I always feel I need to experiment: A R Rahman
Music maestro A.R. Rahman who has just come out with a mesmerising score for Pele: Birth Of A Legend, which hit theatres this Friday, has a very busy year coming up. Besides Pele, Rahman has also composed music for one of the most awaited films this year, Sachin: A Billion Dreams. And he even has his own film coming up, 99 Songs.
From bagging the National Award for his musical debut in Roja in 1992 to becoming one of the most sought after names globally, Rahman’s journey has been legendary. While he has composed for a variety of projects, sports biopic was not familiar territory for him to begin with. Reportedly, he even had to Google more info on Pele before he set off to compose for the film.
Rahman had met the football legend last year when he had visited Kolkata. That was the beginning of their association. Speaking of the project, he says, “It was really exciting to compose music for Pele. The toughest part is when you plan to think out-of-the-box and try to do something different. Breaking the tried-and-tested formula is not easy. I jammed with the directors Jeff Zimbalist and Michael Zimbalist and tried to understand the facts, likes and dislikes of the Brazilian footballer. I made a young Brazilian singer sing Ginga to keep things as close to reality as possible.”
The music industry in Bollywood has seen a marked shift over the past decade, with more new voices coming in. This is in sharp contrast to the 90s when there was a practice of using one particular singer’s voice for a certain actor. Rahman agrees with the 90s still. “I believe in the policy of using a particular singer’s voice for a particular actor. Although, it was me who broke the pattern with Roja,” he says with a smile.
“That was more to break the monotony of playback. However, I do feel in today’s times, there is too much clutter and very less individuality left,” he adds. So is he happy with the current scenario, we ask. “In my opinion, the music content is the main beauty. The composers should be able to filter out the best today. I feel that’s what passes the test of time,” he says.
Rahman has stayed away from composing for Bollywood for a while now and spends most of his time abroad. Explaining his reasons, he says, “I guess that’s mainly because of my film production. Also, I always feel the need to experiment. There were a few projects that came to me, but I had to let them go as I was abroad at that time.” It’s not too often that he faces flak, however his score for Lekar Hum Deewana Dil didn’t find too many takers. Ask him how does he cope with rejection, and Rahman says, “In a way, rejections are actually good. No one should be afraid of trying something out-of-the-box every once in a while. But to my knowledge though, people still listen the music of Lekar Hum Deewana Dil on loop.”
During the making of Om Shanti Om, the master composer had some differences with Shah Rukh Khan. Not too many know, that he was the first one to be offered to compose for the film. But the project eventually went to Vishal-Shekhar when Rahman said that he would like to own the music rights to the film. We ask him if he still retains the music ownership clause, and he says, “It is a blessing in disguise. The clause of ownership has changed now. We don’t know our future these days. I believe that the whole crew is instrumental in making the entire product.”
As of now, however, everyone’s waiting for Rahman’s next Bollywood film album Mohenjo Daro to unravel. His last ventures with director Ashutosh Gowariker resulted in musical gems like Lagaan, Swades and Jodhaa Akbar. Ask him what can we expect from the score of Mohenjo Daro and he says, “You have to wait to hear it. I promise it is going to be pretty charming.”
While the maestro has worked with numerous filmmakers in the industry, it is with Mani Ratnam, the man who gave him his first break (Roja) with whom he shares a most special connection. And they are collaborating once again, he reveals. “I am actually doing his next Tamil film which is yet to be announced. I guess we two understand each other’s sensibilities quite well. It is always fun working with Mani,” Rahman concludes.