NEWS MAKERS
Rahman on song
RESHMA S KULKARNI
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Hotshot composer A.R. Rahman speaks about his Golden Globe win; his work in forthcoming films and the year that went past.
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Danny Boyle was not interested in anything sweet and syrupy. Cutting edge music is what he wanted.
PHOTOS: AP, PTI, K. MURALI KUMAR
Toast their success: (From left) Director Danny Boyle; a still from the film and composer A.R. Rahman.
The past few months have gone by like a whirlwind for ace music composer A.R. Rahman. Spinning melodies for “Yuvraaj”, “Jodhaa Akbar”, “Ghajini”, “Jaane Tu Yaa Jaane Naa” and “Slumdog Millionaire” kept the composer busy even as he rushed across continents to pick up well-deserved awards for “Guru” and “Slumdog Millionaire”.
As 2009 enters, Rahman has already begun yet another lag of an award-winning spree as he took home the Golden Globe for his score in “Slumdog Millionaire”.
Accolades pour in
The Asian Mozart, as he is popularly called, expresses happiness tinged with the all-familiar shyness as he acknowledges the accolades. “What do I say? It’s a nice feeling to be nominated from such a pool of talent and to win is a greater joy. I thought, I would not win, so anyway thanks to the almighty God for bringing me here... Danny Boyle, Fox pictures, all my musicians in Chennai, Mumbai... and the billion people from India. But, I feel happier with the fact that my music is reaching and positively affecting a cross-section of listeners. But I find it awkward to be compared to the legendary Mozart! Save for the fact that we both began our journeys at a young age, I’ve a long way to go before I become worthy of being compared to him.”
The genius reminisces about his association with this Danny Boyle-directed project, “I’ve always been a fan of world cinema: Chinese, Spanish, Brazilian…I absorb all kinds of movies and am familiar with the sensibilities of the people directing them. When I was approached, what I loved was that it attempted to look at the grim reality of India through the eyes of a foreigner who wanted to put forth a very realistic picture rather than romanticising the subject. A challenging task indeed; only someone like Danny Boyle could have done! I admire the man for the perseverance and readiness to learn he showed to depict the slums and millions of Mumbai as they are — their sounds and voices intact. To compose a piece that would strike a chord with the world-audience was a challenge I just couldn’t give up!”
Fantastic experience
For Rahman, it has been a fantastic experience composing numbers like Jai Ho, already an anthem of sorts; and Ringa Ringa, which he admits “was a take on Choli Ke Peeche from “Khalnayak”. We wanted to showcase the beginning of 1990s and couldn’t have found a better way to make an instant connect. It was also meant as an ode to the masterpiece developed by Subhash Ghai, Anand Bakshi, Alka Yagnik and Ila Arun!” However, he admits it was a challenge to cater to Danny’s brief; “he was not interested in anything sweet and syrupy. Cutting edge music is what he wanted!”
But Rahman feels that it is always a challenge to come back to the desi audience. “The Indian audience feels that it’ll be subjected to a replica of the international work. Thus it’s one’s duty to work harder to offer stuff that does not seem like a clone of one’s international repertoire and yet appeal across the Indian demography, which is immensely varied in its tastes and choices,” says the composer who will now be heard through “Dilli 6” (whose Mashakalli is making feet tap all over), “Blue” and “Tasveer” (Eight By Ten).
Future projects
On a different tangent, Rahman recently created “Jiya Se Jiya”; to proliferate the message of love and peace. “The recent 26/11 attacks caused me great distress. On a personal level, they snatched away my friend, a great sound engineer, H. Sridhar. We worked together on many projects including “Roja” and “Guru” and it has been a tremendous personal loss. On a higher level, I felt greatly disturbed about how religion was used as a tool to divide the country with so many innocents losing their lives. Music is the only way I have to spread the message of peace and “Jiya Se Jiya” has been an honest attempt to do just that, to knit people together.”
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