The interview which appears below, was originally aired on Rainbow FM in January 2009. ©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.
We are very close. Rahman and I have been close friends for the last 20 years.
In the film Uyire, there was just a tune (Dum Dum Dum Dum… just the tune). There was no background score initially. We started shooting with that. It was then that we had the thought that the hero and heroine must not dance in the green meadows but join at the end. So, both are separated and search for each other, with visuals showing the sky, the sea, etc.
We built up the waiting between them. The song was developed in such a way that the hero walks on the wall in a suicidal-attempt situation. There were a lot of moving shots and singing shots in it. After seeing all of that and editing the scenes, Rahman scored the background music.
Sometimes, the visuals inspire him to create a tune, and sometimes, we receive the full tune beforehand.
For instance, Vennilave was done after the full tune was composed. Similarly, “Vidai Vandhuvudan Nila Vandhadhu” (Yenge Enadhu Kavithai from Kandukondein Kandukondein) had a unique pain in it. That pain, when expressed in melody, adds depth to the song. It can be conveyed through words or through visuals, which sometimes trigger specific sounds.
With Rahman, the process is highly collaborative. He is unmatched in how he perceives World Cinema. A successful music director must bring out the subtle, latent feelings present in a story. Rahman excels at that, and his background scores speak for themselves.
Take, for example, the movie Bombay. In a scene depicting riots, where the city is burning, people are wounded and running, and chaos reigns, Rahman could have composed a heavy BGM like “Dha Dha Dha.” Instead, he chose a gentle theme song. It portrayed the pain of a mother losing her son and the emotions between them amidst the chaos.
His career has been a story of great success—from starting with Tamil cinema to entering Bollywood and then to international acclaim with Slumdog Millionaire and Bombay Dreams. Every Chennai resident and Tamilian must feel proud of his achievements. For close friends like us, it’s an especially proud moment.
The most important aspect of Rahman’s journey is that despite reaching new heights, his simplicity, humility, modesty, devotion, and spirituality remain unchanged.
The Dileep Shekhar I knew, the A.R. Rahman, and the AR we see today are one and the same.
A Friendly Question for Rahman
Q: You’ve been so creative. All this creativity comes to you during the nights. Is it because you’re always on American Standard Time, or is it because you’re on a permanent jet lag?
I don’t know if you get these great tunes when you’re supposed to be sleeping. But I am concerned about your health and exercise. Why don’t you compose in Indian Standard Time? Why not schedule your recordings in the morning hours?
(He asks this smilingly.)
Rahman’s Response
(Rahman smiles back, and their friendly chemistry is evident.)
ARR: This seems selfish. You’re working on a movie now, and you’re slowly laying the foundation for me to adjust to your timing. (He laughs.)
But honestly, I’ve been sleeping properly at night since I returned from LA. My kids want me to be with them, narrating stories, and they take me away by midnight.
Sometimes in art, you can’t just say “Stop!” Creativity doesn’t work like a banking job. When an extraordinary idea comes, if you interrupt it, it may never return.
Every day is a challenge. What to do? We’re all creative people. This is not a 9-to-5 job—it’s both a gift and a curse.
