Slumdog Wins a Million Times Over

My techno/dance fever has now taken an international turn after being completely moved by the highly acclaimed indie flick Slumdog Millionaire (now playing in select theaters). This modern day love story is set in India's inner-city slums and driven by A.R. Rahman's emotionally heart-pumping and rhythmically pulsating sounds that not only defy international borders in their appeal but in influence as well. This entire album exudes such energy and passion for life that it is easy to see it as the driving force behind this film's growing success and pre-oscar buzz. 

A.R. Rahman is best known in India as the most sought after Bollywood film composer with a reported success of over 100 million records and 200 million cassettes sold. Slumdog's soundtrack also includes M.I.A., a Sri Lankan rapper well known stateside after receiving a huge burst of popularity through the US summer concert festival circuit, a Late Night with David Letterman performance in support of her newest album Kala and a recent cover shoot with Spin Magazine. This album included her uber mixable, Paper Planes, which is also found on the Slumdog soundtrack as well as a much more listenable (minus the choruses gunshots) remix by DFA. One of the most exciting songs in the bunch is the film opener's  and only collaborative work between M.I.A. and Rahman, O... Saya. For all it's raw inner-city grittiness, it's the universal tale of hope amid love's tragic struggles and the incredible depth presented seamlessly in all performances that are sure to leave a more impressionable impact on audiences everywhere.

This soundtrack is now available online and through iTunes. Record store release date set for December 23.

Track listing:
"O... Saya" performed by A. R. Rahman, M.I.A.
"Riots" by A. R. Rahman
"Mausam & Escape" by A. R. Rahman
"Paper Planes"# performed by M.I.A.
"Paper Planes (DFA Remix)" performed by M.I.A.
"Ringa Ringa" by A. R. Rahman featuring Alka Yagnik, Ila Arun
"Liquid Dance" by A. R. Rahman featuring Palakkad Sriram, Madhumitha
"Latika's Theme" by A. R. Rahman featuring Suzanne D'Mello
"Aaj Ki Raat"#2 performed by Sonu Nigam, Mahalakshmi Iyer, Alisha Chinai
"Millionaire" by A. R. Rahman featuring Madhumitha
"Gangsta Blues" by A. R. Rahman featuring BlaaZe, Tanvi Shah
"Dreams on Fire" by A. R. Rahman featuring Suzanne D'Mello
"Jai Ho" by A. R. Rahman featuring Sukhwinder Singh, Tanvi Shah, Mahalakshmi Iyer