A.R. Rahman: Dubai one of my favourite cities for performing in

Oscar winner A.R. Rahman on Thursday said the city is one of his favourite cities to perform in, adding that his concert here on December 9 will be a celebration of love. "My concert in Dubai after my Malaysia tour in 1997 was the most memorable concert that I had … All the people holding up the lights from their phone for Mustafa [his hit number] is a scene that I will never forget," said Rahman at a press conference. He also promised that his UAE gig would be better than his recent Bengaluru concert which saw thousands of music lovers chanting songs from his latest project, Rockstar. Many languages in music "The main language is music - but the languages will be many. There will be Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and even Malayalam and English songs thrown in - it's a whole presentation," said Rahman, whose orchestra includes world-renowned musicians. The music maestro was in town not just to announce the concert details, but also to choose the winner of a local talent hunt contest which saw more than 400 hopefuls apply. The finalist, chosen on Thursday evening, will get an opportunity to sing along with A R Rahman live at his Dubai concert, to be held at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. "It's not like a challenger or anything. It will be nice to see somebody shine today. I am looking forward to judging it," said Rahman. SuperHeavy Apart from judging and touring, Rahman, one of India's most sought-after composers and a two-time Academy winner, is also basking in the glow of his most recent collaboration - a band named SuperHeavy. The group finds A R Rahman joining hands with Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones, Eurythmics founder Dave Stewart, British soul singer Joss Stone and Bob Marley's son Damian, "SuperHeavy was a great experience and it's never going to happen again. We had Mick Jagger singing Sanskrit and that doesn't happen often," said Rahman, alluding to the Satyameva Jayte track. Hollywood The busy artist has also just finished composing a track for a Hollywood film and is in the process of tweaking the compositions for Bollywood film Ek Deewana Tha starring Prateik Babbar. "I have been very busy composing," he said, without revealing the name of the Hollywood film. His work commitments have also meant that the news of being honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award at this year's Dubai International Film Festival is yet to sink in. "I have been busy composing music and getting all the things sorted. It's a low priority in my mind but of course I am honoured," said Rahman. The tickets for the concert range from Dh100 to Dh1,000. For details, log on to www.boxofficeme.com