The interview which appears below, was originally published on Dhruv World in October 2006. ©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.
A man of few words, A.R. Rahman has always preferred his music to do the talking. His music suggests a flamboyant and aggressive creator, but A.R. Rahman comes across as an extremely patient, polite-to-a-fault, and completely untouched-by-fame individual. His dark locks frame his cherubic face and fall to his shoulders in total disarray. As he talks, he impatiently pushes back the strands.
Tell us about your childhood.
The only thing I remember clearly from my early childhood is frequent visits to hospitals. My father Sekhar, a leading music player, was frequently hospitalized for stomachache. The doctors operated upon him thrice but they could not find anything wrong with him, he died when I was 9 years old. The responsibility of looking after my mother and three sisters fell on me. My studies ended and I started playing the keyboard to earn a living. We later received some indications that my father died of black magic by jealous rivals.
I heard that you like to work all night and sleep all day.
Mostly (laughs). When I work during the day, I get a lot of phone calls, and a lot of decisions need to be made. I have to come out of my trance. So nights are better for me. Mainly when I do overdubs and things it’s during the day. My work, whenever I write and do creative work, though, is mostly at night.
Where do you get your inspiration?
Everything. I feel the whole world is like one. There are different cultures, but you get moved, and even when they listen to a “raag” like in “Vande Mataram” I did, or the Bombay theme or anything, they hear the “raag” and they feel they can tell what the pulse is, I can see tears sometimes and I can see joy sometimes. So it doesn’t have any language.
What has been the biggest influence on your music, through the years?
I think working with Mani Rathnam. Starting with him uplifted my energies because whenever I work with him he wants the best and something international, so you don’t sleep for days. It’s the same tension when I work with Subhash Ghai. He also wants something original, classy, and international.
Looking back now, who would you say were the early or key musical influences in your life? Was it your father?
My father and most of the composers that I have worked with. I think I’d listen to R.D. Burman and Naushad. Later, I started listening to the other great legends.
It’s the keyboard in which you have developed great expertise. How did that happen?
My father had left a lot of equipment, and I had to use it. I was more interested in the guitar. But since we had such costly equipment at home, my mother asked me to learn and make use of it.
How does life look to you?
Life is always a struggle. I feel I’m just starting. I can’t afford to get lazy at 40. Lots of things have changed. Lots of young people love music, and that’s a good thing. But music doesn’t sell, and that’s a bad thing.
How would you define your kind of music?
How can I define my music? It is a reflection of how I began my life, the good and bad things that happened. I can’t say this is my life and this is how I intended it to be. It came naturally. I don’t plan anything.
When we started Roja we wanted to create something people had never heard before, at the same time maintaining a standard in lyrics and melody. Something told me it would become a big success; I was traveling in the same boat as Mani Ratnam and the music would be noticed. That it was accepted was a blessing. Mani Ratnam opened up a big thing for me and I owe it to him. There is a lot of freedom when I work with Mani.
Have you become more confident in your music?
No, I am never confident. Sometimes it takes me two or three days, sometimes three months, to get the sound right. Sometimes things go wrong. But once it is fixed then it’s fine.
What triggers the creative process in you?
When I am mentally disturbed I pray. Before starting a session that gives me a vacuum to start with, rather than having something predetermined that might misguide me. It is almost like starting from square one. But it makes my job interesting and when I sit there something gets triggered off inside me.
I believe that every individual, even an atom, can move only with the will of God. I don’t take credit for doing all this. If I did, then I would fall flat.
Don’t external factors like family affect your concentration?
Yeah, they do. But when it comes to music you forget everything. The magic of music and prayer. You are almost on another trip. Only when you finish do you get back.
You sound very level-headed for a man who has earned so much fame and money so quickly.
It is balancing… well, it is almost contradictory. You want fame, but once you get it you lose your head. So just leave it to God and carry on with your work. It makes it all easy. If I put it in my head that I did it, then I fall flat because I can’t take the next step.
Why did you convert?
(A long pause.) My dad went through a lot of problems. He was sick, my childhood was a disaster. I spent most of my childhood in hospitals. There came a stage when the family was almost down. We met a Pir Sahab at that time. It is inexplicable. It just happened. My idea of God coincided with all this. I thought, ‘Okay, this was something that was bound to happen.’
You have never regretted it?
See, there are a lot of things involved. God and religion are very personal. Now it has become politics. I don’t think I want to talk anymore about it. (Laughs.)
What about the controversy over Vande Mataram?
It depends on how you take it. Vande Mataram is about a mother and the message is peace be upon you. The mother is the country and when you say peace be upon you it goes beyond politics. That is the way I take it.
When one makes something there is always the good and the bad. You just take the good. In the album, I have put not only this but a nicer version of it in a more serene way. It is not as if it will replace anything. The main reasons for doing it were my friends Bharat Bala and Kanika. We wanted to give something to the youth. We felt there was nothing, no song that this MTV generation could relate to, something they could identify with.
Tell us about your family and the kind of support they offer you.
I have two daughters. My wife doesn’t work. My wife and mother listen to my music and give me feedback.
Do you get time to spend with them?
I work from my house. So it helps.
How do you relax?
It comes naturally. When you push yourself hard for 2 or 3 months, then you have to take a break. I go out with my family.
Why is black your favorite color? You also wear your hair long…
I thought both suited me. (Laughs heartily.)
How much of your early influences have you retained in your music today?
I’m inspired any time I watch a good musician playing. When I’m programming my music on my own, I always think of some great drummer or some great bass guitarist. When I’m playing on the keyboards, I think of how beautifully another musician plays the instrument. And that inspires me to play. Otherwise, I may end up playing like a cheesy upstart.
How would you describe A.R. Rahman in your own words?
A.R.Rahman is a failure and slowly he is trying to reach something
After becoming popular, what have you gained and what have you lost?
The problem is too much of an expectation. If you do some good work they will immediately see that. If we do ‘X’ amount of work they will think as ’10X’. There are no limits to imagination. That is too scary. Even now it is scary.
