After
the
Oscars
and
the
Padma
Bhushan,
it's
Grammy
time
for
A
R
Rahman.
On
Sunday
night,
his
music
for
Slumdog
Millionaire
won
two
Grammy
awards,
setting
Rahman's
global
score
even
higher
in
2010
than
it
was
last
year.
Reacting
to
the
double
Grammy
whammy,
Rahman
said,
"I
never
even
dreamt
about
winning
all
these
awards.
I
once
again
want
to
thank
the
Almighty,
my
spiritual
Sufi
teachers
Ameen
Peerullah
Malik
Sahib,
Danny
Boyle
and
the
whole
Slumdog
creative
team." After
the
Grammy,
Rahman
also
had
a
special
word
of
thanks
for
his
mentor
Mani
Ratnam
and
his
mentors
in
Mumbai,
Shekhar
Kapur
and
Subhash
Ghai
and
mentor
in
the
West,
Andrew
Lloyd
Webber.
Back
home,
Rahman
is
happy
to
have
received
the
Padma
Bhushan.
But
unhappy
about
the
fact
that
a
lot
of
the
deserving
artistes
remain
unrecognized
by
the
government.
"There're
so
many
deserving
candidates
for
National
Awards,
still
unsung.
On
the
other
hand,
I
believe
people
with
dubious
records
get
recognized.
That
isn't
fair.
Personally
speaking
I'm
very
happy
to
get
the
Padma
Bhushan.
Ever
since
the
announcement
my
phone
hasn't
stopped
ringing.
I
think
I've
received
more
congratulations
for
the
Padma
than
for
the
Oscars."
Rahman
says
he's
prouder
of
the
Padma
Bhushan
than
the
Oscar.
"It
definitely
means
more
when
you're
recognized
by
your
own
people
and
country.
I
definitely
value
this
award
more
than
the
Oscar
or
Grammy,"
said
Rahman
before
flying
out
to
Los
Angeles
for
the
Grammys.
"My
award
comes
in
a
category
that
won't
be
televised.
So
it
won't
be
like
Slumdog
Millionaire
where
people
back
home
could
watch
me."
Much
has
been
said
about
the
two
Padma
winners
Rahman
and
sound
designer
Resul
Pookutty's
disappointing
follow-up
collaboration
in
Blue
after
Slumdog
Millionaire.
But
Rahman
stands
by
Blue.
"The
script
was
a
bummer.
But
grant
the
director
Anthony
D'Souza
for
the
fact
that
he
tried
something
different.
I
enjoyed
doing
Blue."
Our
resident
Mozart
is
amused
by
premature
reports
in
the
press
that
his
song
'Na
Na' from
his
first
Hollywood
soundtrack
has
been
nominated
for
and
Oscar.
Says
Rahman,
"'Na
Na'
is
short
listed.
It's
one
of
63
songs
in
the
race.
Not
nominated
yet.
It's
an
English
song."
Story first published: Monday, February 1, 2010, 14:08 [IST]