SRK invited to 66th Golden Globe Awards

Superstar Shah Rukh Khan will be the first Indian star to present an award at the Golden Globe, this Sunday at the Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles. Music maestro A R Rahman is also in the running for the Best Original Score for the Internationally

One of the best music composer in India he is in race for an award for his superb Slumdog Millionaire. In 1991, Rahman began his own music recording and mixing studio, attached to backyard of his house, called the Panchathan Record Inn, which was developed into India’s most advanced recording studio.

Rahman initially composed music jingles for advertisements, Indian Television channels and music scores in documentaries, among other projects. In 1992, he was approached by film director Mani Ratnam to compose the score and soundtrack for Ratnam’s Tamil film Roja.

The debut led Rahman to receive the Rajat Kamal award for Best Music Director at the National Film Awards, the first time ever by a first-time film composer. Rahman has since then gone on to win the award three more times (for his scores for Minsaara Kanavu (Lightening Dreams, Tamil) in 1997, Lagaan (Tax, Hindi) in 2002, Kannathil Muthamittal (A Peck on the Cheek, Tamil) in 2003, the most ever by any composer.

The Golden Globe Awards are given annually, during a formal ceremony and dinner, telecast to more than 150 countries worldwide, to recognize outstanding achievements in the entertainment industry, both domestic and foreign, and to focus wide public attention upon the best in motion pictures and television.

The awards have enabled the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) to donate millions of dollars to entertainment-related charities, as well as funding scholarships and other programs for future film and television professionals. The ceremony forms a major part of the film industry’s “awards season”, which culminates each year with the Oscars and the Screen Actors Guild Awards.

Shah Rukh Khan will be the first Indian to give away prize at Golden Globe this year. This is not the first time ever for Shah Rukh Khan alone. No other actor from Bollywood has been given any opportunity to grace Golden Globe in such capacity. This shows not just Shah Rukh Khan’s charm but also growing clout of Bollywood on the horizon of the world cinema.

Golden Globe Awards are given by Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Over the years Golden Globe Awards have become more familiar than the organization that distributes the award.

Known worldwide for its glittering Golden Globe Awards ceremony held every January and its multi-million dollar donations to charity, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association had humble origins that stemmed solely from a group of journalists’ desire to efficiently and accurately cover all aspects of the world of entertainment.

Today’s organization has its roots in the early 1940s when Pearl Harbor had drawn America into World War II. Audiences, hungry for diversion, were seeking out films offering escape, inspiration and entertainment; and filmmakers such as Orson Welles, Preston Sturges, Darryl Zanuck and Michael Curtiz were working hard to fulfill the need. Amid the turmoil of war and the difficulties with communications, a handful of Los Angeles-based overseas journalists banded together to share contacts, information and material. The idea was not a new one: previously, in 1928 the Hollywood Association of Foreign Correspondents (HAFCO) had been formed and, in 1935, the Foreign Press Society appeared. Both were short-lived, although the HAFCO had a brief moment in the spotlight when Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford and other celebrities showed up at an International Ball the group organized at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel.

In 1943 the journalists, led by the correspondent for Britain’s Daily Mail, formed the Hollywood Foreign Correspondents Association and conceived the motto “Unity Without Discrimination of Religion or Race.” It was an uphill struggle at first as the film industry had not yet realized the importance of foreign markets. At first the members held informal gatherings in private homes. As the membership grew, HFPA meetings were held in larger quarters, with the association selecting the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel as the location for group functions.

Shah Rukh is currently in Los Angeles, shooting for Karan Johar’s ‘My Name is Khan’. And the Golden Globes awards, organised by HFPA, is also being held there, so very likely the superstar may give away one of the awards.

Shah Rukh said to a news daily, “The organisers got celebrities to present nominees etc and want me to present a film in the Drama category, walk the red carpet, give interviews et al. It’s supposed to be a big honour. The guys who called me are from HFPA. Also, on the 11th, I have time off from shooting, so, it will be fun because Rahman is nominated for Slumdog. It will be nice to see him win.”