Hot on the heels of the Pussycat Dolls version of ‘Jai Ho’, where Nicole Scherzinger does her stuff in a most admirable way, is news that AR Rahman is also working with Akon on his new single Beautiful. The fusion between Bollywood and western beats doesn’t end there, however, as Snoop Dogg, who worked with Akshay Kumar on Singh is Kingg has also announced he will be sampling ‘Jai Ho’ and other Bollywood rhythms for his song ‘Snoop Dogg Millionaire’ which will appear on his Malice in Wonderland album. Indian singer Tanvi Shah will also be on the track.
In ‘Jai Ho – You Are My Destiny’, Nicole and her troupe can be found in full Bollywood costumes, walking through an electric train and doing the full Slumdog Millionaire thing in the train depot with a huge cast of supporting dancers. AR Rahman pops up in cameo shots in the video and in later scenes Nicole is seen in a crystal shower.
Oscar-winner AR Rahman has not deserted India of course and he has a slew of new movies lined up which will enjoy his music, including Ravaan, the Abhi-Aish movie; Endhiran, also with Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Satyagrahi. His music can be heard currently on the soundtracks of Slumdog Millionaire, Delhi 6, Ghajini and Yuvraaj.
Kylie Minogue has also been talking warmly of her experience of working with AR on Blue, the underwater movie starring Akshay Kumar, Katrina Kaif, Lara Dutta and Sanjay Dutt. “It was an incredible experience,” she says, “I met AR Rahman at the BAFTA Awards in London last month. I couldn’t believe I was doing a song with him in Bollywood so soon after.”
Interesting fact: Before converting to Islam, AR’s name was Dileep Kumar like the famous actor. Before marriage, AR’s wife was called Saira Banu – like the actress!
