The interview which appears below, was originally published on I Love A.R. Rahman Podcast in June 2023. ©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.
Executive Editor at Rolling Stone India and creative collaborator with A.R. Rahman discusses her journey in music journalism, writing for the legendary composer, and the evolution of creativity in the digital age
Nirmika, I’m very excited to have you on this podcast! You’re guest number 147 on this journey. Before we dive into your work with A.R. Rahman, I’d love to understand your own journey – from where it all started to where you are today, and what keeps your enthusiasm levels high.
Thank you! I’ve been a journalist for 12 years now. I studied to be a journalist because I wanted to work in the creative sector and contribute to creativity in whatever format possible. At the same time, I’ve always had a parallel career as an artist – that’s a part of me I’ve kept very close to my heart and purpose.
Back in college, I had a band, sang, wrote songs, released an EP, and performed a lot. Along the way, I realized that while my day job was journalism, my evening moonlighting was as an artist. A great opportunity came when I joined Hindustan Times in 2011 – that’s when I really cut my teeth in the business. Then I joined Rolling Stone four years later.
I’ve been with Rolling Stone India for eight years as Executive Editor. It’s been a great process for me in the creative industry because I’ve been able to find my groove as somebody in the epicenter of creativity and business, understanding how to make the creative industry more fertile for enablement.
I found my purpose in understanding that whether I’m a journalist, artist, writer, or enabler, my job is to demystify creativity – whether for budding people, emerging artists, business people who don’t understand creativity, or creative people who don’t understand business, or even established artists who want to envision a future beyond what they’re doing now.
How did you find your purpose? That’s something many people struggle with.
Great question! The quest has been trying and doing everything possible. You will not realize your purpose from day one. I’ve done everything imaginable – I’ve been a karaoke DJ, singer, played at birthday parties, sung at weddings, written songs, hosted events, and been a journalist.
I only found my true purpose as a catalyst or creative entrepreneur after having tried everything. You have to be on a journey of doing. Purpose is discovered by doing – you have to dirty your hands in all the messy things around you. That’s what I tell everybody: just keep doing and learn to fail as soon and as quickly and as many times as possible at the start of your journey, so failing becomes second nature.
I never look back at setbacks as trouble – it’s “thank you, next, thank you for the learnings, what’s next.” The purpose of demystifying creativity comes naturally to me because I personally went through trying to demystify it for myself when I started out.
What’s it like being Executive Editor at Rolling Stone India?
It’s very privileged because of the opportunities, and extremely challenging. I wear that title with a lot of responsibility. There’s responsibility in being the voice, the tastemaker, the curator of trends, and doing justice to the length and breadth of talent we have in this country in terms of coverage.
I think journalists now need to learn business – we need to know where to deploy funds so creativity is funded. Back in the day, journalists didn’t have to bother with revenue and business, but now it’s mandatory for everyone to deploy funds in the right direction. Art needs patronage, and if we can be connectors of dots – since as journalists we’re well connected – we can find right ways to fund the right people.
Before you started working with A.R. Rahman, did you have any prior interaction with him?
As a budding journalist at Hindustan Times, I had once spoken to him around 2013-2014. I was in Delhi at the time, visiting home, and the interview over the phone just happened quickly – like most things with sir happen, in the moment. There was this rush of enthusiasm and euphoria.
I told everyone to keep quiet because “Mr. Rahman is going to be on the call.” I went into a room and spoke with him, and that really touched me. I literally felt the halo effect – like something divine was touching me with wisdom. Whatever wisdom he was able to impart in those few questions, I genuinely felt personally touched by the inspiration.
Like many other people, I had an audacious dream of working with him eventually, and it came true four years later in 2018. I was introduced to him as a poet this time, and we reminisced about our previous interaction as a journalist. Sir asked me to recite anything I wanted, and I recited something for him. He said, “This is great, can you write a song?” and in that moment, I wrote a song for him. That’s how “Ganga” was born.
That’s incredible! How did A.R. Rahman see potential in someone without an established legacy at that point?
It’s surreal! I think that’s the bigness, the magnanimity of this figure – to look at someone without any legacy. What legacy did I have? I was barely 30-31. Nothing. Your life really hasn’t happened to you by then, right? But whatever you’ve been able to crystallize into poetry – what right do you even have at that age to call yourself a poet?
But there it was. I happened to recite something that I felt had value, he saw the value, and said “I’m going to give you this opportunity, make good with it.” Isn’t that amazing? You have to be of a different fabric as a human being to realize that this has potential, even if there isn’t established talent yet. If this person is put in the right climate with the right inspiration, lots of things can happen.
What happened after that initial meeting?
The next day I was flying to the US, and sir said, “When you’re back, let’s meet in Chennai.” I remember coming back from the US, flying down to Chennai, doing a few days of writing sessions. “Ganga” was written, then we had another song, then another song.
Coincidentally, both sir and I happened to be in LA at the same time – he had gone for the Grammys and I was there for a visit to Apple Studios. He said, “Since we’re both in the same city, what a beautiful coincidence, let’s do some songwriting sessions.” We wrote a few songs, and one of them happened to be the Avengers Anthem. My life and this beautiful mentorship just unfolded so beautifully.
What’s the collaborative process like when writing for A.R. Rahman?
With sir, it’s the purest of collaborations. He literally asks a writer – who he calls a poet – to think of a big poetic idea. He’s very certain about the fact that I’m not here to crack a song, I’m here to find the essence of a song.
Sometimes we would have eight-nine hour long discussions just cracking the essence of the song. With “Ganga,” the essence was: what is this idea of India without having to say “India” or “I love my India” or “India is great”? The idea was that Ganga is basically a lifeline that runs through the country and carries the dreams of its people. That was his idea, and then I fuel it.
We’re always cracking a big idea that you can channelize into a song. It’s beautiful because sometimes you get so nourished by the exchange of ideas more than the songwriting process itself.
How does A.R. Rahman react when you’ve cracked the essence of a song?
Sir is a constant innovator who believes we don’t have to complicate things, we have to specify things for them to be understood. If you hear sir’s music, it’s so rich and complex in the most beautiful ways – it’s complex, not complicated; nuanced, not difficult.
The cracking moment is unspoken – you just realize it fits. If there’s a video for which a song is being written, you’ve seen it, and you just know it fits. Of course, that call is sir’s call entirely. He’s an experienced professional with an instinctive understanding of what is pure and what will connect.
The high is very high – it’s a high of disbelief that this happened, but also of gratitude. For him, it’s also the high of having an innovative thing that we’ve done. If you’re a lifelong learner, all of this fits into your larger dream of life.
Any memorable breakfast experiences after long night sessions?
Yes! There was one early morning around 6:30 AM after we finished a session – I think it was 2019. All of us – Ameen, Khatija, and I – got into the van and went for breakfast. We have to be very careful that everything’s curtained so people aren’t hounding him on the street. We had some pongal in the morning and kesari – it was the best!
Have you picked up any Tamil during your collaborations?
A little bit! I’m very fascinated by the language. I had a Tamil fever last year when I spent extended time in Chennai because of the 99 Songs collaboration – about three months from March to May. I went into this rabbit hole of listening to all of sir’s old songs, trying to understand the poetry behind them.
I would ask sir, “Does this mean that?” and he’s like, “No, but it also means this.” We would have exchanges about why this word and not that word. The poetry of Tamil music is incredible. I’ve become an advocate for many of my friends who aren’t from the culture – I tell them they have to listen to these songs and what they mean.
What was your first major project with A.R. Rahman?
My first big long-term project was the Nexa Music Project. It was a nationwide talent discovery initiative that’s now in its second season. The first season was amazing because it went on for 12 months. We discovered over a thousand entries, 54 were selected, 24 got a chance for their songs to be produced and videos made, and four people were declared super winners.
I had the honor of writing the super winner song that sir collaborated on. The whole process was incredible – we knew this talent with the right mentorship would find the best places eventually. Now you see so many of those people still collaborating with him.
What was heartwarming about this project is that most talent was coming from places like Nagaland or Ahmedabad – cities we don’t normally associate with certain genres. There was a jazz band called Heat Singh from Ahmedabad that won. It’s phenomenal to work on projects that expand your horizons.
What leadership qualities have you observed in A.R. Rahman?
I have goosebumps thinking about it. I’ve learned so much that I apply to leading my own team at Rolling Stone. Number one is to be a benign leader that takes into account everybody’s perspectives. Sir may have wealth of experience and know what works, but he always has his finger on the pulse of the nation and his team.
The fact that people are in his team means they have insights and opinions. He enables everybody. The empathy quotient and emotional quotient that sir displays is of another level. People are emotional beings – we’re not always rational or objective. The way sir nourishes aspiration – that’s the word, he nourishes aspiration.
I’ve had entrepreneurial dreams and audacious dreams that I’ve discussed with sir, and his absolute enablement is “Yeah, sure, go for it. You will not go until you try it. You’re meant for bigger things.” That’s a leader – that’s how I want to be with everyone.
How do you keep track of A.R. Rahman’s many ideas?
We keep very clean hygiene – whatever ideas are discussed are noted down. We keep track of them in threads, email threads, or documents we’re maintaining. Sometimes it’s a collaboratively maintained document, or voice notes when I’m in person with him.
I think sir follows a system of prioritizing whatever is more immediate, actionable, and requires creative input in the moment. While he’s being in the moment, he’s also thinking about long-term impact. His parameters are impact, excellence, and value. If it passes through those hoops, it will have a chance at being cracked.
Some ideas take a few days or hours, others take months, some are always in a state of incubation. I’ve learned to find instinctive utility for ideas and to implement them, finding a world for them because sometimes great ideas need to be practicalized.
What are your thoughts on the current era of short-form content and attention deficit?
It’s a very significant question. Any generation has a primary channel of outreach. Back in the day it was radio, in the 90s it was TV and MTV, and right now it’s social media. The great side is it’s democratized – nobody needs to beg a head of a label or music journalist. We don’t have power as gatekeepers anymore because broadcast channels are for everyone.
But democracy has also led to cluttering and noise, so discoverability is a problem. With sensory overload today, anybody who is distinct and shows commitment and discipline to their audiences gets picked up fast. Facets of artistry that could have been hidden back in the day are now visible because everything’s rolled into one – audiences fall in love with the artist, not just the art.
The flip side is validation-seeking behavior. For emerging artists dealing with short attention spans, they should ride the wave. How was Madonna able to do it in the 80s? She kept reinventing to cash in on every wave. There’s also entitlement from some independent artists who feel entitled to an audience because they’re independent. The responsibility has to be of the artist to be so great and meritorious that there’s no entitlement.
If you had a magic wand to create the perfect world, what would you do?
I would start with basics – everyone’s primary needs have to be fulfilled: housing, food, clothing, and universal basic income so you’re secure with your basics and don’t have to worry about your next meal. Once that’s secure, excellence will come as a byproduct.
From a music culture perspective, I believe in a free economy where the meritorious get more enablement and masses become the ultimate deciders. In my ideal world, all gateways would fade into oblivion – maybe all record labels would disappear, everything would be decentralized on blockchain with no centralized authority. The collective decision and governance of people would decide what deserves support.
If you were making a movie and A.R. Rahman gave you freedom to choose five of his songs, which would they be?
We always go back to songs that influenced us most as children – they have more impact than songs we discover in adulthood. I remember sir’s music from Rangeela and Roja – the emotional quotient and potency of those songs stay with me. These albums shaped me.
I remember as a kid watching the videos on MTV when I was in Delhi in the early 90s. From Bombay, there’s a lyric that just hit me – the musical and lyricism marriage. For me, it would be songs from those three soundtracks, plus Lagaan. Songs from those albums really moved me as a child who wanted to be like them but didn’t know what I was going to be.
Where is Nirmika heading from here?
I’m in the process of building my own creative enterprise, which I’ll announce soon. It’ll be a full ecosystem that fills the gap in the artistic ecosystem – full-stack management that looks at preparation and strategy for artists in a way that’s never been done before, with a very trustful angle.
I’m also developing a “starter pack” model because I work with young artists and I was a young artist once who had no clue where to begin. Nobody gave me a starter pack – I figured it out on my own and still am. I’m building this because artistry and creativity can be built into systems no matter your stage or capital. You just need talent, discipline, and drive.
There are people who can get artists gigs or placements, but there’s nobody turning artistic ideas into practical concepts that can be executed. We have so many artists but not enough entrepreneurs to fuel their dreams. Let artists be creative people and creative entrepreneurs, and let professionals do the dirty work of logistics and connecting dots.
Could you dedicate a poem to A.R. Rahman?
Of course! Very few people are able to see talent when it’s just in its raw form. Most people see established talent and put them in right places, but some see the potential of talent, which is long-term.
Sir often says you have to live your life to be able to translate it into your voice or poetry – living the human experience is so important. He’s told me, “You are an ideas person, you never have to worry about a timeline right now.” When you know you have someone’s guiding light on you and have been validated that you don’t have to rush, you feel devotion.
This poem is called “Pyar Beshumar” – I dedicate it to sir, his ideas, his family, and everyone who’s embraced me:
[She recites a beautiful poem in Hindi about boundless love and blessings]
That’s literally a form of gratitude – may the showers of blessings always continue, because that’s what any creative person needs. They need the belief not of one or two people, but of an entire community. It takes a village, doesn’t it?
And a poem for the A.R. Rahman fans?
ARR fans are absolutely special! There’s a poem I often recite about changing the world – it’s also the poem I wrote for the Firdaus Orchestra collaboration that sir and I had. I often talk about changing the world, and it takes so many drops to form the ocean. You are forming an ocean of people listening to you.
Together, the ARR fraternity and podcast audience feel ready together and are changing something. Maybe it’ll bring the tiniest smile to people, and it is changing the world for the better.
[She recites a poem about boundless love and making the world change in beautiful ways]
Thank you so much, Nirmika! It’s been an absolute pleasure having you on this podcast.
Thank you! I don’t feel like we haven’t met – eventually we should meet in person! We’re all connected with the thread of creativity, and I hope all of us work towards our goals and make our dreams come true.
