AR Rahman to receive lifetime honour at DIFF

The Indian celebrity presence just got even more exciting at this year’s Dubai International Film Festival, with two-time Oscar and Grammy winner AR Rahman being named the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award.
 
The music composer, who is scheduled to perform in the emirate on December 9 at the Dubai International Stadium in Sports City, is also sometimes referred to as the Mozart of Madras for his magical melodies that have wowed audiences world over.
 
DIFF Festival Chairman Abdulhamid Juma said: “AR Rahman is an inspiration for countless musicians and composers, and has brought a fresh infusion of talent to the Indian film industry.
 
“Through his international foray, working with some of the world’s most accomplished musicians, he demonstrated the power of music to cross all barriers and connect with a global audience.
 
“We are honoured to present him with the DIFF Lifetime Achievement Award.”
 
DIFF, this year, also presents the Lifetime Achievement Award to veteran Egyptian actor Gamil Rateb.
 
While no specific date has yet been mentioned as to when Rahman will receive the award during the festival, the eighth edition will run from December 7 to 14 and is being held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice-President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai.
 
With this gong, 45-year-old Rahman will become one of the youngest recipient of DIFF’s Lifetime Achievement Award, which singles out cinema and industry legends from Arab cinema, Asia and Africa, and Europe, the Americas and Australasia, for their contribution to the film industry.
 
The Indian composer, singer, songwriter, record producer, musician and philanthropist has more than 100 film sound-tracks to his credit in several Indian languages, as well as English and Mandarin.
 
His work for Danny Boyle’s “Slumdog Millionaire”, which was screened at DIFF 2008, won two Academy Awards for Best Original Music Score and Best Original Song, while his score for “127 Hours”, which screened at DIFF 2010, won him Golden Globe, BAFTA and Academy Award nominations.
 
Most recently, he joined forces with Rolling Stones legend Mick Jagger on “SuperHeavy”, a group also featuring Joss Stone, Dave Stewart and Damian Marley.
 
The latest addition of DIFF has already turned into a star-studded affair with confirmed guests including Hollywood’s Tom Cruise, who is expected to be accompanied by Bollywood’s Anil Kapoor for the red carpet screening of “Mission Impossible 4: Ghost Protocol” on December 7.
 
Other celebrities on the list include actors Anushka Sharma and Ranveer Singh, both of whom will be attending the world premiere screening of the Yash Raj Productions film, “Ladies vs Ricky Bahl” on December 8.
 
Watch this space for more celebrity announcements and inside scoop.

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