The interview which appears below, was originally published Times Of India in November 2002. ©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.
Bollywood seems poised on the brink of another musical revolution with the song Saathiya madham madham geeli teri hansi… fast gaining popularity on film music charts!
For a year filled with musical disappointments apart from the odd Nikamma, Khallas, Ishq Samundar and Ishq Kamina, A.R. Rahman’s just-released score for debutant director Shaad Ali’s Saathiya is a welcome change.
A music score by Rahman has always caused much excitement be it Roja, Bombay, Taal, Zubeidaa, Fiza or the 2001 hit Lagaan.
Rahman, whose score for The Legend of Bhagat Singh though good did not shake the charts, is back in form with Saathiya, even though a large chunk of the soundtrack is transposed from its Tamil counterpart Alaipayuthe –the Mani Rathnam hit that launched R Madhavan’s career as a southern superstar.
This isn’t the first time that Rahman has transposed his south Indian film music score into Hindi. Earlier, the Anil Kapoor-Rani Mukherjee starrer Nayak featured an exact replica of its Telugu version.
Saathiya has a stunningly laid-out tapestry of tunes that goes from genre to genre in search of flawless harmonies. All nine tracks in the album sparkle with prismatic perfection. Shaad Ali has inherited his musical ear from director-father Muzaffar Ali, who got terrific music out of composer Khayyam in Umrao Jaan and Jaidev in Gaman. Incidentally, Khayyam took over the work in Umrao Jaan when Jaidev couldn’t deliver the required score for the film.
“I’ve grown up in an atmosphere of music and aesthetics. As a child, I’d sit with my father, Khayyam and lyricist Shahryar. When I began assisting Mani Ratnam, I was associated with Gulzar who scored music for Dil Se,” Shaad Ali said.
“Actually only the title song has identical sentiments to those in the Tamil original — the rest of Gulzar’s lyrics are all original.
“Even the title song which we call the ‘colour song’ because it goes into a different mood and colour in each stanza, goes way beyond the original score. It isn’t often that an adaptation goes further than the original.
“The imagery in Saathiya is far deeper and richer. I’m lucky to have worked with geniuses like Gulzar and Rahman in my first film.” Shaad admits a lot of the music has been transposed from the original soundtrack. “But two tracks — Naina milaike and Mera yaar milade — are originally recorded for Saathiya.
“What’s unusual for Rahman is that he has composed tunes for poetry by Gulzar in these songs. Usually, words are set to his tunes.” The soundtrack of Saathiya has generated tremendous curiosity in the market.
Says Shaad: “I think the music is growing on the listeners. I thought listeners wouldn’t know what the lyrics of Asha Bhosle’s Chori pe chori mean. But that’s everyone’s favourite! So far there’s been nothing this year except Devdas for music lovers to hold on to.”
Gulzar said: “I’m happier with the sound of Saathiya. I think the range of sounds is amazing. I made sure not to follow the context or meaning of the original Tamil lyrics. Since I’ve written the adapted screenplay from the Tamil film, I could connect the emotions and energy of the scenes with the songs.
“I’ve also written the dialogues for a film after a long time in Saathiya. The last time I wrote dialogues was for Hum Panchi Ek Daal Ke. In Saathiya, apart from a few scenes that I altered for the Hindi audience, the screenplays for Alaipayuthe and Saathiya are identical.”
Gulzar said, Rahman and he had worked together in Dil Se their comfort level increased in Saathiya. “We understand each other better now. I explain my poetry to him. Either I write well or I explain well because Rahman always reacts with ‘Ah, lovely’.
“Shaad is very cultured. His background in Lucknow gives him access to the language and expressions of Urdu poetry. Shaad is a man of high taste. To work with a director of his aesthetics is a compliment to my poetry.”
Shaad has come a long way from the time when he asked Aditya Chopra for the lead role in Dil To Pagal Hai, when he was offered Shah Rukh Khan’s friend’s part — later done by Shaad’s brother Murad. “I came to Mumbai to become Amitabh Bachchan, but I’m not a frustrated actor-turned-director. I’ve taken out all my frustrations by directing Vivek Oberoi and Rani Mukherjee.”
