The interview which appears below, was originally published on Cyber Noon in November 2004. ©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 prefers to let his music talk! Despite the mixed response to his work in ‘Lakeer’ and ‘Dil Ne Jise Apna Kaha’, India’s numero uno music maestro has bounced back to the top with his enthralling compositions in ‘Swades’. An exclusive chat with the musician.
What was the brief that Ashutosh Gowariker gave you before you started working on the music of ‘Swades’?
There was no brief really. He narrated the script to me and I agreed to score the music. I gave him cartloads of tunes from which to select and he chose them in keeping with his script.
While the soundtrack of ‘Swades’ has bagged glowing reviews from one and all, many have also said that it has a slight ‘Lagaan’ hangover. Was that conscious given the film’s theme and also because it’s Ashutosh again?
It is refreshing to produce pure melodies in the hip-hop and electronica dominated music scene today. That, in my opinion, is the strength of the ‘Swades’ music. What is encouraging is that the audience is reacting so positively to the music. Each director has a particular taste, and the music reflects his taste. That’s why you tend to associate the sound of ‘Lagaan’ to that of ‘Swades’.
Are you worried about competition from ‘Veer-Zaara’, which is the only other big album these days vying for the No.1 slot?
Though the industry and television channels like to slot albums according to the sales and popularity, in my opinion, real music and art are beyond grading because it’s like a herb getting into a human being and affecting (healing) him for the rest of his or her life. So I really don’t take this rate-race seriously at all. In all honesty, ‘Veer-Zaara’ is a bold and laudable attempt at bringing back a respected music legend’s unused work.
In recent times, critics found your work in ‘Lakeer’ and your guest composition in ‘Dil Ne Jise Apna Kaha’ not up to the mark. What are your views?
Ahmed (Khan) came to me with a fantastic script called ‘Sabr’. Shah Rukh wanted to produce it but due to a delay in his previous productions, Ahmed had to wait. Meanwhile, he thought he would do ‘Lakeer’ and that’s when things began going wrong. We decided to use the Tamil film ‘Rhythm’s’ hit songs in it.
Though the songs worked, the film didn’t. I have no comments on ‘Dil Ne Jise Apna Kaha’. The audience is the best judge. Nobody is right or wrong all the time. Beauty lies in the eye of the beholder…in this case, should I say ‘ear’ (of the heart) of the listener!
Subhash Ghai wooed you to score the entire soundtrack of ‘Kisna’, yet you only managed to do a guest composition there. Why?
Mr. Ghai is very passionate about his music. I’ve done ‘Taal’ with him so I can vouch for that. In fact, we even worked on a film called ‘Motherland’, which got shelved due to various reasons. It was a bit upsetting for both of us because we had done four songs for it. When he started ‘Kisna’, it was too much workload for me as I was hopping between continents and wasn’t really in a state of mind to do the rest of the soundtrack. I might do the background score for it hopefully!
You’ve even scored the music for the Aamir Khan-starrer ‘The Rising’?
Yes.
Which is your favourite track(s) in ‘Swades’?
(Laughs) I will know next year!
Javed Akhtar jokes that Ashutosh and you got him to pen lyrics for ‘Swades’ at extremely short notice! Is that correct?
Like I said before, a lot happened at the beginning of this year….my Haj, ‘Bombay Dreams’, ‘Birmingham Symphony’, ‘Bose’ in Prague, ‘Lord Of The Rings’ (stage musical), and Vanessa Mae’s track. We had to complete ‘Swades’ before I could start this major overseas expedition! So we did pressure Javed ‘saab’ a bit. Hear the audio, he has given us some really elevating lyrics!
There’s an allegation that you are a composer who has mastered the gadgets. What are your reactions?
Being a master of gadgets is one of the many plus points of a composer but not the main one. What is integral and indispensable is the melody. Once you have a happening tune, then everything else can support it. Gadgets are of no use without happening tunes. Knowing the computer actually helps to perfect things. If somebody has gone off-key but delivered a good line with the right feel, you don’t have to sacrifice the take. You can just cut it at the pitch and use it. While life is easier this way, you also manage to extract the best out of the artiste.
Do you hope to win an award for ‘Swades’ next year? Your competitors in this category are ‘Hum Tum’, ‘Main Hoon Na’, ‘Murder’ and ‘Veer- Zaara’!
(Smiles) I don’t know; Inshallah!
