*The legendary composer promises Mumbai more of himself in the next few months*
THE enthusiasm is at its peak and superlatives are overflowing. The country's celebrated music composer, AR Rahman, relies more on his music than words. As the soundtrack of Tanvir Ahmad's Ada, his first musical after Subhash Ghai's Taal, plays, the audience expectedly is transported far away from the din of the island city. Sporting a blue jeans and trousers, Rahman still flaunts his hair short (he cropped his long mane some months ago). His innocent demeanour speaks little of his illustrious body of work, and that is enough to encourage journalists. "Henceforth, you are going to see more of me in Hindi films. I have eight releases coming up this year," Rahman assures. He is at a city hotel on Monday afternoon, as part of a joint promotional initiative for his next Hindi release Ada and a cellular phone company. As the microphone is handed over to him, the man of few words chooses to cut his speech short, "Let's release the music (of Ada) first." Apart from Ada, which has 10 tracks (the film's release has been delayed for some years now), the composer is currently scoring the tunes of some much-awaited blockbusters, including Ghai's Yuvraaj, Abbas Tyrewala's Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na, Murugadoss' Hindi remake of Ghajini and Rakeysh Mehra's Dilli 6. "I have finished three songs for Ghajini. Two more are pending," he says. Rahman, who revolutionised the sound of Hindi film music with the tracks of Roja and Bombay in the early '90s, recently created waves with the music of Ashutosh Gowariker's magnum opus Jodhaa Akbar (where he even lent his voice for the beautiful qawwali number Khwaja mere khwaja). "It is not a deliberate attempt to retain any uniqueness in my movies. Each film is different, so the music too has to vary," he says. Despite his overwhelming popularity, Rahman has managed to remain exclusive to advertisers. While few years back he created a memorable jingle for an Airtel ad campaign, this time he invites youngsters to remix two of his tracks from Ada, as part of a Nokia initiative. "There are certain songs that lend themselves to remixes. Please note I have not given all my soundtracks from Ada. Gulfisha and Gum sum have high beats, so they will sound good in remixed versions," he says. "When it comes to branding, I want to be myself." As the television crews jostle for his bytes, he patiently obliges everyone, and someone even demands a quote on Himesh Reshammiya. "Himesh is doing a lot of things—producing music, singing and acting. I wish him all the best," he says, humorously. The time is up; Rahman hurriedly takes his leave, but not before promising me a lengthy interview on email. http://www.screenindia.com/news/Musical-journey/303601/ -- regards, Vithur Whatever God wants to give, no one can deny; Whatever God wants to deny, no one can give. Be happy always
