Is an Oscar next, Mr Rahman?
His voice is soft over the phone, almost inaudible. He has just done a lot of interviews, and the tiredness in his voice is clear.
There are no niceties, no formal hello; instead he plunges straight into the agenda of the day — that’s a typical A. R. Rahman interview for you. The 43-year-old music composer is as humble as he is talented, as unaffected by success as he is successful.
“Unbelievable,” he said as he stood on the podium with a Golden Globe statuette in his hand. And it was. That an Indian composer could win such a coveted international honour for what is essentially such an Indian soundtrack — and do it all with a minimum of fuss, is a matter of pride for all Indians.
“If I win it, it will be a surprise,” he told the media the day he was leaving for Los Angeles. “But if I do win, I want to win for India.”
He didn’t forget to mention his country in his acceptance speech on Sunday, thanking the “one billion” people of India for the praise.
Those one billion will now be egging him on for even greater heights — don’t forget, the Oscars are just a little over a month away, and to see an Indian composer hold that coveted trophy in hand is something we could only have dreamed of — until now.
Join us in congratulating Rahman and wishing him all the best for the Oscars. Jai Ho!
