Singapore’s President Tharman Shanmugaratnam has praised renowned Indian musician AR Rahman for his support of Singapore’s music talents. President Tharman recently shared photos of his meeting with Rahman, who is known around the world for his Academy Award-winning music in the film Slumdog Millionaire.
Rahman was in Singapore on May 10 and 11 for the premiere of Le Musk, a virtual reality (VR) film that he directed. The 37-minute film is now showing at Golden Village Suntec City until August 12. It combines virtual reality (VR), music, scent, and haptic technology to create a multi-sensory experience. Viewers wear headsets and sit in special chairs that release scents during the film.
President Tharman noted that Rahman has helped many local musicians gain international exposure over the years.
“I was glad to meet recently with the celebrated AR Rahman (@arrahman), often known as “ARR” – not only because he is an icon in India’s cinema world and an Oscar and Grammy award-winning music producer, composer and songwriter*. ARR has also done our own talents good over the years, by giving them valuable exposure…” President Tharman’s post read.
Some Singapore talents who have worked with Rahman include rapper-songwriter duo Lady Kash and Krissy, singer-musician Shabir, and rapper Yung Raja. One of their popular collaborations is the song Wanna Mash Up? from the 2014 Hindi film Highway.
Rahman first visited Singapore in the 1980s. During that visit, he bought music equipment from local stores Swee Lee and City Music. President Tharman mentioned that both stores are still operating today.
Rahman, who was born in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, has composed music for over 145 films. His work blends Indian classical music with modern Western styles. He has created music for several films industries in India, as well as for international projects including Hollywood, the West End, and Broadway.
He became globally famous for his music in the 2008 British film Slumdog Millionaire, for which he won two Oscars in 2009, for Best Original Score and Best Original Song for Jai Ho. The film also earned him two Grammy Awards in 2010.
Rahman has performed many concerts in Singapore over the years. His most recent show was at the National Stadium on August 31. He also performed at Gardens by the Bay in 2014, the Singapore Indoor Stadium in 2005, and Marina Bay Sands in 2011.
