If Nila Kaigiradhu couldnt put you to sleep, there was a Thendrale. If Luka Chuppi couldnt heal a crumbling mind, there was always a Shauk Hai. I’ve been reported to have regularly bartered a listen of ‘Ennavale‘ for sleep as a kid. My parents very fondly reminisce of their hunt for audio cassettes and their hope for some channel to air the song and knock me off. At my corny best, I’d say I didnt have a better reason to get out of the womb in 1993.

It wasnt just me. Everybody have stories around this person they havent probably met. I’ve seen that look on the face of people explaining to me how they felt when they first listened to the soundtrack of ‘Roja’, one of the biggest gamechangers of the Indian music industry. The kuthu music of TN was dethroned from the speakers for a while. And soon every street’s corner had people around a sound system checking out Chinna Chinna Aasai, wondering who this guy was. They would then dig all the beautiful jingles he had already composed. A huge population would resolve to wait with bated breath for each of his album. The sheer quality of the sound had absolutely stunned them.

It was truly ‘Pudhu Vellai Mazhai‘ in the ear. A genius in his own right, who ruled the 70s and 80s music stage with zero competitors suddenly felt the heat coming from the ‘computer guy’ who assisted him in Punnagai Mannan. And funny the number, 20 years later, Rahman wouldnt have someone to topple him down, remotely close to that Rahman who revolutionized an entire industry two decades back.

I have no business talking about his discography here. His soundtracks can only be rated on a scale that he defined in his first film. I mean that’s no easy job. My dad was simply over-astounded by the Rahman of 90s, that his compositions of this millenium don’t appeal big time. But when I lie and introduce his recent discography as the work of a debutante’s, he is genuinely amazed. You see? That’s where the scale is. Working under expectations is a skill. Delivering though is an art. And delivering to the right audience at the right time is the biggest reason I’ll attribute to his success. They dont simply say Rahman is ever ahead of the rest of the industry by years.

But even these people who don’t fully dig his music, will still have no complaints about the human he is. He’s like this good guy we all know. Its a Herculean task to have two decades in this industry with almost zero haters. I havent been next to him through his life, but when somebody says he hates Rahman, I cannot hold myself from judging the person’s nature. Our understanding about him majorly involves admiration. An admiration of the musical genius. An admiration of his positivity. And the pride in admiring the man who brought our country two Oscars.

And as he says, love led him to the Kodak Studio on February 24, 2009. The same love drove us all through the lashing rains on December 29, 2012 to that concert of a lifetime. Twenty thousand people with umbrellas up on a wet breeding ground of mosquitoes, all with nothing on their minds but to watch him perform. I was there too.

Noor ki baarish mein bheeghta sa thar aaya!

You waved to our side. I felt like you waved to me.
You just don’t make some movies better, you make lives better with your music.

Happy Birthday God!