Ashanti Omkar: So you’re here for Trinity College, and you also here for a very special reason. Let’s start with that.
A.R. Rahman: I did my first initial grade examinations with Trinity at the age of 13 and I had a master called Moses, who just passed away two weeks back. So coming back to Trinity to get the fellowship award – I’m 43, 30 years of, you know, relationship in Trinity College. And I never knew where it existed, nothing, because all the classes were back in Chennai. So coming back here and seeing all the buildings and this church and everything was fantastic, such a very inspiring place.
Ashanti Omkar: And what was the experience like of actually being given the honour?
A.R. Rahman: It felt really good, never been to college and yeah, I’m wearing this big robe of fellowship and doctorate and all the stuff – it feels good.
Ashanti Omkar: This is one of the many honours you’ve had this year. You’ve been given three doctorates so far on top of the fellow of the Trinity College of Music. One was Anna University, one was Aligarh University, one was Middlesex. How does that feel for you ’cause you bypassed the whole of this?
A.R. Rahman: I did, but then again it’s also a lesson from life saying that most of the stuff we learn is out of the school, in college, and through experience in life, I guess, and that’s more important. They can only set you, you know, formulas and stuff where you can make art or anything easy, but what you need to, you need to define yourself with the stuff you find within yourself, you know.
Ashanti Omkar: Tell us the value of a musical education though, because you obviously studied Western classical music, but you’ve also studied Eastern classical music.
A.R. Rahman: The value is, of course, speeding up things and having widen your imagination. Suppose if you play a piano then you know that and then you want to go further than that. If you don’t know the basic thing then you’re limited to what, um, you know, stuff you, you know, which is very little. So you should learn that and then go beyond that and not not do the same thing which other people do whether it’s singing or playing or anything. Even I have a school and that’s what we teach them, I said, ‘this is just a tool for you and set of rules and stuff, but then what you learn is, you know, in between lines,’ you, that’s kind of thing.
Ashanti Omkar: So tell me about K.M. Music Conservatory because it’s grown from strength to strength since you started it. You’ve got children from all over and not just children, they’re teenagers, you’ve got people in their early 20s and you’ve widened the spectrum also, teaching them things like the saxophone, which is very unusual in India, isn’t it.
A.R. Rahman: No, we’re still not gone into that thing, we’re just teaching voice, piano, harp, and all the stuff, strings. And we’re having some kids from underprivileged schools teaching them free and all. It needs to go bigger, it will go, and but so far the enthusiasm and the interest of the kids and the teachers is amazing and they’re doing a great job.
Ashanti Omkar: And this has been really the most momentous year of your life, winning the Oscars, the, you know, well you’ve been nominated for for the Grammy, Golden Globes, BAFTA, all of this. How come you’re still so grounded? I mean, from 10 years ago when I met you to now you’ve not changed at all.
A.R. Rahman: I mean, I think I need to learn that. People say, ‘I know what it means, what is what is ungrounded?’. Then tell me about life in LA. I got great friends there, so far my agent and Sam OS and a great, all the PR company, everybody, and also musician friends. And so it’s like a great clique there and they make my life easy and, um, so I can concentrate on music and stuff. And the climate is perfect, it’s almost similar to Chennai or Bangalore. And so that that’s probably even more better reason, it’s 0 degrees here in London, that’s what else do you expect from me in the snow.
Ashanti Omkar: And very recently you were at the White House, meeting the President, performing in front of the President of the United States of America. Now what was that like for you because you sat at the table with Michelle Obama recently at Time Magazine’s most influential man in the world kind of list.
A.R. Rahman: Too much of pressure. Now, the the whole, it’s a great honour I think, being there, going to the White House and meeting the President and the First Lady. Strange that I didn’t meet my own Prime Minister because he had to go off earlier. And so, um, the President called me and then he took photographs and all the stuff, so, um, good experience.
Ashanti Omkar: And what did you choose to perform for the President?
A.R. Rahman: I did, there was a Washington Symphony Orchestra there, so conducted by Marvin. And I did the intervention from Couples Retreat, then I did Latika’s Theme Orchestral Version, and a bit of ‘Jai Ho’.
Ashanti Omkar: And ‘Jai Ho’ has won everything from the BMI award to, God knows, you’ve had so many awards for that song. What was the response like at the White House in particular when you sang it ’cause even children in need in London did a little skit of of ‘Jai Ho’ as part of the animation.
A.R. Rahman: It’s things which happen when it always happen to other songs and you say, ‘oh maybe some one of my songs will get into it,’ and this is this is the song, yeah. You always expect, yeah, it doesn’t come when you plan it, I guess, don’t happen like that.
Ashanti Omkar: Now let’s talk about Couples Retreat. This was the number one movie in the US at the time, and it was quite unusual for a Hollywood film to feature a Tamil song.
A.R. Rahman: Yes, the director Vince and Peter approached me to score the film even before I received the Oscars. I decided to take on the project after the Oscars, wanting to experience the Hollywood system with a pure Hollywood Mid American Comedy. The rules and regulations for music delivery were different in Hollywood compared to my usual work. Being a comedy, the film had to compromise on the level or length of the music, though I was happy with the soundtrack and the opportunity to record full pieces for the CD. I acknowledged it wasn’t a musically sympathetic film but enjoyed the process.
Ashanti Omkar: Tell us about the song “Sajna” from the film.
A.R. Rahman: “Sajna” is a beautiful melody, a very simple tune. It was unique because it featured an American singer, PJ Morton, singing Hindi words. PJ Morton enjoyed collaborating with me and even appeared in my documentary, Son of a Preacher Man. The song served as the main theme throughout the Couples Retreat movie. I expressed regret that it appeared in the second credits rather than the first – it could have gone for an entry to the Oscars too. PJ Morton is a great talent who is going to be really popular.
Ashanti Omkar: You’re constantly touring and doing concerts. What motivates you to keep performing live?
A.R. Rahman: My primary motivation for touring and doing concerts is to support various foundations and their causes. Without this charitable motivation, I wouldn’t dare to take your time, rehearse and do concerts. There’s a lot of goodwill involved in these performances. Additionally, touring allows me to cater to the people the music I have created and show the support which they given to me, presenting my music in a very different way to excite them.
Ashanti Omkar: You’re working with Gautham Menon for the first time on Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa. How has that collaboration been?
A.R. Rahman: This was a first-time collaboration with Gautham Menon. I learned from a source that Menon had previously tried to work with me before collaborating with Harris, even waiting for five days without me knowing. I view working with Menon now as a statement to probably satisfy him and his interest. I noted Menon’s passion in the preparation of the film. I hoped people would love it.
Ashanti Omkar: You seem to be working on multiple projects simultaneously. How do you manage this multitasking?
A.R. Rahman: I’m made like that, doing multitasking. I find it boring and feel sleepy if I only focus on one thing at a time. I consider multitasking to be definitely inspiring. My life is always on the run. I’m working on Mani Ratnam’s Raavan, for which we finished all the music even before the shoot, which was a first. I’m also working on Shankar’s Enthiran, also known as Robo, which took one and a half years to finish due to a lot of animation.
Ashanti Omkar: You’re known to be quite spiritual. Many of your fans are inspired by you to support charities. What message do you have for them?
A.R. Rahman: I’m a very deeply spiritual man. I acknowledge that many of my fans are inspired by me to support charities, even taking food to those in need in my name. I advise them: don’t go beyond your means to do anything, and engage in charity if it comes naturally. Such acts are not for me, but for yourself, as it’s going to help yourself. For me, feeding is the ultimate thing in charity.
