Ahead of the Oscar season, the Academy's official Instagram handle posted a video of AR Rahman on their official page. The video features AR Rahman recalling his winning moment - he won two Oscars for Slumdog Millionaire in 2009. In the video, AR Rahman recalled how he hadn't prepared a speech and that he wasn't expecting an award. He also recalled an ROFL incident when he was carrying his Oscar in his hand baggage and how the airport security reacted on seeing the trophy. "After I got the Oscars, I put it in my hand baggage and the security, when I was getting to India, they said, Can you wait? And they were almost like 100 people in the security check. So the officer took these 2 Oscars, Look what I have and everybody went gaga. They were just Oh my God," AR Rahman smiled recalling the incident.
AR Rahman said in the video, "I went to all these amazing dinners before the Oscars. But still I was unsure, and the whole of India was cheering. I felt like, a gladiator. When they announced my name for the score, I was like, Is this real? Or is this a dream? And because I had to perform next, I was like AR don't react. There's this and more. Don't mess up your performance."
The Grammy-winning composer recalled that he was unsure he would win but veteran composer Danny Elfman told him, "You are gonna get it."
AR Rahman revealed that he hadn't prepared his speech and seeing Penelope Cruz speaking Spanish, he decided to speak in Tamil. "My speech was not prepared. I said, I'll go with the flow. Maximum I would say thank you and go off. But when I was sitting there, I was watching Penelope Cruz speaking Spanish. Then I was like, Oh, that's cool." Explaining his Tamil quote, AR Rahman added, "That means, all perfect praise belongs to God alone. It is from a holy book. It's a promise from God. That if you remember in the happy times, I'll remember you in sad times, so. That is the happiest time of my own life and I wanted to remember the God who's common to all of us."
The official Instagram handle of the Academy shared a throwback video of AR Rahman's moment and the caption it read: "AR Rahman reflects on winning the Oscar for Best Original Song and Score for 'Slumdog Millionaire' at the 81st Oscars."
Last year, AR Rahman posted a screenshot of a notification from The Academy after he cast his vote. The note read, "Thank you. Your ballot has been received." The message also requested members of the Academy to keep their voting decisions confidential, adding that "it is essential to the integrity and fairness of the process."
AR Rahman's long list of awards includes six National Awards and several Filmfare Awards from across Bollywood and the South film industry. He was honoured with the Padma Shri in 2000 and Padma Bhushan in 2010 for his contribution to Indian music and cinema. AR Rahman's Grammy wins were two more trophies added to his awards legacy, headlined by the Academy Awards.
