Deepali Singh (DNA; August 7, 2018)

Senior musicians admire his vision, younger artistes wish to work with him, but AR Rahman remains as humble as ever. The Mozart of Madras, as he’s often referred to, believes in doing his best, regardless of the results. “If you have an agenda, it influences your art. So, we just have to do what’s right, take the blessings that God has given, and pass them on,” says the musician.

Rahman will soon be seen as the host on Harmony With A R Rahman, a five-episode series on Amazon Prime Video, which explores India’s rich musical heritage through four especially-curated instruments and vocal traditions, and re-contextualises these in modern Indian music culture. He travelled to various parts of the country to meet artistes such as Ustad Mohi Baha’un-din Dagar (Maharashtra), Kalamandalam Sajith Vijayan (Kerala), Lourembam Bedabati Devi (Manipur) and Mickma Tshering Lepcha (Sikkim). He tells us more about his association with the series, his plans for his own production house and his growth as a musician...

How involved were you with the curation of the artistes and instruments?
I think it all came on a platter for me. For the past five years, I have been setting up my own production house — Y M Movies — and these guys beat us to this show. They said you just have to be an anchor. I was pleased with the concept. They showed me these four instruments and told me about the artistes. It’s more about the musicians’ stories, their struggles, conviction and what kept them going. 

What revelations did the show have for you?
Every story is a revelation. The world always looks at what’s bringing in money. These guys are struggling but they are happy because they feel they are doing something right. I’ve tried to interact with them in my own way and show a side that people have not seen or heard, as well as create a complimentary support for them. Also, to show how their instruments could sound with modern music.

So what’s the ultimate aim of the show?
The idea is not that we’re doing them a favour, but that they are doing us one. They are showing us that there is still beauty in the world. They have preserved something, which we could have been lost. These artistes should be celebrated. Also, it could apply to so many things. Somebody might get inspired by this and think, they have taken up music, maybe I could show something similar being done in the field of medicine or arts. I always feel one thing has various influences. 

The digital platform allows for a larger audience to view the series as well...
Exactly. We only see great products from the West, where they show their traditions. Here, the productions are not of the highest quality and people don’t want to watch them. So, now you have mouth-watering quality! You should seduce people with visuals. Apart from me, everything looks very beautiful (laughs)! I didn’t prepare anything but just went with the flow as I didn’t want to intimidate them.

You use a number of Indian instruments, like the shehnai, in your music as well...
All these sounds are embedded in our culture and in our blood. There is a spiritual and biological reaction when you hear the shehnai — of weddings and happy memories. There is a connect that goes beyond words. I use this nostalgia to create an emotional impact.

What’s the plan with Y M Movies?
In the past 10 years, my mind has opened up a lot. Other than being just a musician, I’m also thinking like a producer, a writer, learning about screenwriting, cameras, lenses, CG Motion, etc. I don’t have to, but I want to be prepared if something goes wrong. There is the freedom to learn and re-explore while keeping music as the main aspect. Even during this show, I kept asking the director questions about the shooting process.

So, is film direction the next step?
No, no, no! (Laughs) My son told me twice, ‘You have already got grey hair, I don’t want to see more greys!’ I see this series as a blessing. It’s not very often that these kinds of things come your way. People want a disco or a seduction song or an item number. For a musician to evolve, you need to do much more, though the mediums are few. I would like to create such outlets through my production house.

Renuka Vyavahare (BOMBAY TIMES; January 12, 2018)

India’s global music icon and winner of two Academy Awards (in 2009 for Slumdog Millionaire), A R Rahman needs no introduction and yet, he humbly introduces himself as ‘AR’ in a conversation. Even after being in the limelight for so many years, the musical maestro continues to be a man of few words. Recently, he spoke to Bombay Times about his new challenges, his concerts sparking the North-South debate and why he is so critical of himself as a singer. Excerpts…

You will be debuting as a scriptwriter-producer soon with your ambitious project, 99 Songs. What drew you towards writing a film?
Every person’s journey is unique. We go through different ups and downs and discover things that other people don’t. I have experienced so much in life through my journey, so it’s interesting to put it in a movie and present it to people. Over the years, I have seen beauty, struggle, redemption and love. This is what the movie is all about. We started shooting last year and the shoot is complete. The film is in post-production now, as the CG work is pending. There are a lot of songs, so I need to plan on releasing them one by one, as I want people to be introduced to the songs much before the release of the film.

How different was it for you to write a script vis-à-vis composing music?
The story-writing started seven years ago. Before that, I knew I wanted to tell stories but didn’t know how to, so I took lessons. I attended scriptwriting workshops. Also, your mind starts to work on its own when you are inclined towards something. There have been so many long flights I’ve taken, which also gave me a lot of time to think. 

Will we see you directing a full-fledged feature film soon?
Not really. I have directed a VR (virtual reality) movie called Le Musk, but 2D feature films require undivided attention. Like my son said, ‘Daddy, I don’t think you should direct anything anymore, as I am seeing more and more grey hair by the day’. Also, we already have great filmmakers and visionaries who are better at it. I can just relax and watch a movie instead (smiles). VR was a different ball game — that space was empty, so I jumped at it.

While you are loved as a singer, you are not too happy with yourself when it comes to singing. Why?
The composer in me is not very accepting of the vocalist in me. It happens when you play two roles — that of a singer and a composer. As a composer, you are always sitting on the other side and telling singers how to sing. When you are singing, the same person (me) starts telling you, how much more you can do. That’s challenging.

Your concerts often run into the North India-South India debate, with some fans complaining about how South songs often outnumber the Hindi ones. Hence, you agreeing to be the brand ambassador of a Northeastern state, Sikkim, was like making a statement that music doesn’t belong to one state or region; it has the power to surpass boundaries.
Sikkim is a non-controversial state, and is one with nature. The people of Sikkim are extremely nice and they are an example of co-existence. There are so many beautiful qualities about the state and so, I felt it’s the right thing to do. This part of the country (Northeast) has always fascinated me, but I hadn’t been here before. Recently, I visited Shillong and only after going there I realised what India is all about. I believe India is not just Mumbai, Chennai or Kerala. Each part of the country makes you feel like you are being born again and you still have so much more to discover.

You’ve enjoyed a 25-year-long illustrious journey in the world of movies and entertainment. What’s next?
I want to do a lot of interesting things that I haven’t done before. I want to find new ways to face challenges and explore places that I haven’t seen before, like I am doing at the moment in Sikkim. I want to explore a completely new India and find ways to include it in our movies.

Roshmilla Bhattacharya (MUMBAI MIRROR; February 15, 2014)

He’s getting ready to walk the red carpet at the Berlin Film Festival with Highway director Imtiaz Ali and leads Randeep Hooda and Alia Bhatt. “It’s cold here but not freezing, the sun is out,” says A R Rahman, talking to Mirror from the German capital.

Back home, he has surprised many by appearing in the music video of Patakha Guddi with Alia. Is an acting career on the cards? “That’s a different trip. I’d rather continue with my musical journey. There’s so much left to explore” says the maestro.

He points out that the film offered him a lot of creative freedom to experiment with different things before they landed up with the final list of songs. “Even more challenging was the minimalistic background score. There were places where we decided not to have music and let the ambience speak,” he reminisces.

After this road trip through six states, Rahman will set out on The Hundred-Foot Journey based on Richard C Morais’s novel. The Mozart of Madras is looking forward to this adventure drama starring Helen Mirren, Om Puri and Manish Dayal. “I’m a great admirer of the Swedish director Lasse Hallström who’s been nominated for the Oscars for My Life as a Dog and The Cider House Rules. His sensibilities are unique. I’m really excited,” he exults. Produced by Steven Spielberg, Oprah Winfrey and Juliet Blake, the film opens on August 8. Before that, the composer will have another international release on May 16--Walt Disney Pictures’ biographical sports drama, Million Dollar Arm. “I’ve worked with a lot of artistes on this score, collaborated with rappers from the West. It’s in the Slumdog Millionaire genre but goes forward and beyond. It’s based on a true story (of baseball pitchers Rinku Singh and Dinesh Patel discovered by sports agent JB Bernstein after winning a reality show) which made it more interesting,” he says.

For all those who believe that Rahman is on a highway to the West, he points out that there’s the Rajnikanth starrer, the one-of-its-kind Kochadaiiyan - The Legend. “It’s not real live-action and has been in the making for long but I’m proud to be associated with it,” he asserts. He’s also given the nod to Mani Ratnam’s bilingual starring Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. Confirming the news Rahman says, “It’ll be nice to be working with Mani Sir again on an exciting, young project.”

He’s also given the nod to Imtiaz’s Window Seat starring Ranbir Kapoor and Deepika Padukone. And there’s Shekhar Kapur’s Paani. “I’m glad this ambitious project is in the right hands now, it will happen the way it’s meant to,” he avers.

And if that’s not enough, Rahman will also be releasing an album, Raunaq, on February 27 but won’t divulge detials. You’ll hear it soon,” is all he will say.

With all that’s happening, it’s not surprising his son Ameen would want to stop a music session so his dad could get seven hours of sleep. “Living in a family we tend to take each other for granted till we get a wake-up call like this. Then it’s like wow, this is what a family is about,” he says.

But cruising down the highway of life, as we see in Imtiaz’s upcoming film, can be an eye-opener and a mind-opener. “I’ve been travelling for the last 15 years, not on a truck but on an aeroplane. My kids miss me when I’m away but I don’t mind living out of a suitcase. The UK, US, France, Germany, Iraq… it’s such a thrill meeting people of different cultures, learning about and from them,” he muses. “It’s changed my perception about life, humanity and spirituality.” Jai Ho!

Meanwhile, buzz is, he had objections to Sohail and Salman Khan using the title Jai Ho for their film? Rahman says, “After Slumdog Millionaire, Jai Ho became such a huge hit that I copyrighted the title. I gave an NOC to Sohail and Salman for their film, but if anyone outside India wants to use it, they will need my permission.”