AR Rahman believes India is sending wrong films to Oscars | Bollywood

In 2009, AR Rahman became part of the exclusive club of Indians who had won an Oscar. While costume designer Bhanu Athaiya became the first Indian to win, Rahman, lyricist Gulzar and sound engineer Resul Pookutty all joined the club when they picked up the trophy for their work in Danny Boyle’s Slumdog Millionaire. However, the composer was of the opinion that India has not sent the right kind of films to the Oscars to get noticed. According to him, we should see our films from a Western perspective. (Also read: AR Rahman says ‘I want Naatu Naatu to win’ ahead of 2023 Oscars: ‘I want them to win Grammy too’)

Following his Oscar win in 2009, Rahman was inducted as a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), which hosted the ceremony. The singer-composer votes regularly and has watched films that are nominated.

In an interview in January, Rahman had told musician L Subramaniam, “Sometimes I see our films going to the Oscars… they don’t understand it. The wrong films are sent to the Oscars. And I’m just like NO. We have to be in the other person’s shoes. I need to be a westerner to see what’s going on here. I have to be in my position to see what they do.” Rahman’s conversation with the renowned violinist is now out on the Oscar winner’s YouTube channel.

Things might change as this week two Indian films, one in Telugu and one in Tamil, won in the categories they were nominated for. RRR’s Naatu Naatu won Best Original Song for composer MM Keeravaan and lyricist Chandrabose, just like Rahman and Gulzar. won in 2009 for the song Jai Ho. The Netflix film The Elephant Whisperers won Best Documentary Short. Director Kartiki Gonsalves and producer Guneet Monga took the stage to receive the award.

In 2011, Rahman was again nominated for Best Original Score and Best Original Score for Danny Boyle’s 127 Hours. This year the composer has composed music for Rajkumar Santosh’s Gandhi Godse – Ek Yudh. He also has Mani Ratnam’s Tamil sequel Ponniyin Selvan 2 and Hindi films Maidaan and Pippa releasing this year.