[dropcap]H[/dropcap]E’S seated in the midst of chaos and yet A. R. Rahman emits such a reassuring vibe of serenity that you feel apologetic even talking to him. It is as if your words will thwart a rhythm in the making. How does the Mozart of Madras shuttle between cities almost every other day and still strikes a chord every time he makes music? “I’m now relatively comfortable moving between Mumbai and Los Angeles, and Chennai. But I contemplate a lot before picking up a project,” he says. READ: Oscar, Padma & now Grammy for A R Rahman
It took him three years to agree to do an Indian movie, Million Dollar Arm, in Hollywood. “I usually stay away from doing Indian-ish movies in the West because I can always do these projects here. If I’m working there, I need variety and scope to experiment beyond my comfort zone,” he reasons.
Going beyond his comfort zone, he also learnt Punjabi for a song he has crooned in the Imtiaz Ali-directed, Highway. “Singing in Punjabi wasn’t difficult as I’d composed the tune, and improvised a lot. All I had to do was work on the pronunciations” he says.
Known to be super-selective, it is his zeal to take risks that draws him to Imtiaz. “I’ve seen several filmmakers and observed that once they become comfortable in a genre, they get apprehensive and stop experimenting. But, Imtiaz continues to surprise me,” he says. “If Rockstar had a ‘big-event’ feeling to it, Highway has a beautiful indie vibe. So while composing, I focused only on a singular emotion, not an ensemble one and the result is very fulfilling.”
For him, music is an activity of personal fulfilment. “I don’t need the money or the awards. I don’t need the world. Music, even after so many years, brings me such joy, matched only by the satisfaction of a chef who has just laid his signature dish on the table,” he says.
Criticism doesn’t dent his enthusiasm either. Many of his loyalists felt that Jab Tak Hai Jaan’s music was more Yash Chopra in vibe than Rahman. He says doing it was a conscious choice: “Many times, I have given music for a film and it has been used only in the background. I wanted my songs to be picturised in a manner that only Yashji was capable of.”
Did the lukewarm response bother him? He says, “Maybe people were expecting another Rockstar because they expect you to give them the same thing. But, I’ve other things in my kitty too.”
