He is incredibly talented, terribly media shy and awfully soft spoken.The short statured, hugely successful Oscar winning composer A.R. Rahman is undoubtedly overworked but he makes sure he spends enough time with his family. It’s not his strange body clock that compels him work through the nights, as it has been reported several times before. Speaking ahead of the launch of the third edition of Coke Studio @ MTV, the highly acclaimed Mozart from Madras says, “It isn’t true that I always record at night. While it is true that singers and filmmakers are more than willing to adjust to a recording or mixing session at night, I normally work just according to my convenience. Sometimes a headline forces me to work as many hours as possible. I like to spend time with my children. Sometimes they spend their day with me and even fall asleep in the studio.”
Rahman’s family is also increasingly involved in his world of music. His nephew G.V. Prakash Kumar is already an award winning composer in his own right. The latest edition of Coke Studio @ MTV will also see his sisters take to the stage. “Yes my sisters Rehana and Ishrat will also be singing with me. This season of the show has been an eye opening experience. I have discovered some amazing talent. From a Nepali nun to a Jordanian singer, I’ve stumbled upon so many creative people. We’ve shortlisted some seven of them and I believe they sing even better than us!”
Music is an expression too. For me to grow as a musician, I had to shatter all mind blocks and appreciate other art forms as well
Rahman, whose latest film Raanjhnaa has received much praise for its music, became a name to reckon with, with his seminal work in Mani Ratnam’s Roja. The film that was released in 1992 went on to forge a decisive working relationship between Rahman and Ratnam, who then worked together in several films. But Rahman insists that he doesn’t always go by a director’s vision. “I don’t always go by what any director says. A musician has his own influences over all these years. The process of writing music for a film is not just about making people associated with it, happy. When scripts are narrated to me, I develop my own ideas and vision, which are sometimes different from what people expect of me. So even if a director gives me an idea of what he wants me to do, I finally do what I want to for the film.” With a career that spans over two decades, Rahman has seen a lot of praise come his way and some reluctant criticism too. He is, however, most critical of himself. “In the past 20 odd years, I have evolved as a musician. Earlier I would just restrict myself to my world of music. Over the years I’ve realised that one can’t restrict himself to just one form of art. Music is an expression too. For me to grow as a musician, I had to shatter all mind blocks and appreciate other art forms as well.”
Hearty Thanks To Natasha Coutinho DC