52ND GRAMMY AWARDS - CONNECT KERALA

Touted as a great movie, this garnered a record Rs.1.53 crores on the initial day of its release from theaters in Kerala alone- ran 100 days in 5 theatres, got a whopping Rs. 2.6 crores for television rights . that was “Pazhassi Raja” a film directed by T. Hariharan, and written by M.T. Vasudevan Nair starring Mammootty in the title role, with R. Sarathkumar, Thilakan, Kanika Subramaniam, Padmapriya, Manoj K. Jayan, in other major roles.

The film was based on the history of Varma Pazhassi Raja (c. 1753 - c. 1805) popularly known as the Lion of Kerala was a prince from the royal dynasty of Kottayam (Malabar). He led a well organized guerrilla struggle against the Mysorean invader who were far stronger than the Kottayam army. Thus he emerged in the course of time as the most powerful man in Kottayam as people stood firmly behind their beloved prince who had not abandoned them in their hour of misfortune.
Earlier in 1964 a movie was made and released with the same title “Pazhassi Raja”. Rajagopala Kulasekhara Mudaliyar was the music director for this film. He composed music for 22 films. RK Shekar whose debut song Chotta muthal chudala vare ("from birth to grave") was a big hit, died sadly at the age of 42. His son is the now famous AR Rahman.
After winning two Oscars, Rahman is in the news again, as he scored a double triumph at the Grammy Awards scooping two early honours for his music from Oscar-winning film "Slumdog Millionaire". The 52nd Grammy Awards (2010) ceremony was held at the Los Angeles' Staples Center, and was broadcast live on CBS Inc, a major American television network. Neil Young was honored as the 2010 MusiCares Person of the Year.
Rahman won the first Grammy of the pre-show at the Staples Center in the best compilation soundtrack for a motion picture category before his "Jai Ho" won in the best motion picture song category moments later. Rahman's rivals in the soundtrack category included Steve Jordan for "Cadillac Records," Quentin Tarantino for "Inglourious Basterds", and the producers of "Twilight" and "True Blood."


In the best song category Rahman's beaten rivals included Bruce Springsteen for his song "The Wrestler", from the Oscar-nominated movie of the same name.

The Grammy Awards (originally called the Gramophone Awards)—or Grammys—are presented annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States for outstanding achievements in the music industry. The awards ceremony features performances by prominent artists, and some of the awards of more popular interest are presented in a widely-viewed televised ceremony. The awards were established in 1958. Prior to the first live Grammys telecast in 1971 on ABC, a series of taped annual specials in the 1960s called The Best on Record were broadcast on NBC. The first Grammy Award telecast took place on the night of November 29, 1959.


With regards – S Sampathkumar.