The interview which appears below, was originally published on Filmfare in April 2002. ©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.
Winning yet another trophy, my 14th has been energizing. I now feel more bonded with Mumbai and especially Filmfare. Alhamdulillah. The toughest part about scoring the music for Lagaan was creating the period ambiance. But it helped that I’d earlier worked on Iruvar, 1947-Earth, and Zubeidaa.
Ashutosh Gowariker was a treat to work with. He’s very cool and unassuming and the fact that he hails from a family steeped in music helped. He is very well-versed in ragas. Though the general opinion is that Aamir Khan is the interfering sort, he never once threw his weight around. In fact, Aamir just sat back and enjoyed the process of making music.
It took me only one and a half months to compose five of the Lagaan songs. The sixth one, Chale Chalo was composed in a week after a gap of three months. The background score took another two months. Once the tunes were ready, they were handed over to Javed Akhtar who wrote the lyrics.
The music of Lagaan reflects the story and the period its set in. To get the right feel, I called in Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, Ustad Sultan Khan Saab, Sivamani, and harpists from the UK. I am composing for several period films now, including Shaheed Bhagat Singh, Taj Mahal. Then there are Saathiya, Ada, Tehzeeb, Do Kadam and Dil Ne Jise Apna Kaha.
