The interview which appears below, was originally published on Behindwoods in November 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.R. Rahman is back at the top of the national charts with his Guru joining hands with Mani Ratnam. Rahman – whose magic always seems to work with mentor Mani Ratnam – is happy with the general outcome the album is generating among the public and fans. However, he is not all that happy to sing for Abhishek. Nothing personal though, he states that he feels his voice is not in sync with Abhishek.
I have this constant paranoia every time I sing for an actor. I always tend to feel that the song will go haywire if my voice does not suit the actor. I had the same feeling for Dil Se. I had tough times convincing myself to sing for Abhishek and I am not sure that I am convinced by the results yet, confides Rahman. I had an eerie feeling when I watched the song being enacted by Abhishek onscreen, he adds on.
Rahman has also used Bappi Lahri – whose name was suggested by lyricist Gulzar – for Guru’s audio track. He is all praises for Bappi and states that Bappi’s voice is a perfect match for Abhishek Bachan.
My wavelength matches with Mani when it comes to music. That is how I decided to take up Guru and we started scoring for the movie even before the shoots were commenced, states Rahman.
