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’m sure the business side is complex. Can I ask what happens if you get stuck and can’t find a tune?
ARR: I take the poetry of the great Tamil poet/lyricist Subramanya Bharathi, who was a freedom fighter and reformer, and use his words for inspiration. He writes with so much power and feeling that any tune based on his poems will sound good.
When I’m composing a Hindi or Urdu song and get stuck, I use the poetry of Hazrat Amir Khusrau or Bulleh Shah in the same way. The song usually turns out well. Later we replace the words with lyrics written specifically for the film.
“Chhaiyan chhaiyan” from Dil Se was based on Bulleh Shah’s “O tere ishq nachaya kar ke thaiyan thaiyan.” The melody of the song “Ae hairathe aashiqui” in Guru was written on Amir Khusrau’s “Ae sharbat-e aashiqui.”
When Mani Ratnam heard it, he asked Gulzar Saaheb to write new lyrics and we made it into a love song. The template had the metre of a proper song, and so Gulzar Saaheb could fit his beautiful lyrics on the metre.
When I’m inspired by a poem that has a spiritual feel and quality, a certain spirituality stays in the melody, even when the lyrics are substituted.
NMK: What a fascinating way of working. No wonder some of your melodies sound otherworldly.
Your belief in Sufism must also have a direct impact on your music.
ARR: People say they play my music to a newborn if the child is crying. The baby becomes quiet or starts laughing. It’s very strange but when I hear these stories, it makes me think that perhaps my intentions are genuine. All this happens without my being aware of it.
When I’m composing music, I sometimes close my eyes and enter into a trance-like state and anything I play sounds all right. But to achieve that state I think of certain invocations that I’ve been taught and they help me.
NMK: You seem to be describing a state of discipline and freedom.
ARR: Freedom. Exactly. Being alone also helps when I’m composing. Prayer helps a lot too. I do my zikr—a meditation to remember Allah. I go into that state for a few hours. It doesn’t happen all the time—at times you need to force yourself to compose music instantly. You can’t say: “Let the orchestra wait. I need two hours of incantation before I can record!” [both laugh]
NMK: How has Sufism affected your attitude to life?
ARR: It has taught me that just as the rain and the sun do not differentiate between people, neither should we. Only when you experience friendship across cultures, you understand there are many good people in all communities. It was a great discovery for me.
When I won the Oscars, in my acceptance speech that’s why I said: “I had the choice of hate and love and I chose love.”
I have to deal with all sorts of people all the time. Some are cruel and others are kind. Some people love unconditionally and others are manipulative. They will do anything to get what they want. But I avoid judging people and try to see the good in them. When I’m told that someone is bad, I look at things from his or her point of view. What’s gone wrong? Why hasn’t the good come out? At times I have stood by people when everyone was against them. I know people make mistakes, but you must learn to give them a chance. But you still can be cheated. Many things happen.
Ultimately, you should try and be a good human being if you want to make good music. You have to stay out of negativity—be in another state.
NMK: In another state? Does that make you a difficult person to live with?
ARR: No. Once you understand me, you won’t have any problems. I just need to be quiet and perhaps distant from time to time. [smiles]
NMK: Did your belief in spirituality help when you and your family were facing hard times?
ARR: Yes, absolutely. My mother was a practicing Hindu. And as I told you, my grandfather was a bhajan singer. My mother has always been spiritually inclined. We had Hindu religious images on the walls of the Habibullah Road house where we grew up. There was also an image of Mother Mary holding Jesus in Her arms and a photograph of the sacred cities of Mecca and Medina.
In 1986, ten years after my father died, we happened to meet Qadri Saaheb again. The peer was unwell and my mother looked after him. He regarded her as a daughter. There was a strong connection between us. I was nineteen at the time and working as a session musician and composing jingles.
NMK: Did the peer ask you to embrace Islam?
ARR: No, he didn’t. No one is forced to follow the path of Sufism. You only follow if it comes from your heart. A year after we met Qadri Saaheb, in 1987, we moved from Habibullah Road to Kodambakkam, to the house where we still live. When we moved, I was reminded of what Jesus Christ, Peace be upon Him, once said: “I wish that you were cold or hot. So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth.”
What I understood by His words was that it is better to choose one path. The Sufi path spiritually uplifted both my mother and me, and we felt that it was the best path for us, so we embraced Sufi Islam.
