The interview which appears below, was originally published on Oli in December 2002. ©The rights to this material are reserved to the owner. If you have any concerns or comments, please send an email to info@rahmaniac.com.
It is well known to the world that you are an expert in keyboards. What are the other instruments that you can play?
For some time, I was learning guitar, but the keyboard was my main instrument.
You happened to meet Mani Ratnam at an award ceremony, and that’s where you got your break for “Roja.” How did this happen?
A relative of Mani Ratnam, Trilok Sharadha, introduced me to Maniratnam at the award ceremony. I invited him to my small studio, Panchathan. Then, after about six months, he came to my studio and asked, “Last time you invited me to your studio, so if you have any tunes, just show it to me.” So, I gave all I had, but I actually didn’t know what it was for. And there was no answer for about a week, so I thought, “That’s it. I lost my chance.” Later, he came back and spotted all the good ones, and planned to go with “Thiruda Thiruda” first. Then, he came back and said, “Let’s do Roja.”
You have won many awards. Which award is most valuable for you?
The most valuable award for me is the Indian Padmashree award. More valuable is when a song influences someone’s heart and mind. Ten years later, when he hears the song, he should feel that the song has influenced him or he should get the memory of when he was in school, college, or in love. That’s more important to me.
You have scored music for many movies. Which movie took you the longest time to score?
You can’t say. All scores are different. Sometimes, when the director thinks it’s easy to score, it may be difficult for me, or vice versa. It may not be because of the music but may be the frequency range between the director and the music director.
Which movie took you so long to score, and you didn’t succeed?
Hmmm… there are a lot, but if you take “Thiruda Thiruda,” some of the songs took one to two months to compose, and after finishing that, it failed, and I got upset.
The movie failed, but the songs were super hits.
Yes, but the songs also only took off after a month or two. But at that time, by the grace of God, the songs were accepted by the people, even if the movie didn’t do well.
Did you figure out why songs don’t become a hit?
Sometimes, a simple song becomes a big hit. I think it depends also on the song picturization and the success of the movie.
You have been scoring for many Hindi movies too. How is it working with the North Indian and South Indian audiences? What are the differences?
Hmm…people here eat roti-chanai (Singapore) like we eat idli in India. So it’s just a matter of taste. In Hindi, they have their favorite raags and instruments and in the South, we have our favorites too. If a little carnatic music is used in a Hindi song, they find it hard to accept, but if we use a Hindustani raag, they’ll like it.
Lately, some of your dubbings have also been successful. How is that?
The melody is composed semi-classically, so it can be suited for both Hindi and Tamil.
You have done several non-film albums, and Vande Mataram was one of them. How was it working with legends like Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan?
Vande Mataram was completed within four months. I met NFAK in New York when I and my friend Barath Bala attended a Sony Music meeting. We were thrilled watching around 6,000 Americans and Indians dancing to his tunes there, so we decided to meet him. Then, we agreed to work together and he respected us a lot. I think it was his last song, after that he was ill.
You’ve also done Bombay Dreams with Andrew Lloyd Webber, stirring up the British audience. How did you get that opportunity?
My friend Shekar Kapur had to work on a movie with Andrew, and at that time he played some of my tunes for Andrew. After that, both of them came up with an idea of doing a play based on my music. Then, we worked on it for two and a half years.
There was a time when only SPB, S. Janaki, Mano and Chitra were the only common singers. What made you break that barrier and bring in new singers?
In the past, the standard time to complete a song was 7 hours, and if you exceeded that limit, people would look at you as if you committed a sin. I realized that in the West, they take so much time to record and complete a song while considering the quality over quantity. I wanted to utilize that formula and take more time to produce quality songs, which required the use of new singers. Some voices like Minmini and Anupama are fresh, but some songs can only be sung by SPB or Janaki, who have a unique stamp.
Which young singer has impressed you?
The current generation of singers, both in Hindi and Tamil, are all extraordinary. However, their concentration seems to be diverting due to MTV and other videos. I don’t think the dedication from before still exists.
Pronunciation in language nowadays is not given importance, some singers from the North come down and sing. Do you think it is necessary in Tamil movies?
There is no such thing as a necessary pronunciation in language. If a song is well received by people, they will keep doing it. For example, if Udit Narayan sings a song and it becomes a hit, they will call him again to sing. I think it is just for charm. Back then, P. Susila was Telugu, and Sadhana Sargam was Hindi, but most of her Tamil songs were pronounced well.
You have worked with Ilaiyaraja for some time. How was the experience working with him?
Ilaiyaraja sir worked with my father as a keyboardist and I worked with him as a keyboard player. We are almost like a family. What I learned from working with him is like a music school, with discipline. He is the first Indian musician to experiment with different sounds from strings and arrangements, resulting in extraordinary results in a short period of time. However, I wanted to go beyond cinema and into jingles, which I felt was more fulfilling.
Which young music directors have impressed you?
There are many young music directors doing well, such as Yuvan, Vidyasagar, Harris, Barathwaj, and so on. If you listen to their songs, they are very nice.
Lately, you have been composing for only big names like Mani Ratnam, Shanker, Kadhir, and Rajini. Is there any reason for that or is it because of your time constraint?
The main reason is that in the past year, the whole audio market has dropped badly due to piracy, dropping almost 80%. The budget for paying for quality music and making quality music has also reduced. Today’s journey is to support original and good music because of a story: one day a king told everyone to pour milk into their tin and went. Everyone thought others would buy original, but most ended up buying pirated.
Your family?
I have two daughters, Kathija and Rahima. I can meet them frequently as my studio is attached to my house.
Who is your favorite Tamil poet?
There are many great Tamil poets, such as Bharathiar, Kannadasan, Vairamuthu, Vaali, Kabilan, and a young one, Pa Vijay.
Ok now, regarding your latest movie for Shankar Boys, we heard that there are 16 songs in it. How is it and what kind of music can listeners expect?
The movie will have a full musical feel like Kadhaalan did back in the days (94-95). But it’s more advanced. We’re still working on it, so I can’t say much.
Have you sung in it too?
No, I haven’t sung in it yet.
All the songs you’ve sung are high pitched. Why is that? Is it because you sound good like that?
Hmm, no I did “Vellai Pookal” (laughs). I did that song just to avoid questions like this.
Ok, what are your future plans?
No future plans, I leave everything to God. If you had asked me last week if I would be coming here, I wouldn’t have had any idea about it.
