The interview which appears below, was originally published on Mid Day in January 2008. ©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 has already bought land to build the state-of-the-art music conservatory that he first talked about on his birthday, “It’s near the airport in Chennai. And we plan to start work on it very soon.” Now that the land is in place, preparations are underway to ensure that all functioning starts off in the next academic year.
Dreaming big
Rahman says starting a music conservatory is a dream he has nurtured for years. “I feel young talented musicians in our country specially those who want to learn western classical music, have nowhere seriously creative to go. We need to cultivate a taste for western symphonic music so that an average musically-inclined young musician would be as enthused about learning the violin as the sitar.”
The land purchase puts Rahman’s dream plan into third gear. “We’ll soon be working round-the-clock. I want it to be one of the best music schools in our country.”
Instinctive
Meanwhile, Rahman tells us that he doesn’t want to compare his latest score for Jodhaa Akbar songs with Lagaan or Swades, “I don’t even want to compare it to Rang De Basanti. We’ve done what we liked without thinking of the outcome. You’ve to go by your instincts in every form of art.”
Two of his old scores are also ready for release. “Two years back, Abbas Tyrewala’s Jaane Tu Jaane Na and Adaa by Tanvir Ahmed were recorded. These will come in the next two months.”
And there’s Subhash Ghai’s Yuvraj. “It’s got western-classical vibes. But the sound is Indian, very mellow. Rakeysh Mehra’s Dilli 6 is also coming up. “It’s turned out well. Who can if it will be accepted? Did anyone expect RDB to become so big?”
Hopeful
Rahman has a lot of hope from popular Hindi music. “A lot of people are still doing good work, but not consistently. Let’s not blame the lack of opportunities for the inconsistency. Malayalam director Adoor Gopalakrishnan says television has corrupted popular tastes… I agree. Even I get pulled into projects that are not right.”
Ask Rahman whom he considers a path breaker and he quips, “Why do we need a pathbreaker? Right now we need experimental melodies but neither do the films demand it, nor do the audiences.”
The composer continues, “When you start composing a soundtrack you’re thinking of what will sell and your intention gets diluted. It becomes more about marketing than creativity. The market should be assessed after the creative process. But there is hope yet.”
