The interview which appears below, was originally aired on Rahmania - Aaha FM in September 2008. Interview excerpt is written by V.R. Vithur from the A.R. Rahman Yahoo Fans Group. ©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.
Q: You have been playing 25 instruments. How did you develop the earnestness, and how did you start playing?
SS: It’s God’s gift. The second plus point is Mr. A.R. Rahman.
Q: Did you meet A.R. Rahman after he became a music director, or did you know him before that?
SS: Before he became a music director, when he was working with other Tamil films, we were associated with him. He taught us a lot of new things. The santoor is usually played in tune with ragas. He specially taught us about chord progression and scale changes. I learned Western music while he used to play the keyboard and do the backing. During recording times, he would even play some of our notes on his keyboard. Some bits were tough for both of us.
The difference is he has ten fingers and can easily play them, while we have two sticks to play the santoor, making it tough. With these sticks, we can play in 2.5 octaves and 3.5 octaves, but higher octaves are more difficult. The duration time is also very minimal for us, as a recording has to be finished within 6 hours. He teaches us a lot during recording sessions. I started developing interest when he did the chord backing and progression to make us feel comfortable while working. He became a good friend because of these associations.
He called me for Roja for the song “Chinna Chinna Aasai.” We had to play the santoor for the song, but it shouldn’t sound like a santoor. Instead of playing with the stick, he suggested we play with ten fingers. In the second BGM of that song, in the left hand, the chord progressions would be going on, and in the right hand, the melody would be continuing. That was the first time in my life that I played the santoor with my ten fingers, leaving aside the stick. The specialty is the usage of the harp at the beginning of the song. Mandolin is used at the beginning of the song itself. I played all three instruments in the song (viz. harp, mandolin, santoor). The song became a super hit.
Q: Where have you used the mandolin instrument?
SS: In Super Star Rajni Sir’s song “Oh ho Kick Yerudheee” (Padayappa). The song was primarily prepared for the mandolin, and he asked me to prepare and bring it. During recording, he usually asks for about 10 to 15 instruments, but for this song, he told me to get just one mandolin. I understood that there was something special about this song. Many mandolin players had told me it’s a difficult bit to play. Many people have tried playing it in concerts and struggled. They often asked me, “How did you manage to play it?” I like the song very much as we strained a lot in playing it.
For the film Sangamam, our Master MSV Sir was involved. We are all from his school of music. He has a lot of love for me, and he was at the recording session for that film. Hariharan sir sang the initial bit and left. Rahman sir brought 40 rhythms and mixed them. He told me to get all the instruments I possessed for this song. When I started from home with all the instruments, the neighbors asked if I was moving to another house.
I brought all the instruments in five auto rickshaws. I replied, “No, Rahman sir had called for a recording. He instructed me to get all the instruments to try something new.”
Rubob, Sauce, Mandolin, Utilin, Basukin
We mixed all six instruments into the rhythms to make it perfect, and the outcome was brilliant.
I loved playing the guitar style in “Nenje Nenje” from Ratchagan. This I loved the most. The guitar style comes in the sarod style. There is a separate style for guitar and a separate style for sarod. One who can play both instruments can do it. He told me to get both instruments. In the second BGM of that song, in that classical guitar portion, he wanted a melody and, on top of it, the sarod style. That sarod bit was very difficult. He didn’t leave me till the last. Somehow he wanted me to finish it. I told him the range of the song was going very high and it would be very tough. The fingering would be very tough. We can play the instrument with a maximum of two fingers only.
He told me, “If you can’t do it, then who else is there? Try it. You will get it.” With his encouragement, we did it in the first take itself. I asked him if we could go for another take, to which he said, “No. You can’t play this bit for another take. Even if I give you a year, it won’t come.”
Even after some years, whenever the same raga is played with the sarod, I never used to get it. I realized the importance of his words.
For the film Gentleman, I played for some 4 or 5 songs, especially the song “Usilambatti.” He waited for me for the song. At that time, I used to go frequently to Bangalore as I was also doing Kannada films. Once, without informing him, I went off. After that, he asked me, “Am I doing any TV serial? Or an album? I am doing a film. Why didn’t you inform me before going?”
I told him, “Sir, I had agreed to that earlier. That’s why.” Then he said, “Okay, play this and go.” My train was at 1:30 PM, and the recording was scheduled at 10 AM. I was sure the song couldn’t be completed before that time, but it finished in fifteen minutes. By 10:45 AM or 11, we were out. He also congratulated me for playing the song well.
Kuchi Kuchi Rakkamma – Bull Bull Thara
The Bull Bull Thara is actually a qawwali instrument. On the left side, it would be like a typewriting instrument, and on the right side, the usage of the second and third fingers would be on a small clip, like that of a veena. When the right and left ends are simultaneously used, the noises would be high, just like when a typewriter is used. But he wanted those noises in that song.
Nowadays, sensitive mikes capture all sorts of noises and sounds. It was a challenge to play that instrument for the song. It was a speed bit. While pressing one finger and leaving it, the noise would come, and he asked, “Can something be done without the noises emanating?” I said it would be really tough to do anything without the noises. We tried pouring coconut oil into the buttons, similar to pouring oil in cycle chokes to minimize the noise.
The oil worked out, and the noise started reducing. Then he said, “This is okay. We will adjust this to the maximum.” Actually, the price of the instrument is Rs 75, but he paid me Rs 2500. I was very happy for it. The song became a super hit, and for about two to three years, wherever I went, the song used to follow me. It was a great hit in Tamil as well as Hindi languages.
Indian – Maya Machindra
For the film Indian, he had asked me to get my own setup. One evening at 6 PM, he asked me if I had got something new. I replied that there was an instrument called Farz. It was a Turkish instrument. A friend of mine had given it to me. I couldn’t understand anything of it. I told him that if there was a cassette on it, I could hear and try to get some idea. Then, he gave me a cassette and told me to listen to one particular style. I heard it for some time and told him that the same could be used in a song. We put it as “Ni Sa Sa Ni Sa Ma Ga Ni Sa Sa Ni Sa.” He told me this is new, for which I told, “No sir, we can play this somewhere in the song.”
This came in the strings following the words “Maya Machindra Macham Paarka Vandeera.” (After these lyrics, the string comes.) It’s fully gut strings. Usually, it comes in two strings, but this came out in three strings. So, we need to fix the fingers well to listen to all three strings. Even if one string is not listened to properly, it becomes cacophony. The song became a super hit, and also the bit where those strings come.
Q: How many songs have you played with Rahman? Would it be around 100 songs?
SS: I haven’t counted yet. My most favorite re-recording piece would be from Lagaan. The last ball sixer BGM was done with a full orchestra. When the Indian flag rises to the top in that scene, he wanted my harp and santoor played at 100 miles per hour. I hadn’t played at that speed in my lifetime. It was a rainy scene, and our flag was being hoisted while the instruments were played at full speed. He was very happy, and the director was also very happy. I really like the picturization of that song.
Q: Your instruments are experimental, and he is also very experimental. Have there been any clashes between you and Rahman?
Till now, there hasn’t been any occasion like that. But at times, he has become a little upset with me. It happens when he calls us for a recording, and we absent ourselves to go to another recording. At those times, he would become a little upset. He would say, “You were supposed to come to me, and you went somewhere else.”
There was an occasion when he discovered that I had been to another recording without disclosing it. It was for the recording of the song “Kulavallile” for Muthu. There were bass guitars and chorus in the song, and my role was only playing the harp. I thought my role was minimal and could be done with ease, so I wished “Good Morning” to Sir and went off to Deva Sir’s recording for the film Aasai (Maniratnam Production).
After finishing my role there, I came directly to Rahman’s recording. He somehow found out the truth. He asked me, “Where did you go?” I replied, “Nothing, Sir. I just went for a walk to the hotel.” He didn’t reply back and told me to take the harp and start tuning it. When I was playing, he said, “What is this? The tone is not good. It’s very bad today. Your feel is not there at all. It’s the worst today.” Then I replied, “No Sir, just now I played a piece and came back.”
He found out from my own words and said, “So, you went to another recording without informing me. You shouldn’t do this. You could have informed me and gone. Let this be the last time you do this mistake.” I replied, “Sir, I won’t do this mistake again.”
From that moment, if it is his work, I never go to another work.
Q: You have played for the film Kadhal Desam. Could you tell me about that?
Before Kadhal Desam, he got me an instrument from Kuwait called the Oud. I haven’t seen that instrument with anyone in India. No one has even used it before. These are available only in Arabic countries, and they use it for the title music there.
He gave it to me and told me to check if I could get some sound out of it. I tried hard to get the “Sa” and went on till “Pa” (in Sa Ri Ga Ma Pa). He told me, “This is enough.” Then he called me and uttered, “Sa Ga Ma Pa Pa Ma…” (Mustapha song’s notations). He finished it in Sa Ga Ma Pa. He said, “Take” in those lower five notes.
It was the first time this instrument, the oud, was used in India, and it was used by him, and I played it. It’s a wonderful song.
Q: Other songs that you have worked on with Rahman?
SS: I worked on Jeans. There was a Chinese instrument called Yangqin. Chinese usually use the Mogana Ragam, which is in the major scale. There is a humming that comes at the beginning of the song, and it has to be done in a Japanese style with this instrument. There is a small object that has to be worn on our fingers to play this instrument, and usually, the Chinese put it on and also bandage their fingers before playing. But after playing the instruments, the tape can be removed from the fingers using a solution.
I didn’t know all this and put the bandage around my fingers in my own style. After the recording was over, I wanted to remove it but couldn’t, and my nails started peeling off. I was feeling very hungry and didn’t know what to do, but somehow managed it, and the recording got over at 3:30 PM. It took me two hours to remove the tape from my fingers. He told me, “Don’t hurry. Go to the doctor and get it removed.”
Patiently, I got it removed, and the pain lasted for a day. The song (“Adhisayam” from Jeans) came out very well. Whenever the song is aired or I listen to it, I check all my fingers and remind myself of the song experience. Another important event was that the song was recorded on my birthday, July 13th. I left home only at 8 PM that day and slept with the pain.
But I am very happy that the song came out very well.
My father is a Veena and Mridangam player. He was the first to introduce the santoor to India. His name was Mandolin Raju, and he had played for films like Padagotti, Paarthal Pasi Theerum, Pagal Nilavu, etc. They used to call him “Rajanna.” He was very senior in films and used to whistle jatis for MGR, Sivaji, etc. He had played the veena for Thiruvilayadal. He had played the mandolin a lot, and thus was addressed as “Mandolin Raju.”
It was Rahman who termed me “Santoor Seenu” to avoid confusion with other Seenus in the same field.
Duet – Mettupodu Song
There is a guitar bit, a lengthy bit. He got the instruments from Bombay and had tried it. He also called a lot of people from Chennai for the same. Both styles were different. But Rahman was telling a style of keerthanam. It’s a typical veena style of notation, but he wanted the same in guitar. It’s very tough to play those bits on a guitar. Even professional guitar players used to call me and ask how I managed it.
The song is an acoustic guitar, just like a veena, and went on in full flow. He was very happy and told me to take double payment before leaving.
I like Lataji a lot. I like S.D. Burman songs a lot. She had sung many songs in Tamil as well. She sang a song in One 2 Ka Four. I couldn’t imagine that I was standing next to her when she came to sing that song, “Khamoshi Haan.” I had done santoor backing in that song. It was an unforgettable moment and song in my life.
Recently, I played in Jodha Akbar. There is an Arabic bit. I played the rubab and oud. Playing one instrument itself is tough, and playing both in a rhythm was very tough. It’s in the song that Rahman Sir himself sang. After the song was over, he called me and wanted me to play it in the re-recording as well. The bit was highlighted in the re-recording nicely.
