'Music is infinite'
VIJAY DANDIGE (Contributor)
12 April 2008
For a man who has mastered the scale and conquered the pitch, musical
genius A R Rahman remains a man true to his humble roots. In an exclusive
interview he talks about the future of classical music and his fight to
eradicate poverty HE HAS lost his boyish looks but none of his magic. When
the world first knew of him, with his mop of curls, T-shirt and jeans, he
looked like a teenage college student. But his second film 'Roja' fetched him
the National Film Award in 1992, and thrust him into limelight. In the years
since, A R Rahman has scaled heights that no other music composer has been able
to match.
He has written music for more than 90 movies. By 2003, he had sold more than
100 million records of his film scores and soundtracks world-wide, and sold
over 200 million cassettes, making him one of the world's top 25 all-time top
selling recording artists. He is the only person of Indian descent to achieve
this.
He also has had a string of international collaborations: with Chinese
director He Ping's 'Warriors of Heaven and Earth', Andrew Lloyd Webber's
musical 'Bombay Dreams', a musical version of 'The Lord of the Rings' that
played in London's West End and then on Broadway, and for Shekhar Kapur's
'Elizabeth - The Golden Age', with Craig Armstrong. He is known to assimilate
diverse elements in his music, from South Asian, Sufi, Irish folk, rock, reggae
to even ragtime.
Despite his fames and riches, the diminutive composer who hailed from a lower
middle-class family in Madras, has not forgotten his humble beginnings. He
shuns any ostentatious displays of wealth or power, makes sure his musicians
and collaborators get their fair share and has launched his own foundation with
the aim of eradicating poverty.
The celebrated musician is in the country for his third live concert, to be
held on April 18 at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium. Dressed as usual in jeans, a
cotton shirt, a denim jacket, his hair not as curly as when he first arrived,
A.R. Rahman spoke to City Times in this exclusive interview.
Tell us about the A.R. Rahman Foundation. How did it come about?
It got started with the World TB Forum partnership. They asked me to write an
anthem about poverty eradication. It was around 2003. I wrote the song. When we
released it I thought why not take the money that comes from it and put it in a
foundation. I thought let that be a beginning for something else. Though it's
not very active now, the foundation's main goal at the time was to inspire
people to just think about it, to keep the thought in the corner of their
hearts, for whatever they could do to change things. Right now, I don't want
money from other people. I'm just putting my own money into the foundation.
Very soon, though, we hope to do a lot of things by way of charities.
You are known to work in the night. Does working in the silence of the night
inspire you to be more creative?
Before I started working for the movies, I used to work in the studios, from
9am to 9pm, and all my creative work used to be done after I finished working
in the studios - at 10 o'clock in the night, because that was the time I was
able to think about music. In due course, it became a habit. When I began doing
films, I found that space and time to be very creative. But now I work at any
time.
You have broken the mould quite a few times in the music scenario. How do you
get your ideas?
I try to be a music lover myself. So when I hear a particular kind of song
within me, I try to imagine if it's good or bad, whether it's simple enough or
needs to be complicated etc. So I have to make a decision within me. If you're
a music lover, you'd love to listen to it. Then I think that if I like it,
people will definitely like it, at least 10 or 20 per cent or 100... whatever.
On the other hand, if it bores me, I'm sure it's going to bore others. So that
way I'm a very harsh judge of my own music. I've done certain songs and
scrapped them even before anyone could listen to them. So that's my process of
composing songs. It's like cooking. I must like my own cooking. If I don't like
it, others are going to push it away, too.
What keeps you going musically?
I think in a very harsh world, music is a healer for all of us, because a lot
of people act in a very hostile way. So I think it's a good enough reason. And
it is a blessing from God and I keep on playing music.
You have had a number of successful international collaborations, with Andrew
Lloyd Weber, with Craig Armstrong and others. Has that collaboration had an
impact on your music?
Yes, definitely. I used to often do music without knowing how it was done.
Maybe it was a longer process for me. But working in all these collaborations
made me kind of learn to do music, background scores etc. in a faster way.
You use a lot of technology, gadgets in your music. There is a school that
thinks that using gadgets leads at best to second-hand creativity. Do you agree?
No, I don't think that is right. See, the main thing about a song is the
tune, the lyrics and the emotions it conveys. And there cannot be any
second-hand creativity in that. If it's there, the song will get thrown out. I
also discovered that using computers or technology is good for sketching
something. For instance, if you have an idea that's crazy, that's
out-of-the-way and you try it out in front of people, they might start laughing
at you. Whereas if you sit alone, you could do that, you could experiment. And
if you like it, you could then present it to the world. Otherwise you could
just press the delete button. That's the advantage of technology.
You have done some spectacular non-filmy projects like 'Vande Mataram'. What
prompted you to take them up?
I think films have limitations... in their thought processes, in what they
aspire to etc. The needs of films are very limited. And at that particular
point I wanted a change. Then I met my friend Bharatbala and he also suggested
that I should do something out of films. That's how we did all the songs: 'Maa
Tujhe Salaam', 'Only You' and others.
When you first came your music was fresh but over time it became repetitive.
Do you agree? And how did you overcome that?
That's right. I think what happened was: that's when I started getting
involved in different kinds of projects, like 'Bombay Dreams', the Chinese film
etc. See, I get bored with similar kinds of projects. When there're similar
types of projects, your creativity goes down, because people have done that
kind of stuff and you are not challenged in any way. That's why when I do a
film I want to put my full energy into it and I want to give the results that I
have in mind. So I selected a different path and everything solved itself.
How has been your experience with the Mumbai film crowd?
So far they have been very kind to me. I go to Mumbai very rarely but
whenever I go there, there is so much love and appreciation. I haven't had any
bad or negative reception or reaction.
What do you think of composers who blatantly steal tunes of others and make
music?
That's not good at all. And they don't have to. There's so much music out
there. Music is infinite; it's like an ocean. I can concede that sometimes
without your knowledge something could happen; you could end up copying a part
or something. But if you do it intentionally, that's unacceptable.
Are you satisfied with the music scene in India?
No, I'm not satisfied, because I feel in India music should be a separate
entity - an entity that commands an audience. Right now, it's relying in a big
way on films. Films drive the music and, of course, vice versa. What I would
love to see is a definitive musical alternative. We have classical music but
the mainstream audience for it is almost negligible. So I feel there should be
channels catering only Hindustani or Carnatic classical music, which is much
more superior to film music.
Then how do you see the future of classical music?
Classical music will never vanish or die because it has a real soul and a
solid foundation that nothing can shake. And see, many of the youngsters today
are singing much better that some established singers. And their background is
in classical music, which is a tradition. So, classical music will always be
there.
How do you view your fame and riches?
In a way it's a blessing to get money and fame but I think it is also a test
of how attached you are to it. You know, I believe hunger is a very powerful
force. Only hunger can make you aspire to new things, send you on a search and
push forward. When your stomach is full, you tend to become complacent. You
don't feel the need to go further, to thrust forward. So, I think your mind or
stomach needs to have a little hunger. Hunger drives you forward.
Don't miss this concert!
Music maestro A R Rahman is back in the country to regale music lovers -
after a gap of five years. The acclaimed composer will be rendering his
haunting melodies in the A.R. Rahman - Live in Concert on April 18 at the
Sharjah International Cricket Stadium.
'When I have new numbers to show to people, I feel good to come for
concerts,' Rahman declared at a press conference at the Grand Hyatt, which was
organised by Oasis Promotions.
'Last year Jodhaa Akbar happened, and before that Sivaji, Guru, Rang De
Basanti and other movies. So I feel this concert will be different from my
previous ones.'
Rahman revealed that some of the best musical talent of India would join in
the concert, names like Hariharan, Chitra, Sadhana Sargam, Karthik, Blaaze,
Madhusree, Neeti Mohan, Naresh Iyer, Mohd Aslam, Javed Ali, Benny Dayal and
Aslam Khan, And of course, renowned percussionist, Sivamani.
This concert, for sure, will be bigger than the previous ones. The organisers
have built a huge 80 feet wide and 50 feet deep stage, with three levels. There
will be a massive backdrop of 80 sqm of Lighthouse LED and 16 panels to create
different visual scenarios for different musical sets. Rahman said the entire
show will last three to four hours. He said, 'We want to give people more
numbers.'
When asked whether he would play any numbers from his forthcoming films,
Rahman smiled, 'Let's see... let's see... we might do something.'
The concert starts at 7 pm and gates would be opened at 5 pm.
EVENT DETAILS
WHAT: A.R. Rahman - Live in Concert
WHEN: April 18, gates open 5pm, concert starts 7pm
WHERE: Sharjah International Cricket Stadium
Win tickets to the A R Rahman concert
City Times is giving you the chance to win tickets to the sensational AR
Rahman concert. The music maestro will be performing live on April 18 at the
Sharjah International Cricket Stadium. Joining him would be some of the best
talents from India.
All you need to do is answer the following question:
Name all the artists performing at the AR Rahman concert.
Send in your answers to [EMAIL PROTECTED] by 2pm on March 15, with your name,
age, profession, and contact details. Only one entry per person.
Winners will be contacted directly via telephone and tickets must be picked
up by March 16. If unclaimed City Times reserves the right to pass on the
tickets to the next eligible contestant.
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/CityHome.asp?xfile=data/citytimes/2008/April/citytimes_April130.xml§ion=citytimes&col=
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