Indian music composer A. R. Rahman, who won Best Original Score at the Oscars for his work in the hit movie Slumdog Millionaire, has launched the Katraar metaverse platform to promote new music creations and other art forms.

See related article: India’s religious festivals coming to a metaverse near your avatar?

Fast facts

  • Katraar means a group of learned people who can change the world,” Rahman said in a Twitter post. “This platform is to bring in new talents, technologies, and to bring direct revenue to help emerging technologies and probably bridge them to the future,” he said.
  • In partnership with non-profit organization the HBAR Foundation, Katraar plans to bring in rare and unique non-fungible tokens (NFTs) in music, art and storytelling, Rahman said.
  • Rahman will release some of his exclusive works through this platform, the Katraar website said.
  • Among his achievements, Rahman has won two Academy awards, two Grammys, a BAFTA, as well as a Golden Globe. 
  • A Deloitte report states that the metaverse could add as much as US$1.4 trillion a year to gross domestic product across Asia by 2035, or as much as 2.4% of overall GDP. The metaverse could also create new marketplaces and businesses as well as open up employment opportunities, the report said.
  • See related article: Asia banking giant DBS jumps into The Sandbox metaverse