Bhubaneswar: Ahead of the inaugural ceremony of the men’s hockey World Cup 2018, celebrated music composer AR Rahman met Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik here at latter’s residence Friday.
Rahman will be performing live during the inaugural ceremony of the marquee at Kalinga Stadium November 27 and also at a concert at Barabati Stadium in Cuttack on the following day.
“We are delighted that AR Rahman Ji is here with us at Odisha. We are very lucky that he will be performing at two places, Bhubaneswar and Cuttack. Millions of his fans in Odisha are looking forward to listen to the maestro’s music,” Naveen told the media after the meeting.
Rahman said, “Bhubaneswar is very neat and beautiful and the climate here is perfect. We have released the video ‘Jai Hind’ in India and I wanted the Chief Minister to release it. The hockey World Cup anthem intends to unite and inspire people through sports. I am thankful for the opportunity.”
Naveen hosted lunch for the music maestro. During the meeting, the Chief Minister released the Hockey World Cup 2018 anthem. Both discussed music, especially conservation of traditional and tribal musical instruments and its digitization. Naveen praised Rahman for his landmark creations like Jai Ho, Bandey Mataram, etc. He also suggested the music composer to visit the tribal museum, sources said.
“The anthem has been penned by Gulzar and it took us nearly three months to come up with the song, which has been shot in Odisha, Mumbai, Chennai and other parts of the country. It inspires nationalism and, at the same time, stands for sports unity,” said Rahman. The official hockey anthem is on iTunes now and can be downloaded, he added.
Earlier in the day, Rehman visited a mosque in the city to offer prayers. The music maestro returned to Mumbai and will be back here prior to his live performance.