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Westward ho!
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Music or the man A.R Rahman is a class act
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MADRAS MOZART A. R. Rahman's songs are capturing the West
When he makes foreign (read: American) students sing `Maa Tujhe Salaam,' `Rang De Basanti,' `Zikr' (from Bose) and `Veerapaandi Kottaiyile,' you know that Kareema Begum's son is rising in the West.
How busy was he these days, we ask.
Rahman has a reputation of being super-productive in the middle of the night.
"Right now, I'm in the 5.30 a.m. to 11.30 p.m. zone. I have these phases. Earlier, I used to work nights and sleep only two hours between 3.30 a.m. and 5.30 a.m. These days, I sleep by 11.30," says the man often referred to as the Mozart of Madras.
Sometimes, you just don't know if Rahman should take the credit or the blame for the spurt of sound engineers assuming the role of music directors, relying purely on technology.
"You should do it like a photograph. That's the simplest comparison I can think of. You should lay it out clearly in a way that you should be able to see all the people in it. It's not very different in music. People should be able to listen to every instrument used in a composition, just like the people in a picture. You should know who's on the right, who's on the left and who's in the centre. That's how it works."
Hasn't technology made it easier for sound engineers today to turn music directors?
"Yes, it has become much simpler today. You buy a Mac (PC or laptop), you get Garage band free, (an application for arranging music) which gives you a lot of pre-recorded preset loops to choose from. You can arrange it yourself and the quality of sound is pretty good."
How did he first hear about his international tribute band and how did it feel?
"It was unbelievable. It was about two or three years ago I met this guy who showed me a video of American students performing some of my songs. That's when I realised the power of music. It was unbelievable.
"Not only did they sing the popular songs, they even sang the chaste Urdu lines from `Zikr' in Bose. I felt happy because I realised that it was only politics that separated people; art and music continue to build bridges between people."
Rahman's next for Mani Ratnam's Guru will be out by Diwali and the musician will also be doing his next project with Aamir Khan, Lajjo.
SUDHISH KAMATH
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