The interview which appears below, was originally published on The Forbes in January 2009. ©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, Bollywood’s leading composer, is the man behind the music for the runaway hit Slumdog Millionaire. Critics have already doused him with award-season honors: The Hollywood Foreign Press Association, Chicago Film Critics Association, Los Angeles Film Critics Association, International Press Academy and the Broadcast Film Critics Association have recognized him.
The composer emerged to prominence after the 1992 film Roja became an instant success and earned Rahman his first of three National Film Awards (India’s version of the Oscar). Rahman introduced a wide range of musical influences–from Western pop to electronica–to Bollywood film scores, redefining contemporary Indian music. He’s now one of the best-selling musicians of all time, with estimated lifetime sales topping 100 million records.
Rahman spoke to Forbes.com about fame, the effects of the Mumbai terrorist attacks and changes in Bollywood.
There’s been speculation for years about the potential for Bollywood to become popular in America. What do you think it would take for Bollywood to catch on?
I think it’s a class of sensibility. … Some of the young directors that are coming in now are really capable of doing that. It’s a question of time. … Some directors get it. Some want to satisfy both [Bollywood and Hollywood audiences], which is not a great idea.
Slumdog Millionaire is a typical movie with completely Indian stars in it and a composer from India. But the way it’s presented and the way the screenplay is done makes it acceptable to the Western audience.
How has financing for Bollywood films changed?
The corporate system just came very recently to Bollywood. There’s now co-production between countries. I’m doing a movie for Disney, which is a co-production between Japan, India and Disney. That’s very exciting.
What do you think will happen to the film industry in Mumbai as a result of the recent attacks?
I think the basic reaction was anger towards a lot of things–the security, the government and towards Pakistan. As a result of all that, there’s a kind of madness and probably an urgency for a solution, which is nice.
I think some of the very high-profile movies were affected because promotion couldn’t be done. In such a state, you can’t go and promote a movie. But it’s slowly settling down. Bombay’s almost like New York; people have to get going the next day.
Will it change the nature of films produced?
That’s yet to be seen.
What role does religion have in your work?
I’m a Sufi Muslim, I would say. I believe in using the medium to create a good vibration because art is so important to society. Some projects I don’t do because I feel that it’s going to create a bad vibe. I don’t do propaganda films that are anti another religion, anti-Muslim or anti-Hindu.
How do you decide which projects to accept and which to turn down?
That’s a question of instinct, actually. Some things are very low profile, but if they excite me creatively, I accept them. Sometimes there are high-profile projects, and you have to do it. We all have human limitations. It is a painful decision to turn things down. Even accepting Slumdog Millionaire was a decision that I had to sacrifice another project.
Is it true that as a musician you don’t receive royalties on the sales of your music?
It is true. It was true. But now things are changing. Now we’re more aware of what music can do and the ways music is used in certain things. Initially, we just wanted to do music and nothing else. Now we have the option to talk. The time was coming. There’s a time for everything, and that time came. It so happened that I had to be the first step.
A film composer, at least until last year, was paid but not to the level of anything. In the U.S., you do one song and you’re settled for life almost. But I was happy with what I was doing and what I was getting. The hunger always makes you push to do more things.
You’re a superstar in India, yet you’re an unknown in the U.S. Does that bother you?
I think I can get away, sometimes, with walking in the streets and not getting noticed. I like that. I want my work to get noticed, not me. And it’s slowly getting there, which is good.
After a point of time, when you get success and fame, money and everything, the purpose of life has to be redefined. For me, I think that purpose is to build bridges. Artists can do that very easily, more than politicians. I am involved with my foundation in doing projects for fighting poverty, and I have a music school to teach students here to play classical music. All these things make me run faster; otherwise I’d get complacent.
