Hi Gops, Your wish is my command..:P . here's the translation of the Kumudam interview that you had asked for:D (This appeard in last week's kumudam, not the latest one)
When you see Rahman, the first thing that strikes u is his simplicity. He makes it very comfortable for you and talks to you as if you are his college friend. Even this time, he was the same. "The keyboard and mixer that you see hanging on the wall are the ones that I used for Roja. In remembrance of my forst movie, I still have it here" says Rahman pointing at the wall. In an interview in Kalaignar TV, Director SJ Surya had mentioned that the other name for simplicity and modesty is Rahman. How can you be so simple, without ego? "This can not be planned and done. When you enter the spiritual path, Ego automatically disappers. Why do Hindu's put "vibhoothi" (the sacred ash) on their foreheads? Just to emphasise that we are all going to become ash one day. Name, fame and money - all these have value only till we die. It is enough if a person keeps thinking about death - Jealousy and thoughts like back-stabbing someone for us to reach the top all go away, and fear, modesty come in." Your talk is very philosophical.. how come? Life has taught me a lot. (Laughs) Once, when I had gone to Gulbarga, I bought a book named 'Isi Ahmeddia Dheen' (not sure of spelling). It is a compilation of the lessons that life has taught us, starting from the begiinning of life. It was easy to read, in the form of small verses. At the same time, it was very interesting. Once I finished reading it, I felt "oh... is life jus this?" The mind of anyone who reads this book, will become more mature.. U are busy with Kollywood(Tamil cinema industry), Bollywood and Hollywood. Is there time for your family? "Ya..It is difficult. Sometimes, I'll have to stay away from family for 2-3 months. I'll have to sacrifice something - I am forced to stay in touch only through video conferencing. My children are not even interested in costly toys of Rs. 10000 or Rs. 15000 Rupees. They just want me to be with them always. They want me to lift them and cuddle them and praise them. Such is their demand! Recently, my second daughter asked me to come and attend her school day function. I had to go abroad during that time. She then told me "You dont come for my function. But, I have to listen to all your music... I'm not going to listen to your music, from now on!!" I felt as though, someone struck me hard on my forehead. I shifted my tour plans by two days and accompanied her for her school day function. She was elated!" There is a rumour that Sakkaraikatti is delayed because you have not yet composed the songs. Whats your take? (Laughs) "Oh, they have come up with something like this now, is it? All song, except one have been recorded. When director Kalaa Prabhu came and asked me to compose music for his movie, I told him upfront that I wouldnt be able to do it immediately and that there'd be a delay....He told me 'It's ok even if it takes 10 years. I'll wait!!!' No one will wait for 10 years, right? (Laughs) I agreed to do the movie because I found it interesting!" In the felicitaion ceremony for your guru T.V.Gopalakrishnan, we heard that you came and left immediately? "He didnt even knew that I was going to attend the ceremony. I went there only to surprise him. He was so moved to see me there. There was a violin section to be recorded for a Hindi movie and it was scheduled at that time. So, I had to leave. Even TVG knew about this!" Whats the problem between you and Shah Rukh Khan? Why did you refuse to compose for Om Shanti Om? "There is no personal problem between us! I could not compose for that movie because of a contract issue. They (the music label = T-Series) told me that they would use the music in other hollywood movies. The music would be credited to me, but they would not pay me when they use the song elsewhere. This would pose a problem for all music dirctors in the future. Hence, I refused. Technology is growing so fast, you never know from where anyone will lift what. Suppose I write off everything to them, anything can happen in future. It should not be as though you are left blindfolded in a dense forest! There are so many music composers who put in so much effort to compose music, but still dont even have a own house and stay in rented house! It is not that their music is not popular and not played in TV/Radio. But the composers get nothing out of it. It's such a pity. Abroad, the situation is such that, a composer settles down comfortably in life even if just one song becomes a huge hit" Illayaraja has given so many hits. But, compared to composers of today, he earns less, right? "Yeah! Lets ssay he composed for around 500 movies. If we take around 6 songs per movie, his tally would stand at 3000 songs. But, I'm not sure if he has received as much money which would be the actual worth of those songs. If he had got the right amount of money which he should have, he should have enough money to buy entire Tamilnadu! All of us are so hurt. Till now, it's ok. My idea is that I should be careful, in the future. It is a tough task to accomplish. Even if the songs are pirated and are available on the net, composers abroad get the amount that they are legally entitled to get. But, here, how much ever big hit the songs may become, they claim that it was sold only for Rs. 5000!" What do you think of Remix songs? It is not a mistake to do remix. That's a new trend. All these last only till people love this. Later, this trend will automatically vanish! There are some good remix songs and there are bad remix songs too! It is one thing to retain the tone and respect of the old song, it is another to totally ruin a old song!" Recently, in a ceremony, SPB remarked that the music that all current music directors make are only the remanants from the plates of composer MS Viswanathan. What do you have to say about this? "Why cant we consider what he said, as an appreciation? He would have definitely said that in a good light! MSV is a forerunner for all of us. SPB would have meant that all of us are following his path. That is the truth too. In a fit of passion, he would have used words like remnants from MSVs plate. I feel he definitely have meant anything bad" Cheers, Aravind Gopal Srinivasan <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: May I request someone to translate the below interview for everyone's benefit? Thanks, Sree. Gopal. --- in2mind in2mind <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Hi Gopal > > Came across this interview of arr on net - seems to be from kumudam > magazine (The author > says it is from Jan 2008 issue). > A insightful interview I should say. > > http://mayyam.com/hub/viewtopic.php?t=1923&start=979 > > Sree http://arrahmaniac.blogspot.com --------------------------------- Never miss a thing. Make Yahoo your homepage.
