A.R. Rahman to Premiere New Documentary JAI HO at Museum of the Moving Image, 2/25

By: Tyler Peterson Feb. 13, 2015

Indian super-star musician and composer A. R. Rahman, best known in the United States for his Academy Award-, Golden Globe-, and Grammy-winning score for Danny Boyle's Slumdog Millionaire, will appear in person for the world premiere of Jai Ho, a new documentary about his career, at Museum of the Moving Image on Wednesday, February 25, at 7:00 p.m. The film, directed by Umesh Aggarwal, traces milestones in Rahman's personal and professional life and features spectacular concert footage and interviews with Rahman, Danny Boyle, Shekhar Kapur, Mani Ratnam, Andrew Lloyd Webber, and other collaborators. After the screening, Rahman will participate in a discussion moderated by Scott Foundas, Chief Film Critic, Variety.

Free tickets for An Evening with A.R. Rahman and screening of Jai Ho are included with Museum admission ($12 adults / $9 seniors and students / $6 children 3-12 / free for Museum members). Advance reservations are available online at movingimage.us.

This program is presented in partnership with the Public Service Broadcasting Trust, based in New Delhi, India, and with the assistance of the Museum's advisor in India, Uma Da Cunha.

"We are honored to be hosting A. R. Rahman, an icon of Indian music, and the world premiere of Jai Ho," said David Schwartz, the Museum's Chief Curator. "While Slumdog Millionaire brought him to the attention of many Americans, Rahman has had a long and accomplished career in India and abroad for nearly two decades. This intimate and exciting documentary shows why he is widely regarded as one of the world's great film composers."

Jai Ho (2014, 60 mins.) was produced by the Public Service Broadcasting Trust of India, and with support from the External Publicity and Public Diplomacy Division of India's Ministry of External Affairs, and directed by the Indian national award-winning Umesh Aggarwal. The film explores the evolution of A.R. Rahman's style of music-a fusion of Eastern sensibilities and Western technology. Through various turning points in his life and significant milestones, Jai Ho celebrates an Indian icon who is no less than a global phenomenon. Spanning across Los Angeles, London, Chennai and Bombay, the film reveals a hitherto unseen and unheard narrative of one of the greatest musicians the world has ever known.

Two-time Academy Award-winner A. R. Rahman is a composer, singer-songwriter, music producer, musician, multi-instrumentalist, and philanthropist. Rahman has the honor of single-handedly catapulting Indian film music on to the world stage. Considered one of the world's most influential people by Time magazine, his prolific body of work, more than 120 film scores worldwide-including Roja (1992), Fire (1996), Earth (1998), Elizabeth (1998), Lagaan (2001), The Hundred Foot Journey (2014), and Million Dollar Arm (2014)-in a career spanning two decades, makes him one of the world's all-time top selling recording artists.