Rahman attends city screening of documentary on him

The illustrious musical journey of Oscar-winning composer AR Rahman has become the subject of Umesh Aggarwal's documentary, which was screened here today in the presence of the music maestro in a jam-packed auditorium.
The film, 'Jai Ho', inspired from Rahman's Oscar-winning composition of the same name, is presented by the Public Service Broadcasting Trust in partnership with External Publicity Diplomacy Division, Ministry of External Affairs and India Habitat Centre.
The documentary travels from Rahman's childhood love for tunes to his present vision for a national orchestra.
It spans more than two decades and presents the Mozart of Madras' ever-growing romance with music.

A media-shy 48-year-old 'Roja' hitmaker, who came to the venue during the end of the documentary, said, "I don't like watching my own interviews.
"In fact, when I first saw the film, I tried to skip it after five minutes. Also, it has the people's perspective of me... But I will be happy if someone gets inspired by seeing this. Umesh has made me appear likeable," he said.

Rahman said that the documentary gives him an overview of how he has changed over the years.
"As a person you always evolve, I saw (in the film) how I have changed over the years.

"Some of the basic things have remained, but I have realised today that I am a very different person than what I was earlier. And it also gives me an idea how I will be in the next 10 years," the composer added.
The documentary features interviews with eminent personalities like Shekhar Kapur, Gulzar, Aamir Khan, Subhash Ghai and 'Slumdog Millionaire' director Danny Boyle, among others.
It also focuses on Rahman's establishment in the West post the film 'Bombay Dreams' and his growing popularity after the Oscar win for 'Slumdog Millionaire'.
"It took me more than six months to reach him, but just five minutes to convince him.

"There were many challenges in the making of this film, one of them was making Rahman speak more than two words," Umesh said before the screening.
'Jai Ho' was previously screened in New York.