho has permeated the subconscious of the audience. None of us thought Rahman would win the Oscars but he did. I would be disappointed if he didn't win at the Grammy."
Film maker Shekhar Kapur worked with the composer on Bombay Dreams
'Jai ho captures... the unbridled joy of life'
Rajiv Menon
"Jai ho is an anthem song. The movement is extremely chromatic and the phrase Jai ho which is in three notes has a short signature. It's very martial in that sense. The intonation follows a folk music style, almost like a yelp so that the word ho is locked in the end. And the O sound is universal like how it's used even in Spanish songs. 
So it's a combination of the right words and right signatures. We in India have heard the style of percussion before in films such as Thiruda Thiruda but the West has never heard it. The track has captured that struggle, the hustle and bustle and the joy of commuting in trains. It's not bravery we're talking here but Jai ho captures the element of the film, which is the unbridled joy of life."
Film maker Rajiv Menon directed Minsara Kanavu and Kandukondein Kandukondein, the scores of which were composed by Rahman
'I have a hard time seeing The Wrestler winning over Jai ho'
Peter Duffy, administrator, Born To Run: The Official Bruce Springsteen Fan Club, which has over 20,944 members on Facebook
"The rawness of this track (The Wrestler) and vulnerability of it all really shadows the movie. It is one of his best tracks. Jai ho is a phenomenal song.
Although I'd like to think Springsteen will win this award, I have a hard time seeing it winning over Jai ho."
Besides 19 wins, Springsteen was nominated 23 times at the Grammys and didn't win
15,582 the number of fans on a r rahman's yahoo fan group
The soundtrack of Twilight, the teen vampire rage and the OST for Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds will put up a tough fight against Slumdog at the Grammys
ARu00a0Rahman has won 4 national awards till date
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