By: Hamza Shafique
Last week I was invited by Vox Cinemas for the premiere of India’s first ever concert movie ‘One Heart: The A.R. Rahman Concert Film’. Event was overall very nicely organized but what made it special was the fact that the Oscar winner A.R. Rahman, himself graced us with his presence (along with few members of his band).
After the meet and greet the movie started. I will be honest I have never been to a concert movie before so wasn’t sure what to expect. The format of the movie was simple. We got to see the full concert with life stories and philosophy behind the work of A.R. Rahman and thoughts of his band members towards working with him, shared from time to time throughout the concert.
This is not a usual film so I will not give the usual rating. If you are A.R. Rahman’s fan, enjoy modern live music and want to know more about the legend himself then this movie is perfect for you. It’s already playing in Cinemas and I see schedule at the moment till 6th Sept only, so hurry up and book now.
In the end, I would like to thank Vox Cinemas for the invite and giving me the opportunity to meet the music genius of our time.
Last week I was invited by Vox Cinemas for the premiere of India’s first ever concert movie ‘One Heart: The A.R. Rahman Concert Film’. Event was overall very nicely organized but what made it special was the fact that the Oscar winner A.R. Rahman, himself graced us with his presence (along with few members of his band).
Plan of the event was as usual, hosted by famous RJs from Radio Mirchi with giveaways for fans who were waiting for A.R. Rahman. There were also some live performances, where selected few got a chance to perform in front of the music maestro. After the activities outside the cinema screen, I got the chance to meet and greet with Mr. Rahman (which included a hand shake and a picture, which btw I still haven’t received).
It wasn’t a media event so there wasn’t any press junket but still A.R. Rehman agreed to answer 2 questions and opportunity was wasted by stupid people who instead of asking any interesting questions simply requested him to sing a song. To which he politely replied by saying watch the movie there is plenty of singing in it. This really did upset me as if you don’t have question then don’t waste the opportunity and give people with real questions a chance.
Movie Review:
Movie Review:
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| some self promotion :) . Not my best picture but I don't care I am with A.R. Rehman |
There is no need to say that the music I got to hear throughout the movie was spectacular and was the soul of the full experience. Most of the music was more like innovative and modern remix of classical Rehman’s tunes, designed especially for a live audience. A lot of the songs were in Tamil which I couldn’t understand but during Tamil portions, pitch perfect vocals of A.R. Rahman and Jonita Gandhi, sounded more like musical instruments which managed to keep the overall experience pleasant for me (and I am sure will work similarly for other non-Tamil speakers as well).
Another interesting element of the movie was the diverse band that A.R. Rahman managed to assemble. To watch so many unique people with different talents and backgrounds, coming together and becoming one sound (or heart as the name suggests) made the whole movie experience even more interesting. I was surprised to find one of my favorite Pakistani musician ‘Shiraz Uppel’ in the band as well, playing key board and giving vocals behind Mr. Rahman.
Cinematography and script, I am not sure how it works for such movies, not sure if whatever Mr. Rahman or the band members were saying was spontaneous or scripted but it blended well together with the tone of the film. Especially the scenes of A.R. Rahman shot walking among trees, where he talks about his spiritual side followed by Qawwali created very surreal environment.
Another interesting element of the movie was the diverse band that A.R. Rahman managed to assemble. To watch so many unique people with different talents and backgrounds, coming together and becoming one sound (or heart as the name suggests) made the whole movie experience even more interesting. I was surprised to find one of my favorite Pakistani musician ‘Shiraz Uppel’ in the band as well, playing key board and giving vocals behind Mr. Rahman.
Cinematography and script, I am not sure how it works for such movies, not sure if whatever Mr. Rahman or the band members were saying was spontaneous or scripted but it blended well together with the tone of the film. Especially the scenes of A.R. Rahman shot walking among trees, where he talks about his spiritual side followed by Qawwali created very surreal environment.
This is not a usual film so I will not give the usual rating. If you are A.R. Rahman’s fan, enjoy modern live music and want to know more about the legend himself then this movie is perfect for you. It’s already playing in Cinemas and I see schedule at the moment till 6th Sept only, so hurry up and book now.
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| This is the biggest cinema screen in Middle East and 4th biggest in the world |
In the end, I would like to thank Vox Cinemas for the invite and giving me the opportunity to meet the music genius of our time.
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