Indian composer AR Rahman has been nominated for this year’s Academy Awards for his music on director Danny Boyle’s new film 127 Hours. Rahman is nominated for Oscars for Best Score and Best Song, the latter being a collaboration with British singer Dido. The Oscars take place on 27 February. Rahman is dubbed the Mozart of Madras, the city where he works. He won two Oscars for his soundtrack to 2009’s multi-award winning Slumdog Millionaire, another Boyle movie. And in 2010 he won two Grammy Awards – best film song and best soundtrack – at the prestigious music ceremony for the same film.
Last year, he missed out on an Oscar nomination for a Tamil song from the Hollywood film, Couples Retreat, after being shortlisted. Boyle’s 127 Hours tells the true story of Aron Ralston, a US mountaineer who was forced to cut off his own arm after being trapped under a boulder in a canyon for five days. Rahman, a former jingle maker, began writing music and songs for film nearly two decades ago. The BBC’s Soutik Biswas says the composer has an impressive range, from reggae to hip hop to Indian folk and jungle rhythms to Western classical music. The 45-year-old finally won recognition as India’s first truly global film music composer with his score for Boyle’s Slumdog Millionaire. Rahman remains one of the most sought-after music directors in Bollywood, though in recent years he has cut back on his work there to focus on overseas projects. – BBC
