Genius, and something else...

Rahman created history by clinching two Academy Awards past sunday at Los Angeles for Slumdog Millionaire - one for the best score and other for the best song (Jai Ho). Being the first Indian to do so speaks volumes about this legendary composer. From his humble beginnings as a music composer in early 90's with Roja (for which he won National Award as a debutant, another first), he definitely has come a long way. Much has been written about his genius and after his latest triumph, much will be written. I, however, would like to focus on a different matter.Lets examine the factors that may have played a part in the build-up to Rahman winning the Oscars.

Composition
No two views about it, the composition was absolutely world class. Score for the movie was fabulous, but I frankly think that the song Jai Ho was not something which can bag an Academy. Over the years, Rahman has composed so many songs which can make Jai Ho look like a pretty ordinary composition. One of my friends argued that Jai Ho has used such a variety of musical instruments and vocal pitches that it appeals to 'foreign junta' unlike the 'regular Indian stuff'. He has a point, but this is not the first time Rahman has used a variety of instruments and vocal pitches in a song. So what else might be at work here?

The Package
Its not only about the music, there were performances, technical aspects, direction, cinematography et al. - all handled and executed to near perfection. And such a package rightfully creates a media hype which benefits all the departments, especially if the department (music, in this case) is a contributing factor to the hype.

Rise of the Emerging Markets
India, in particular has been the darling of developed markets at various points in time. There was a period (1994-2000) when Indian beauties would win international beauty pageants very often. Looking back, does it mean that India produced women of exceptional beauty and talent back then, and the era is over now ? Now look at it from a different angle: 1992-1993 was the time when all the cosmetic biggies were trying to enter India and epitomizing Indian beauty on a world level was a natural precursor to creating a demand for cosmetics and allied products.
The same thing is happening now as well. An audience of a billion people, who have started to accept different forms of cinema (Spiderman, Matrix and many others were run-away successes), is a natural target for western film-makers and production studios.

Its startling - what may simply pass as a genius can comprise of so many other factors working together in harmony, which actually results in the recognition of the genius.

The sad part is that it takes a foreign director and crew to make the world sit-up and take notice of the phenomenon called A R Rahman. The good part, however, is that the world has taken notice and the benefits of the same are bound to trickle into many corners of Indian cinema. Long live AR!