Rehman dedicates Oscars to Indian artistes

Chennai, Feb 26 (PTI) Double Oscar winner A R Rahman
Thursday dedicated the golden statuettes he won for his score
in "Slumdog Millionaire" to Indian artistes and their
aspirations and said he was only their representative.

"This is an award for Indian artistes and their
aspirations. I am their representative," Rahman told reporters
here in the capital of India's southern state of Tamil Nadu.

Expressing confidence in Indian talent, the 'Mozart of
Madras' said he was sure that Indian cinema would win more
accolades at the Oscars in future.

Rahman became the first Indian to win two Oscars --
Original Score and Original Song ('Jai ho') -- for his music
in the Danny Boyle-directed movie, which bagged eight honours
at the 81st Academy Awards on Monday.

Asked about criticism from some quarters that his
musical score such as 'Jai ho' was not among his best, he said
it was up to "individual sensibilities".

The songs in fact "matched the Western abilities" and
was even seen as the "best" in those standards, he said.

Rahman shrugged off criticism that "Slumdog
Millionaire" was a "prejudiced view of the West about India"
and said he saw it as "an underdog redeeming himself.

"As an artist, I see the truthfulness. However,
different viewpoints are welcome," he said.

On his Oscar acceptance speech about choosing love
over hate and whether it was a political statement in
"troubled times", Rahman said he wanted to say those words at
a time when people are divided on various grounds, including
religion and caste.

Noting that the statement was "close to the heart" he
said people stood divided on these grounds, among others.

To a query on whether part of his speech in Tamil had
any connection to the ongoing crisis in Sri Lanka, Rahman
evaded a direct reply, but said, "I certainly wish for peace
in Sri Lanka."

On offers from Hollywood, he said a few have come his
way, but did not elaborate, quoting confidentiality.

Allaying fears of Indian audiences that he might move
into Hollywood completely, Rahman said he was willing to work
in good subjects in Tamil, Hindi and other languages. "I
always enjoy the extra freedom in Tamil," he said.

To a query, he said he felt the Aamir Khan-starrer
"Lagaan" could have won Oscars when it was nominated a few
years ago.

Asked about the tense hours culminating in the
ultimate moments of glory on Monday, he said he had a
"sleepless night," on Sunday.

On what he had done with gifts received for winning
the awards, he said with a grin, "I returned all of them since
they were champagne bottles." PTI SA