Academy Museum to celebrate music of Indian cinema through 'RRR', 'Lagaan' soundtracks

The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures has organised a programme that will explore “musical tapestries” created by acclaimed soundtracks of three celebrated films from Indian cinema — RRR, Slumdog Millionaire, and Lagaan.

The museum, under the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, said the lecture will be held on May 18 at the David Geffen Theater in Los Angeles.

“Join us in celebrating Indian cinema and Academy Award history through an immersive exploration into the music mastery of RRR (2022), Slumdog Millionaire (2008), and Lagaan (2001),” the official website of the Academy Museum states.

“This program delves into the musical tapestries woven by the acclaimed soundtracks of three groundbreaking films, each celebrated not just for their cinematic excellence but also for their musical innovation, and how they resonated with audiences worldwide,” it adds.

The lecture will be followed by a live tabla and performance by dance company Bollypop and Sadubas (collaborative duo of classical tabla artist Robin Sukhadia and electronic music producer Ameet Mehta) reinterpreting the music of all three films, the statement read.

SS Rajamouli's RRR followed a pre-independence fictional story woven around two real-life Indian revolutionaries - Alluri Sitarama Raju (Charan) and Komaram Bheem (Jr NTR) - in the 1920s. The film earned over £120 million at the global box office and became the first Indian production feature to win the best original song Oscar for its Telugu track "Naatu Naatu".

Lagaan, directed by Ashutosh Gowariker and fronted by Aamir Khan, was the last Indian film that made it to the final five nominees in the Best Foreign Language category (now known as Best International Film) at the Oscars. It lost to No Man's Land in 2001.

Mumbai-set Slumdog Millionaire was a British production, which was directed by Danny Boyle. The 2008 movie won eight Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Director, and Best Original Song for AR Rahman and Gulzar. Rahman won another Oscar for Best Original Score.

Indian sound designer Resul Pookutty shared the best sound mixing trophy with Richard Pryke and Ian Tapp.