Slumdog Millionaire: Music from the Motion Picture

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Slumdog Millionaire: Music from the Motion Picture
Soundtrack album by
A. R. Rahman
Released25 November 2008
RecordedPanchathan Record Inn and AM Studios
Length51:01
Label
ProducerA. R. Rahman
Danny Boyle film soundtrack chronology
Sunshine
(2007) 		Slumdog Millionaire: Music from the Motion Picture
(2008) 		127 Hours
(2010)
A. R. Rahman chronology
Ghajini
(2008) 		Slumdog Millionaire
(2008) 		Delhi-6
(2009)

Slumdog Millionaire: Music from the Motion Picture is the soundtrack album of the British drama film of the same name, directed by Danny Boyle. The original score and songs were composed by A. R. Rahman, who planned the score in two months and completed it in 20 days,[1] a far shorter time period than usual.

The soundtrack won the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score, BAFTA Award for Best Film Music, and two Academy Awards, one for Best Original Music Score and the other for Best Original Song for "Jai Ho". The soundtrack has also won two Grammy Awards, one for the album itself and another for the song "Jai Ho". The latter song would be reworked by Ron Fair and The Pussycat Dolls into an English language adaptation "Jai Ho! (You Are My Destiny)" which would go on to become an international hit for the group.

The soundtrack sold over two million units worldwide.[2]

Development[edit]

Rahman has stated that he was aiming for "mixing modern India and the old India" with the music, but that the film and soundtrack "isn’t about India or Indian culture. The story could happen anywhere." The film's director Danny Boyle, who "hated sentiment" and told Rahman "Never put a cello in my film", wanted a "pulsey" score. Rahman appreciated that Boyle liked how Indian films mix music, saying the director wanted "edgy, upfront" music that did not suppress sound. Composing pieces to fit the images, he noted: "There’s not many cues in the film. Usually a big film has 130 cues. This had just seventeen or eighteen: the end credits, beginning credits."[1] Describing the music as one of the parts he liked most in the film,[3] Boyle wanted to include M.I.A.'s "Paper Planes" from early on in production on the score, which appears along with an original track Rahman composed, "O...Saya," featuring the artist.[4] M.I.A., who Rahman described as a "powerhouse" gave brief film notes on some scenes to Boyle upon request during editing.[1][5][6] The track "Ringa Ringa" was done as a tribute to the famous Laxmikant–Pyarelal song "Choli Ke Peeche" from the 1993 movie Khalnayak.[7] Rahman has attributed part of the success of the film soundtrack to Arulpragasam.[8]

The soundtrack for the film was released on M.I.A.'s N.E.E.T. label.[9]

Chart performance[edit]

The soundtrack gained popularity after the performance of this movie on the Golden Globe Awards. It also rose up the Billboard 200 albums chart rising from 56 to 16 for the issue of 31 January 2009,[10] later peaking at #4 on the chart.[11] For the issue of 7 March 2009, the album again rebounded from 48 to 22 by selling 21,000 copies (a 38% rise), spurred by sales due to the Oscar win at the 81st Academy Awards.[12] As of April 2009, the soundtrack has sold 236,000 copies in United States.[13]

Track listing[edit]

No.TitleLyricsPerformer(s)Length
1."O... Saya*"A. R. Rahman, M.I.A.A. R. Rahman and M.I.A.3:34
2."Riots"  1:59
3."Mausam & Escape" Asad Khan (sitar)3:53
4."Paper Planes#1" M.I.A.3:23
5."Paper Planes (DFA Remix)" M.I.A.5:49
6."Ringa Ringa"Raqeeb AlamAlka Yagnik, Ila Arun4:15
7."Liquid Dance#2" Palakkad Sreeram, Srimathumitha2:59
8."Latika's Theme" Suzanne D'Mello3:09
9."Aaj Ki Raat#3"Javed AkhtarSonu Nigam, Mahalakshmi Iyer, Alisha Chinai6:07
10."Millionaire" A.R. Rahman, Madhumitha2:44
11."Gangsta Blues"BlaaZeBlaaZe, Tanvi Shah3:42
12."Dreams on Fire"BlaaZe, Wendy ParrSuzanne D'Mello4:08
13."Jai Ho**"Gulzar, Tanvi ShahSukhwinder Singh, Tanvi Shah, Mahalakshmi Iyer, Vijay Prakash5:19

*Nominated for Best Original Song at Academy Awards
**Winner of Best Original Song at Academy Awards

#1written by Mathangi Arulpragasam, Topper Headon, Mick Jones, Wesley Pentz, Paul Simonon, Joe Strummer
#2previously used as a background track in Azhagiya Thamizh Magan (2007, Tamil film) with different instrumentation and no vocals
#3composed by Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy, lyrics by Javed Akhtar; from the album Don: The Chase Begins Again
Not in the soundtrack

Other music featured in the film include:

  1. Salim's mobile phone ringtone – adapted from theme music to Swades.
  2. Opera performance at the Taj Mahal – "Che farò senza Euridice?" from Gluck's Orfeo ed Euridice.
  3. "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire" – Keith Strachan & Matthew Strachan.
  4. "Great DJ" by The Ting Tings featured in the trailer.

Charts[edit]

Certifications[edit]

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[36] Gold 35,000^
Ireland (IRMA)[37] Gold 7,500^
United Kingdom (BPI)[38] Gold 100,000^
United States — 406,000[39]
Summaries
Worldwide — 2,000,000[2]

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Accolades[edit]

Main article: List of accolades received by Slumdog Millionaire
See also: List of A. R. Rahman awards

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c Hill, Logan (12 November 2008). "Composer A.R. Rahman on the Sounds of 'Slumdog Millionaire' and Being M.I.A.'s Idol". New York. Retrieved 14 November 2008.
  2. ^ a b "'Slumdog Millionaire' soundtrack sells 2 million units". Neapolitan Music. Archived from the original on 27 January 2013. Retrieved 27 January 2013.
  3. ^ Vergee, Neelam (27 September 2008). "I think I changed working in Bombay". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 14 November 2008.
  4. ^ Murrow, Martin (12 November 2008). "Clever Little Dickens". CBC. Retrieved 24 November 2008.
  5. ^ "Danny Boyle says London actor Dev Patel plays ideal loser". CBC. 9 November 2008. Archived from the original on 2 January 2009. Retrieved 14 November 2008.
  6. ^ Medina, Jeremy (12 November 2008). "Catching Up With...Danny Boyle". Paste. Retrieved 14 November 2008.
  7. ^ "Entertainment News, Latest Entertainment News, Hollywood Bollywood News | Entertainment - Times of India". Archived from the original on 26 January 2016. Retrieved 3 September 2010.
  8. ^ "Information Not Found". Billboard. Archived from the original on 20 September 2014. Retrieved 11 August 2011.
  9. ^ Maher, Dave (24 November 2008). "M.I.A.'s New Label to Release Slumdog Soundtrack". Pitchfork. Retrieved 24 November 2008.
  10. ^ Jonathon Cohen (22 January 2009). "Swift Makes It Lucky Seven Atop Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved 23 January 2009.
  11. ^ a b "Slumdog soundtrack on world charts". Acharts.us. Retrieved 11 August 2011.
  12. ^ Keith Caulfield (25 February 2009). "'Slumdog' Barks While Taylor Swift Nets 10th Week at No. 1". Billboard. Retrieved 26 February 2009.
  13. ^ "Upfront – Heartaches by the Numbers". Billboard. 11 April 2009. Retrieved 28 December 2018.
  14. ^ "Australiancharts.com – Soundtrack / A.R. Rahman – Slumdog Millionaire". Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  15. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Soundtrack / A.R. Rahman – Slumdog Millionaire" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  16. ^ "Ultratop.be – Soundtrack / A.R. Rahman – Slumdog Millionaire" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  17. ^ "Ultratop.be – Soundtrack / A.R. Rahman – Slumdog Millionaire" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  18. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Soundtrack / A.R. Rahman – Slumdog Millionaire" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  19. ^ "Lescharts.com – Soundtrack / A.R. Rahman – Slumdog Millionaire". Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  20. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Soundtrack / A.R. Rahman – Slumdog Millionaire" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  21. ^ "SOUNDTRACK / A.R. RAHMAN – SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE". ultratop.be. Retrieved 11 August 2011.
  22. ^ "Charts.nz – Soundtrack / A.R. Rahman – Slumdog Millionaire". Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  23. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Soundtrack / A.R. Rahman – Slumdog Millionaire". Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  24. ^ "Portuguesecharts.com – Soundtrack / A.R. Rahman – Slumdog Millionaire". Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  25. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  26. ^ "Spanishcharts.com – Soundtrack / A.R. Rahman – Slumdog Millionaire". Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  27. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Soundtrack / A.R. Rahman – Slumdog Millionaire". Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  28. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  29. ^ "Soundtrack Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  30. ^ "Soundtrack Chart History (Top Dance/Electronic Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  31. ^ "Soundtrack Chart History (Soundtrack Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  32. ^ "UK Year-End 2009" (PDF). Charts Plus. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  33. ^ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2009". Billboard. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  34. ^ "Top Dance/Electronic Albums – Year-End 2009". Billboard. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  35. ^ "Soundtracks – Year-End 2009". Billboard. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  36. ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2009 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  37. ^ "The Irish Charts - 2009 Certification Awards - Gold". Irish Recorded Music Association. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  38. ^ "British album certifications – Ar Rahman – Slumdog Millionaire – Ost". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  39. ^ "Philapharmonic Convergence". Billboard. 2 July 2011. p. 27. Retrieved 11 April 2021 – via Google Books.

External links[edit]

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