The interview which appears below was originally published in Nasreen Munni Kabir's book, A.R. Rahman: The Spirit of Music. ©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.
NMK: I hope you manage to achieve your aims. S. Shankar is the other hugely successful Tamil director that you have written some unusual and wonderful music for. How did that collaboration start?
A.R.R.: I was very clear when I started work on Roja that I would do only certain kinds of music. In the early days when I was working as a session musician with my friend, the composer Raj-Koti, we had to record one dance number after another. Day-in, day-out. My knowledge of rhythms came from that experience because I was the music programmer as well. I had to add a lot of rhythm because it was all dance music.
When I started composing for films, I had always thought that I would stay away from that kind of music. I wanted to try and compose an ethereal kind of sound. Then comes Shankar! And he says: “I’m making a very commercial film and I want this.” I thought to myself: “Oh my God!” [laughs] “How to give Shankar what he wants, yet do it my way?”
So, I added rhythms and processed them differently. Or I would add a layer of synth texture. Whatever I did, I would make sure to produce the music in a way that would create a new musical experience, even when composing the usual songs.
That’s the approach I have always taken for Shankar’s films, starting with Gentleman in 1993 and then Kaadhalan in 1994. Shankar was young and Gentleman was his first film. But I could tell from the start that he definitely had an ear for new sounds.
NMK: Your music in Kaadhalan is foot-tappingly fabulous. I loved “Muqabala muqabala” and the fantastic way that Prabhu Deva danced. The Tamil version of “Oorvasi oorvasi” was another terrific number.
Shankar makes films like no one else in India, from his first film to his latest blockbuster, Robot [2010]. I find him a very imaginative and inventive director.
A.R.R.: That he is. And one can quite easily underestimate him. The way he narrates a story isn’t the way he films it. Visually, he takes the story miles ahead. That’s a great thing. Sometimes directors describe the spectacular things they’ll do with the music and then you see the film and it doesn’t deliver.
Shankar has his own way of packaging a film for large audiences. There’s something thought-provoking, and maybe a social message in his films. He has an extraordinary way of picturising songs. People enjoy his movies, especially the ones with Rajinikanth.
Mani Ratnam won’t think twice about experimenting. He always tries something new. That’s a great quality. One may fail in the process, but not fearing failure is what makes you try out new things. Shankar can’t do that because he’s achieved an almost perfect success rate and can’t fool around with that. Unfortunately, I think Shankar is trapped by his own success. [smiles]
NMK: When did you start working for Hindi films on a regular basis?
A.R.R.: You know that I was mainly associated with South Indian cinema. So filmmakers from Mumbai came later. It was only after Ram Gopal Varma’s Rangeela in 1995 that I started understanding what Hindi cinema wanted from my music.
By the 1990s, the younger generation in India had started listening to a wide range of international music and they wanted a new sound, music that would respect traditional Indian melody and yet offered something new and exciting to them.
The approach we used for the Rangeela soundtrack had an international feel—the melodies and rhythms. It didn’t sound like the soundtracks of Hindi or Tamil cinema of the time. Rangeela started a trend. And of course the film was a kind of rebirth for Asha Bhosle. She is such a virtuoso. I often listen to her songs on YouTube and love them.
NMK: I remember the storm the film created. Rangeela still features in many top soundtrack lists.
Did your mother release the music of the film on 8 September 1995?
A.R.R.: Yes, she did. Jhamu Sughand produced many big films, including Rangeela. Sadly, he passed away in 2008. He was a good friend of the family and had tremendous respect for my mother. He asked her to come to Mumbai and release the music album.
NMK: After Rangeela you were probably the most sought-after composer in India. I remember visiting you in 1999 and seeing a crowd of producers and directors from Mumbai sitting in your studio, way past midnight, waiting to talk to you.
You continue to be offered many films in India. What draws you to accepting a project? Is it the script or the director?
ARR: It used to be both. Now I know the whole team matters. For the first ten years, I used to rely on instinct and just think: “Okay, I’ll do this.” It worked wonders at times and at other times, it was a disaster.
Essentially there are two kinds of Indian films that I work on. The first is when the film director is very particular about the music and wants his songs to be story-oriented and the instrumentation to match the narrative. He wants music that’s compelling and enduring. In addition to these basic needs, some directors may want their films to have a thematic score, background melodies that will lift the emotion when needed and take the story forward.
Then we have the second kind of film, a typical commercial movie, for which I am asked to compose four or five songs, including what’s known as the item song. The item song doesn’t necessarily have to blend in with the rest of the story. There’s that kind of thinking too.
NMK: For those unfamiliar with Indian cinema, can you explain the function of the item song?
ARR: In a political thriller, you might have a five-minute showstopper that contrasts the action and after it’s over, we go back to the main story. Usually a dancer, who hasn’t been seen before in the story, and may not resurface later, performs an item song.
Personally, I prefer songs that are integrated into the storytelling—that kind of music makes you a genuine composer rather than a hotshot sort of composer—someone who has short-term impact and has perhaps style, but less substance.
NMK: Isn’t it true that the item song can become the big hit of the film?
ARR: The item song helps to sell the whole soundtrack. It can become a popular ringtone and bring in great revenue. You could say item songs come from creative decisions that are somewhat commercially driven.
We ultimately need an engine making it possible to add more artistic sounds. The item song is like an engine pulling everything else along. It attracts like a magnet.
A classy song isn’t always something that people immediately relate to. Many times they think it’s slow and boring. It can take time to grow on people, but ironically, it’s often the slow song that’s remembered.
NMK: Hindi cinema often underscores the end roller with an item song so that the audience doesn’t rush out of the cinema, as they usually do, the minute the credits roll. I suppose a catchy item song helps.
ARR: I’m not really ashamed of composing catchy tunes. Because like many people I may also want to enjoy a musical moment whether or not the song tells a story. “Jai Ho” was a kind of item song.
NMK: That’s true. Gulzar’s lyrics and your melody are fantastically catchy and energizing. There’s a great sense of triumph in “Jai Ho.”
