Chennai celebrates A. R. Rahman winning two Grammy awards

Chennai, Feb.1 (ANI): Celebrations erupted on Monday in Chennai city after music composer A. R. Rahman bagged two Grammy Awards on Sunday (Jan.31).

Rahman won the awards for the soundtrack of the film 'Slumdog Millionaire', and the song 'Jai Ho', for which he grabbed the Oscar last year.

Rahman, 44, beat Grammy veteran Bruce Springsteen in the motion picture song category while 'Slumdog Millionaire' left behind 'Inglourious Basterds' and 'Twilight' to win in the Best Compilation Soundtrack for a film category.

Rahman's family was thrilled and his youngest sister Fatima said they are proud that he won the highest musical accolade in the world.

"I really feel he deserves this award because he is a sincere and hardworking person and a very good performer. Last time, he got two Oscars for the same 'Slumdog Millionaire'. As a musician, I think Grammy is the most important award he has got. I feel really happy about it," said Fatima, Rahman's sister.

In 2009, Rahman became the first Indian composer to triumph at the Oscars, winning for original score and original song category for 'Slumdog Millionaire', a feat that earned him the coveted Padma Bhushan, India's third-highest civilian honour, this year.

The Chennai composer was also named the best composer for Golden Globes last year.

"We are very proud of Rahman for bagging two Grammy awards. First he won Golden Globe for 'Jai ho', then BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts), followed by two Academy awards. We are so happy that he has won all the major awards a musician can get," said Deepak, a member of the A. R. Rahman Fan Club in Chennai.

Known for his musical versatility from romantic compositions to foot-tapping numbers Rahman has innovated with different instruments and sounds to create some of India's best-known musical hits for nearly two decades.

Despite earlier international credits such as the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical 'Bombay Dreams', it is Rahman's work on British director Danny Boyle's 'Slumdog Millionnaire' that endeared him to Western audiences and critics. (ANI)