The interview which appears below, was originally published on The Verve Online in January 2005. ©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.
The unruly locks have given way to a short crop. A.R. Rahman is relaxed and in control. Bombay Dreams has closed in London and opened on Broadway. His Hindi films are on schedule. A symphony is in the making. The stage version of The Lord Of The Rings is his latest challenge. The frenzy of the last few months, as he hopped between continents, is over. The Mozart of Madras has come home to roost. Jayashree Menon coaxes him out of his innate shyness and delves into the mind of the maestro of cool tune
An English stage musical, the background score for a Chinese film, the first Indian to lead the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra… are you trying to break the geographical barriers of sound?
I started as a composer from Chennai with a completely different background. Just as I began to get used to the sensibility of Hindi film music, Bombay Dreams happened. I didn’t know a thing about stage musicals. And with the Chinese film, Warriors Of Heaven And Earth, it’s become like a game of life.
How do you balance your essential shyness with this public persona?
At the end of the day, I’m a composer. Finally, I have to deliver my music to the public. Slowly, I changed myself and started singing and began to extend myself as much as I could… to the limits that I could go. But I’m still not comfortable.
You’ve sold more albums than Madonna and Britney Spears…. Do you feel like a pop icon?
Not at all. It is just the very British way of promoting an artiste and they’ve been very kind to me. I’m sure somebody else must have sold more. Probably nobody counted! I’m not sure whether this is a good thing for me – it kind of says, ‘Hey, you’ve done enough man, now get out’. I think the hunger should be there. Always.
You’ve often mentioned that Mani Ratnam, Rajiv Menon and Shankar are your three favourite filmmakers. What about Hindi film directors?
No, no, that’s a mistake (agitated). When I give interviews in the South, they only talk to me about South Indian directors. But I’ve worked with the cream of the Hindi film industry – Subhash Ghai, Shyam Benegal, Ketan Mehta – and enjoyed it. Ashutosh (Gowariker) is a brilliant filmmaker. There’s Khalid Mohammed who, even with a limited budget, does some extraordinary stuff.
Would you encourage your children to take up music professionally?
My eldest daughter, Khatija, is eight and a half, Raheema is six and my son, Rumi is one and a half. It is still too early for them to take up music. I know I started early…but I was forced to, due to my circumstances (father’s untimely demise). Today, as it is, children have so many studies, I feel sorry for them. Khatija is more interested in painting. But I will eventually draw them into music. My elder sister, Rehana, is already a composer in the South. From a housewife to a composer – what a big leap, she’s taken.
How much time do you spend with your family?
I have realized that I must spend more time with my children if I want them to listen to me. They came to London with me recently when I was doing a workshop for The Lord Of The Rings. It was just the five of us together – my wife, Saira, the kids, and me.
Has your mother influenced your work in any way?
In any art, especially in films, it’s like a gamble. You don’t know what people will like. It’s a strange phenomenon. You can only do your stuff and then pray. That’s where she comes in. She prays and I have more faith in her prayers than in my music.
Everyone says A.R. Rahman is so cool. Do you lose your temper easily?
I try to be cool. Whenever my anger erupts I think there is something wrong with me. I want to control my anger. I’m very inspired by Sufism which says you can’t have anger or jealousy or greed. But that state of mind is very hard to achieve. You are satisfied if you achieve it even for a moment. At that time you feel as if you have attained another plane. But you can’t stay like that forever.
What makes you happy?
Umm. It’s a very strange thing….actually going back to my childhood story (laughs). I experienced most of the disappointments in my life at that time. So whatever happens now, I suspect that hope, I always suspect that happiness. So even that moment of happiness doesn’t exist because I am waiting for how it’s going to fool me and give me a kick again.
Are you a foodie?
I like the regular South Indian varieties of food. But I’m finicky about ingredients as I eat halal food. I don’t eat beef, prawns, lobsters or crabs. Abroad, I’m almost a vegetarian – I live on fruits. So when I return home, my mother takes it up as a challenge to take me – as I look in my photographs – very fat!
How will you meet the huge challenge of doing the stage version of The Lord Of The Rings?
Initially, I wasn’t sure whether I should do it. I was busy with so many other projects…I thought it would be a mess for me… traveling again…. But I soon figured that it was a step forward. This is the first time that someone’s signed me to deliver what’s not Indian or film music. This is global. It’s a huge and very costly production. I’ve just started. It’s going to drain me out I know, but it’s so exciting.
It’s well known that you work only at night.
I’m very restless during the day because there are so many things happening. It’s very distracting. I work from 3 pm to early morning. When I have mixing to do, I start as late as seven in the evening. Then I sleep till noon. But this is only when I’m in Chennai; not when I’m abroad; there, work times are more regular.
How do you rate yourself as a singer?
I don’t know. I can never judge my voice. After I sang Hamma Hamma (Bombay), I came out and listened to it and thought it was not working. That Mani Ratnam never reacts. He just said, “Hmm”. So, thinking he was going to reject it, I said that I would change it and he said, ‘No, it sounds good’. All I know is that I have to sing with feeling and clarity and in sur.
What next?
I have Hindi films like Netaji – The Last Hero, Swades, and The Rising. I have to write a piece for the Birmingham Symphony. It’s called the Conference of the Birds. Then a couple of orchestras want me to write music for them and tour with them in 2006. I’m not sure whether I’m ready for that.
Earlier I used to do so many projects. Now I feel a growing demand to give more to each assignment. Whatever fame I’ve got, I want to use it for something more. That is why I’ve become an ambassador for Stop TB. That’s very exciting – to use something which you have for the public good. I’m meeting different, like-minded people from all over the world to see how the whole system works. I have a lot to learn. I have to play a bigger role.
