[Ch. 02] The Grieving Melody: How R.K. Sekhar’s Musical Legacy Shaped A.R. Rahman’s Journey

The interview which appears below, was originally published on Vikatan in January 2008. ©The rights to this material are reserved to the owner. English translation credits go to Aravind A.M. from the A.R. Rahman Yahoo Fans Group. If you have any concerns or comments, please send an email to info@rahmaniac.com.

A.R. Rahman’s father, R.K. Sekhar, has given some fabulous musical numbers to the Malayalam film industry. While writing this on the computer, his composition ‘Shobana sangeeta rathiri’ still rings in my ears. When people listen to Sekhar’s songs, they will get to know that AR Rahman has continued the music journey from where his father left off.

In Soviet Russia, there existed a young violinist. At the age of 8, he did stage shows. His father was a soccer player and his mother was a history teacher. On researching how music came to this child, we find that his grandfather was a violinist, so the roots of his love for music were there. In the case of Rahman, we don’t have to search for the roots as his father is there as a musical maven.

Before seeing about R.K. Sekhar, a small flashback: It was 1964… One old man’s photo was hanging on the wall of the house, with the mild letters reading ‘Keelanoor Rajagopal Baghavadhar’. Below that, R.K. Sekhar was composing and playing a tune on his harmonium. R.K. Sekhar abbreviates to Rajagopala KulaSekhar.

The man in the photo was his father – Rahman’s grandfather. During those years, his grandfather was telling ‘Harikadhai Bagavadham’ in Mylapore temples (may be this could be the reason for naming a track as ‘Mylapore Blues’ in his ‘Connections’ album?). Sekhar was playing ‘Sotta mudhal sudala varai’ from his hit film ‘Pazhassi Raja’ on his harmonium. In the next few years, the woman who was going to give birth to Rahman, Kasthuri (now Kareema), was happily listening to that tune. She started crying. On seeing this, Sekhar stopped playing and asked Kasthuri why she was crying. Wiping the tears from her eyes, Kasthuri replied, ‘For this only we struggled so much.

Now all we hear is your song all over Kerala. Sekhar stops her and tells Kasthuri, “Don’t get too excited. All songs are hit but there’s no offer for the next project.” At that very moment, Ramanathan entered the house and congratulated Sekhar, saying, “The songs in ‘Pazhassi Raja’ are super hit. So you’re doing our next project ‘Aisha’. I came here to give you the advance and saw all these dismantled musical instruments spread out all over the house.”

Ramanathan added, “All of these seem to be imported musical instruments. No one does experiments like you, sir. Everyone just beats around the same old tune. Not only your music in ‘Pazhassi Raja’, but your re-recording was so minute and perfect. No one can compare to you, sir.” With a low pitch voice, Ramanathan asks Sekhar, “Sekhar sir, don’t mistake me for talking politics, but with the aim of doing something new in music, you’ve come from Tamil Nadu to here. But people here are jealous of you, sir, so you should be a little careful.”

Level-headed Sekhar replies, “People who grow will grow, Ramanathan sir. No one can stop that. Their ashes will have their names scribbled on it,” and bids adieu to Ramanathan. R.K. Sekhar, a Tamilian, entered the Malayalam music industry without any fuss. But no one appreciated or welcomed him wholeheartedly because they were jealous that he did something new rather than doing the same old stuff.

People weren’t interested in hearing something new. Very few music directors like Salil Choudary did some new things with their music. Doing something new in music was Sekhar’s ambition. People don’t easily accept new things, but opportunities were not an issue for Sekhar. Immersing himself in music was his sole aim. He was more of a ‘workaholic’, having improper food and sleep.

From 1902, when the Indian film industry’s first re-recording ‘Gowhar John’ was made, to the latest ‘Delhi 6’, he has almost all records in his kitty and he’s the famous music critic and writer, Shajji. He recorded most of R.K. Sekhar’s compositions in CDs and gave them to Rahman. Even Rahman doesn’t have those songs, only Shajji does.

One can understand how a son feels when hearing a song composed by his father. In all the stage shows from then to now, R.K. Sekhar’s ‘Pazhassi Raja’ film hit number sung by Yesudas, ‘Sotta Mudhal Sudala Varai’, will be sung without fail. For over 40 years, it remains an evergreen number, one of Yesudas’ beginning numbers.

R.K. Sekhar was a talented composer who worked on music for 22 Malayalam films. Many of the songs he composed have become enduring hits, with more than 100 of them still considered “evergreen numbers.” In addition to composing, Sekhar was also skilled in re-recording, sound arranging, and sound mixing.

At one point in his career, Illayaraja worked under Sekhar as a keyboard player and arranger. This reminds us of the proverb “history repeats itself.”

Sekhar began his career working for the Electric Board in Tamil Nadu, but later shifted his focus to music. He was naturally talented on the harmonium and studied carnatic music under the guidance of Dakshinamurthy. As he gained a deeper understanding of the nuances of music, he became a skilled arranger and conductor. Many people were unable to write musical notes, but Sekhar excelled in all aspects of music. He was considered a valuable asset to the Malayalam music industry.

Sekhar made a big impact on the music industry with his album “Pazhassi Raja,” but his next album was not released until eight years later. During that time, he struggled with economic problems and worked as a music arranger.

Sekhar’s dedication to his work was unwavering, and he often worked for long hours without taking sufficient rest. His family was not always aware of when he would return home. This constant busyness took a toll on Sekhar’s health, and he eventually became bedridden.