A.R. Rahman to set up music school

Hyderabad, Jan 8 Music maestro A.R. Rahman Tuesday announced that he would soon set up a music school to scout for new talent.

"It has been a long time dream for me. I think the right time has come now," he said after visiting the Ameen Peer Dargah, a Muslim shrine in Kadpa town, about 400 km from here.

Though a formal announcement will come only after three months, Rahman said he was receiving a lot of encouragement and support from various people for the project.

Rahman, whose latest compositions for Ashutosh Gowariker's "Jodhaa Akbar" will be released on Jan 9, expressed his best wishes for Telugu superstar Chiranjeevi, who is planning to join Andhra Pradesh politics.

"I wish Chiranjeevi all the best," said Rahman.

Accompanied by his family members, Rahman offered a 'chadar' at the shrine he visits every year.

A staunch devotee of the saint who is said to have come from Bidar in Karnataka 400 years ago, Rahman has been popularising the shrine among the film fraternity. In November last year, actor Abhishek Bachchan and his actress wife Aishwarya Rai had offered prayers at the dargah.