A R Rahman says soulful music can be created only when composer, director work in tandem
Sonia Lulla (MID-DAY; December 19, 2018)

With rehashed tunes emerging as unchallenged club-bangers this year, music aficionados haven’t failed to notice that it’s been a while since the industry delivered a promising film soundtrack. “The last [time] i felt good about a soundtrack was [when working on] Rockstar,” says A R Rahman, who has been vocal about the need for musicians and filmmakers to approach any project as one unit.

Talking to mid-day at the launch of the recently released anthem of the Men’s Hockey World Cup, the maestro admits that musicians are under “pressure” when delivering a soundtrack. “There are many challenges [that filmmakers face to get] people to watch movies. So much so, that we have forgotten to catch up with the soul. Sometimes, we need to go back and create something beautiful. For Rockstar, there was a lot of time, commitment and love put into the script, by the actor, director, lyricists and [me]. Then, the concept of content came into existence. Somewhere, the passion of creating a movie is lost; [filmmaking] has become about content creation, not art creation.”

For an industry that banks heavily on its musical heritage, Bollywood has also grappled to deliver a successful film in that genre. “If you do it properly, it will [turn out] well. [Filmmakers] must work harder, and do their homework before approaching it. I’ve worked in the West, so [I’ve learnt] how musicals should be done. It requires workshops before it is created. Every frame matters.”