A lot's in a book
The first book on A.R. Rahman, “The Musical Storm”, written by Kamini Mathai was released a couple of years ago. It was touted as a book written with Rahman's concurrence and based on lengthy interactions and interviews with the composer as well as people associated with him, including his family. Somewhere around the time of its release, Rahman mentioned that the book had not been authenticated by him and, therefore, was a sort of an unauthorised biography. “I didn't read Kamini's biography... so, I didn't authorise it,” he told CinemaPlus.
Now, renowned film historian Nasreen Munni Kabir, who has made over 80 documentaries on Indian cinema for Channel 4 TV, U.K. launches “AR Rahman: The Spirit of Music”, which provides a fascinating window to the world of the great artiste. In this authorised biography, she provides rare insights into Rahman's life and his music. There are photographs from his personal archives as well as a gratis CD of music composed by him (eight tracks). Says Rahman: “The one with Munni is a conversations' book... it has biographical elements...and I've read this to authorise it.”
New star in town
Another star sibling enters tinsel town. Actor Arya's brother Satya is being launched as hero in director Milind's debut venture Kadhal 2 Kalyanam . This film by Milind, who's gained a lot of experience assisting Mani Ratnam ( Kannathil Muttamittal, Aayitha Ezhuthu, Yuva and Guru ), will have Divya Spandana starring opposite Satya, who plays the role of a radio jockey. Having undergone training in Anupam Kher's acting institute for this role, Satya with his chocolate boy-cum-boy-next-door image, is expected to make an impact just like his brother did.
Says Milind: “As the title suggests, the film is a breezy entertainer that talks about two people who fall in love and get married. Life after marriage is eventful, and sometimes, even hilarious. The film is about the life of today's youth. I needed a fresh face and Satya fit the bill. Arya, too, felt the role would be ideal to launch his brother.”
Getting musical!
We have always marvelled at Vijaya T. Rajender's multi-faceted activities in his film productions, including writing, composing and singing songs. His son STR (as Simbu is getting to be known) seems to have developed this talent, too. On and off, Simbu has been singing songs for films, the latest being the ‘Evandi Unna Petha' from Vaanam . Now we hear that both father and son have sung a song each for director P. Sriram's forthcoming Doo , starring Sanjay and Nakshatra. The music has been scored by composer-duo Abhishek-Lawrence. Says Sriram: “Simbu had sung a song in one of Abhishek-Lawrence's earlier films. They were insistent that the melodious ‘Oru Parveyale' be rendered by him. Even as this was happening, the composers came up with a ‘kuthu' song that would sound great in Vijaya T. Rajender's voice. Now, we have two terrific songs ready.”
The next big break
Following his being roped in for Shankar's Nanban , where he reprises the role essayed by Madhavan in 3 Idiots , Srikanth has been careful in his selection of scripts. His next is director Ramkumar's Ethiri En 3 . “This film is different, yet has all the requisite commercial elements. I took about eight months to decide, and signed up only after I was confident this will be a good follow-up to Nanban . It is an urban story about a software professional from a simple family, and a lot of real incidents have been incorporated in the script. Of course, it will also show the darker side of urban life. And, as far as Nanban is concerned, it is shaping up very well. It is a remake and there are bound to be comparisons, but Nanban will have its own flavour. And, I'm sure it will set the trend for films with an ensemble cast,” says Srikanth.
