Interview: Arthur J Pais in New York
A R Rahman is a man of few words. But once he warms up, he can keep talking.
When we asked for an interview, he emailed just one line: Sure. I will call you. He did not specify a time or day. Given his passion for working in the night, I knew that meant I should expect a phone call from Chennai any time during the day hours in New York.
And as promised he called just two days after confirming that the interview will happen.
It was about noon in New York. For nearly an hour, he talked about a lot of things including how Shah Rukh Khan had become a 'bakra' and how he was 'blackmailed' by 'Mani sir' to sing the Tere Bina number in Guru.
Here's the first part of an extensive interview.
On working with Shah... ... Rukh Khan
I decided not to compose the music for his film, Om Shanti Om because I was refused the publishing rights of the film. But we could surely work in future. There should be no hard feelings in this business. Shah Rukh is warm-hearted and a smart producer but he was misled in this case.
The concept of music publishing is new in India and his advisors did not understand what it meant. They made him a bakra with their wrong advice.
As a composer, it is important for me to own some rights to the music, so that I could use it any way I want 20 years from now. For me, owning these rights is more important than owning property. Anything can happen to property but music rights will not collapse.
This is not an uncommon thing in the West. But in India, some producers have begun understanding the concept. Aamir Khan is giving me the music publishing rights to his next film. Rajnikant's daughter, who is producing a Tamil film called Hara, is going to do it too.
On his own label
I want to publish not only my non-film compositions but also the songs of legends like Ustad Ghulam Mustafa Khan saab. So many singers, including Sonu Nigam, have learned from him. He is my guru too. There are so many gems of his that are unpublished. Even people who are acquainted with Hindustani music are not aware of this music. I want to do it. There is no commercial consideration in this venture. Over the years, I have composed music for films that are not big in the traditional way. Films like MF Husain's Meenaxi or Shyam Benegal's films.
On Bappi Lahiri singing the song Ek Lo Ek Muft in Guru
The tune for this song had been ready more than three months ago and I wanted Abhishek Bachchan to sing it. But he was abroad and by the time he would return to India, I was going abroad. So there was a dilemma. I felt it was a special song and wanted it to sound fresh.
Just then, I happened to watch some award function on television, and there was Bappida singing a song and getting a lot of applause. I contacted him in Kolkata the next day, and he was in Chennai in a day or two.
It is amazing that he could record the entire song, which is quite wordy and long, in less than two hours and then he went back to Kolkata. The song has been picturised very well on Abhishek and Aishwarya Rai. It is going to be even more popular after the film's release.
On singers Chinmayee, Shreya Ghoshal and Madhushree
Chinmayee sang a beautiful song for me in another Mani Ratnam film, Kannathil Muthamittal, called Deiva Tande Poove. It became very popular. She has won many awards in Tamil Nadu including state awards. I was surprised to see how she could change her voice for this film (She joins Rahman in Tere Bina, one of the most haunting numbers in Guru). There is more strength in her voice than I had thought and it is huskier too. I love singers who are capable of surprising the composers.
When I first heard Shreya a few years ago, I liked her voice but I thought it was a bit shrill. Now, it is full bodied. Apart from singing Barso Re in Guru, she has also sung other numbers for me, like in the Tamil film Jillunu Oru Kathal. The music became very popular and the film did well in cities.
As for Madhushree, she is growing in strength from film to film. She is one of those few singers who are capable of taking a good composition to the next level and make a big difference.
On the Mayya Mayya number
I was on hajj and I heard a man saying mayya, mayya, mayya. I heard music at once. Later, I realised he was selling water and saying the word in Arabic. So I told myself that one day I would record a song mixing Arabic, Turkish and Indian music. That is how the song was born.
The singer Maryem Toller lives in Toronto and sings in a band. I think she is from Yemen. I was working there last year on the stage musical The Lord of the Rings, and got her to record her part of the song there. I added music to it in Chennai.
Maryem's voice is also heard at the start of Rang De Basanti.
Tomorrow: How Mani Ratnam made Rahman sing