AR Rahman on Oscar long list for his work on Pele: Birth of a Legend soundtrack

Los Angeles: It could be a double whammy for Indian music maestro AR Rahman once again at the Academy Awards as his work for P_ele: Birth of a Legend_ has found a spot in the list of Oscar contenders for the year. [caption id=“attachment_3155610” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  AR Rahman. Image courtesy CNN News18[/caption] Rahman had registered a double Oscar win for his music for Slumdog Millionaire in 2009. This time, his name features in a long list of 145 scores in contention for a nomination in the Original Score category for the 89th Academy Awards. Also, ‘Ginga’, his acclaimed number from the 2016 biographical film, is in the Oscar race too. It is part of the long list of 91 songs, which are competing for a spot in the final nominations for the Original Song category. The long lists of both the categories were released by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on its official website on Tuesday. Final nominations for the 89th Academy Awards will be announced on January 24, ahead of the presentation ceremony, which will take place on 26 February 2017 at the Dolby Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center in Hollywood. Rahman had earlier made India proud with his twin win at the Academy Awards platform for Danny Boyle’s Slumdog Millionaire in 2009. He was lauded for his Best Original Score as also the Best Original Song ‘Jai ho’ from the same film, with lyrics by Gulzar. In 2014, Rahman’s work in Hollywood movies like Million Dollar Arm and The Hundred-Foot Journey, and Tamil film Kochadaiiyaan was also among the contenders. Not only that, in 2011, Rahman had received two nominations for the 83rd Annual Academy Awards for his original score in Boyle’s 127 Hours as well as original song ‘If I Rise’ for the same movie. However, he did not bring the golden statuette home. Co-directed by Jeff Zimbalist and Michael Zimbalist, Pele: Birth of a Legend is based on the early life of legendary Brazilian footballer Pele. Meanwhile, Alex Heffes — who composed music for Mira Nair’s Queen of Katwe — is also included in both the categories for his compositions in the biographical sports drama film.