AR Rahman says he can relate to Slumdog’s hero

AR Rahman says that he identifies himself with Slumdog Millionaire’s hero who overcomes hardships by winning a fortune on a TV game show.

Washington, Feb 19: Music composer AR Rahman has said that he identifies himself with Slumdog Millionaire’s hero – the 18-year-old slum boy who overcomes hardships by winning a fortune on Indian version of ‘Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?’

Rahman, who has been nominated in the Oscars for the songs, "O ... Saya" and "Jai Ho", had to overcome numerous hurdles in his journey from hometown Chennai (formerly Madras) in south India to the Academy Awards. But insists he takes life positively. "I can relate to the film because I take life positively and feel that even after great depression something good will come out," a news channel quoted him as saying. The 43-year-old Oscar nominee began to support his family at age 11 after the death of her musician father, as a keyboard player in south Indian film composer Ilaiyaraaja`s ensemble. Before joining the south Indian film composer, Rahman’s mother used to earn livelihood by renting out her husband`s musical equipment. He later formed a rock band and toured with prominent Indian musicians like tabla maestro Zakir Hussain. He hopes that an Oscar win will make Western audiences more aware of contemporary Indian film music. "We have a different philosophy of approaching film music and I would say there`s lots to give which I always wanted to happen," said Rahman. "We`ve been great fans of films of the West and we respect them so much and we also have certain qualities," he added. Rahman’s stint in the Western World started off when Andrew Lloyd Webber asked him to write the songs for the 2002 London musical "Bombay Dreams." After the success of ‘Slumdog’ he is flooded with offers from Hollywood but says that he has no intention of abandoning Bollywood. "Both of them complement each other beautifully because I`m learning stuff from here and then giving it there and taking stuff from there and giving it here," Rahman said. "India is going through this huge change in the whole vision of film making and I want to be a part of that change," he added. ANI