The Mozart of Madras: Composer A. R. Rahman
* Story Highlights
* Composer A. r. Rahman has sold over 200 million albums worldwide
* The 'Mozart of Madras' works in both the Indian film industry and
Hollywood
* Rahman's work includes the music for 'The Lord of the Rings' stage
production
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LONDON, England (CNN) -- The Screening Room went to the Theatre Royal in
Drury Lane in the heart of London's West End, where a spectacular
musical version of "The Lord of The Rings" is enjoying a successful run,
to meet Indian composer A. R. Rahman, whose blend of Asian culture with
rock and Western classical styles has revolutionized the Indian film
industry. And now Rahman is about to make his mark in Hollywood.
[art.rahman.jpg]
A. R. Rahman, interviewed by CNN's Screening Room
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Virtually unknown in Europe and the U.S., Rahman has sold 200 million
albums worldwide -- more than the Beatles -- and is worshipped
throughout much of Asia, where he's known as the Mozart of Madras.
Now he has added a Hollywood film score to his vast repertoire of movie
music.
Rahman explained to CNN what he thinks makes great movie music. "A great
soundtrack is like 'Laura"s theme', the 'Love Story' theme, 'Chariots of
Fire' and all those sorts of things, where it stood by itself," he said.
But recently, he's noticed a changing mood. "Now it is becoming too
abstract and more ambient and more... I don't know, soundscape-ish, more
than melody. People are afraid of melody: 'Oh, that melody is
distracting my scene,' it is becoming like that."
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And that brings fresh challenges for the makers of film music. "Now the
challenges of the composer are much more," he told CNN. "One needs to
know of recording, production, it is not enough to compose a great theme
and [know] how it can intertwine with the movie. And with Indian film it
is an even greater challenge, because we need to be like Michael
Jackson, John Williams, Hans Zimmer and an Indian folk composer all put
together. So they expect finesse and they expect versatility."
Rahman's compositions are versatile enough to be used by both Bollywood
and Hollywood, a case in point being his music for the Hindi film "Dil
Se," which was used almost a decade later by Spike Lee for "Inside Man."
But for Rahman, the process to create film music is being challenged by
increasingly crammed movie schedules. "There used to be a time where the
director and the composer would work together," he explained. "They
would develop themes and the director would shoot a scene, but now the
world's so fast that people are finishing the movie even before going to
a composer."
As well as writing songs and scores, Rahman has featured in many
Bollywood films singing the songs which are mimed by the acting
superstars. He recently completed a sell-out tour of the U.S. performing
highlights from his songbook to devoted fans.
He explained to CNN how playback singing is a normal part of Indian film
music. "Well, until I worked in 'Bombay Dreams' six or seven years back,
I never realized that it is not cool to have playback singing. Until
then, it was the story of Indian films where somebody else lip synchs
and somebody else sings." And Rahman has been converted to the Western
model, where those singing on-screen usually provide the vocals
themselves. "In my future projects I would rather have a star who
sings," he said.
Director Shekhar Kapur recruited Rahman and fellow composer Craig
Armstrong to provide the score for Cate Blanchett's sequel to
"Elizabeth," "The Golden Age," which premieres at Toronto Film Festival
in September this year.
Kapur described the thrill of working with two such different -- and
complementary -- composers. He told CNN, "Here are two totally different
cultures. Craig Armstrong is strings and heart, the skies, choir, angels
and devils, and A. r. is modern, restless music."
"Just to get them together was very interesting for me. To sit there and
see both of them jamming together, that was fascinating. They wouldn't
talk, they would jam, and out of the jamming came the music. It was
great."
Rahman is still getting used to his new-found status as darling of both
East and West -- and it leads to a somewhat chaotic lifestyle, as he
explained. "It is terrifying sometimes. I suddenly wake up in Scotland
doing music for 'Golden Age,' and suddenly wake up doing an Indian
superstar film, but I think after all these years I am probably getting
a balance."
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