The Oscar has landed!

AR Rahman landed in his hometown Chennai on Wednesday night with thousands of fans anxiously waiting at the airport as well as at his home to receive him despite no information being leaked about his return.

The government had provided him with tight security cover, including armed vehicles to escort him back home. His security will also most probably be increased post his Oscar win.

A source close to the singer says, “His return was kept a hush-hush affair. Nobody knew when he was coming back as we saw how crazy people were getting when he landed after winning the Golden Globe. We expected things to get out of hand when he comes back post Oscars. Then, there were security issues too. Rahman’s security has been increased by the Tamil Nadu government. He will have constant security cover from now on. The people who were standing vigil at the airport greeted him with a hero’s welcome.”

In an interview to After Hrs hours before arriving, Rahman revealed what he meant when he said, “All my life, I had a choice of hate and love. I chose love, and I’m here” at the Oscar ceremony. “There is so much hatred in our world now. Love can really make you go places and achieve everything. All my life I have chosen love,” he explains.

Rahman thinks that his Oscar win has certainly raised the benchmark of music the country will produce for the world. “The bar has been raised for me and for everybody. Oscars have been a very humbling experience and this opens the doors not only for me, but also for many other musicians as well as other people in the film industry to reach out to the entire world.”