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: Did your mother describe to you the kind of child you were?
A.R. Rahman: Apparently I was a bit of a loner, didn’t have many friends, and stayed at home most of the time. She told me when I was five, I would lock myself into a room and play the harmonium for hours — the quiet type, soft-natured. [both laugh]
Some months after I was born, my father had enough money to buy a house on Habibullah Road, which is in a Chennai neighborhood called Thyagaraya Nagar. We moved there with my maternal grandparents. That’s where we lived for twenty years, from 1967 to ’87. My grandparents used to pamper us children.
I have three sisters. The eldest is Raihanah, who is also a composer now. Her son Prakash is doing very well composing for South Indian cinema. Then there’s Fathima and Ishrath, my younger sisters. Fathima is the director of KM Music Conservatory, the music school I started in Chennai. My youngest sister, Ishrath, is a singer and has her own music studio. We’re hoping one day to release an album with all the family members.
Having my sisters around when I was young helped me greatly in dealing with the social isolation and the absence of a father. When I was growing up, they gave me so much love and it’s the same even today.
NMK: What kind of house did your father buy in 1967?
A.R. Rahman: It was a three-bedroom house made of concrete. It wasn’t solidly built. To cut costs, builders would use saltwater instead of clean water. When they made the clay roof, the tiles would rain on our heads, and sometimes even the street water would flood the house because it was built on low land. We had to use every pot and pan that we owned to collect the rainwater.
NMK: Goodness! And your paternal grandparents? Did they live with you?
A.R. Rahman: No, they didn’t, so I don’t remember them very well. But I know my grandfather was a bhajan singer in a temple in Mylapore in South Chennai.
NMK: It is amazing to hear that your grandfather sang bhajans. Hindu devotional songs. My mind boggles. Him and you today singing qawwalis, Muslim devotional songs! Strange!
A.R. Rahman: I have no memory of him at all. I only remember going to his funeral. What I do remember is my father. My mother would talk about his talent and his fame. My father was the first composer in South India to have bought a Japanese synthesizer, and as a result, he even became better known in Japan. But we never went to Japan.
NMK: What influence did your father have on your music?
A.R. Rahman: He was a great influence. I used to listen to him and his friends. He had six keyboards in their house. What a luxury!
NMK: There seems to be some mystery surrounding your father’s death. What actually happened?
A.R. Rahman: Father was working too hard, that’s the only memory I have of him sleeping, lying on a hospital bed. From January 1974 to September 1976, he was in and out of the hospital. He had to undergo three stomach operations. My mother visited many spiritual healers because she wanted to save him. She never really believed in spiritual healing and perhaps it didn’t help him.
It was during that time that we first met Karimullah Shah Qadri, a Sufi peer [saint], who became a great influence on the family. He helped us to come to terms with many things. He was a huge support.
My father was not destined to live long and died on 9 September 1976. He was only forty-three. Because he had died of an undiagnosed disease, some people believed that his rivals used black magic on him. That’s how the rumors spread.
NMK: How old were you then?
A.R. Rahman: I was nine. His death was an emotional blow for the whole family. His first film as composer was released on the day that he died. A Malayalam film called Chottanikkara Amma with Prem Nazir and Adoor Bhasi. It became famous for his music.
My father didn’t leave me a castle or anything, but he did leave me some musical instruments. And most importantly, he left me the tremendous goodwill of musicians. Some of the musicians that he worked with are still playing with me.
