The interview which appears below, was originally published on Sify.com in June 2007. ©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.
For the first time, Shankar speaks on A.R. Rahman, the music of Sivaji and the technicians who assisted him.
Tell us about A.R. Rahman and why your combination with him has always produced chartbusters. What is your favourite album from the films you have done?
Rahman and I go back a long way, as we almost started our careers together. 8 out of my 9 films have music by him. We have perfect understanding and rapport with each other. He understands my need and the tune the moment I explain to him the situation, and he will go on giving me new tunes if I’m not happy with the earlier one. And like me, he tries to experiment and always tries his best to come out with something fresh. My favourite is Kathalan and Jeans, though it looks like Sivaji will become our favourite!
How would you rate Sivaji’s music?
Even before the release, Sivaji songs have reached a new milestone, as Tamil and Telugu audio is rumoured to have sold more than any other film in the south. When we met to discuss initially on the music initially, I told Rahman that I needed extraordinary, out-of-the-world tunes, as expectations were very high with the Rajni- Rahman- Shankar combination coming together for the first time. Rahman just smiled and over the months despite his busy international schedule he found time to do Sivaji and has churned out outstanding music.
Let us talk about the five songs in the film
Balellikka: It is the first song in the film and was shot in and around a scenic village near Pune. It is a folk song sung by SPB and Rehana, Rahman’s sister whose voice sounds different and appealing. Na. Muthukumar has written some meaningful lyrics which fit into my narration as the hero is coming home from abroad and he is overcome with nostalgia about the village he grew up.
Style: My favourite number in the film! It was a challenge to do the song as it is entirely done in CG, and there were no gimmicks. We created a new software for it and let me tell you that I’m not boasting…. I don’t think anybody has done a full-length song in CG. Indian artists did a good job, Pa Vijay’s lyrics and Rahman’s tunes were perfect. The CG work alone took nearly a year, and I’m sure after the film releases it will be the hit number!
Sahana: A lot of my friends, say that this is their favourite. Everybody likes it as it is a melody; Rahman has made a sad and happy version. It is a dream song, in which Vairamuthu talks about seasons, so I asked Thotta Tharani the art director to create a Swarovski-style glittering glass dome set depicting four seasons at Ramoji Rao studio and he did a wonderful job. It is going to be a major highlight of the film.
Vaaji: A lot of unit members say it is going to be the favourite song in the film. It is a fantasy song and the first we shot for the film. Neeta Lulla has done the costumes for this song, while the other four are done by Manish Malhotra. Rajni and Shriya come as a king and queen with over 100 dancers in the background and a Babylonian-type palace designed by Thotta.
Athiradee: It is a very exciting song and picturised in a very stylish way. We have used some CG for it. I’m told that the song has become very popular in discos in Mumbai and Delhi where Rahman who has sung the song has an audience.
Background Score
We took weeks over it, to compose the theme music and did the entire background score in Prague, which Rahman was familiar with. The background score of Sivaji itself can be made into an album, it’s fantastic.
