Dear All, Anandha Vikatan ( a Tamil weekly magazine ) has been reprinting old Interviews of ARR.
This is the transcript of the interview which was given in 1998. ( Scanned Images would be uploaded in flickr soon . The images of ARR sitting with the laptop is also available ) ARR 's Interview to Anandha Vikatan " He is the cause for everything" – A.R.Rahman There exists a general opinion that after Sonia Gandhi, if there is a person, who could not be met up easily, it is A.R.Rahman. As Sonia has started coming out and started meeting people, it is only Rahman who still can be proud of that. Although, he works without proper sleep, even in the afternoon hours, he came and sat with us in a fresh mood. It takes some time for Rahman to open up to us from his mind. But after he relaxes a bit, he answers spontaneously with a sense of humour. Q :- Usually, you take a lot of time to compose music, and it looks like you take extra care and beauty in adding value to each layers of music. Is it so ? ARR :- What is wrong in aiming at perfection in music ?. According to me, if I am composing a song, it is not only composing " Tana Na Tana Na" with the harmonium and getting an Ok for it. To make it little different, 70% music of the song has to be composed and I started doing like that. If I need to make it still better, then it would be a different tune, and another 70% would go in for that. Wouldn't all these take time ?. Almost, I have fallen myself in that trap. Because of this, I get to sleep only for about 4 hrs a day. As I have to produce music without any disturbance, without minding anyone, to make the tune satisfactory to me, I remain in the studio, and there is no other alternative. From the morning if I don't have food, my mother would be standing in front of it worried. For getting a good tune, it may even take five hours. If I leave it in the middle, wont the thought process be disturbed ?! Q : - True. But, how so ever strict you may be. There may be some happenings which can distract you while composing. What do you do for the same ? ARR :- That's true. But above all these distractions, it is PRAYER alone which calms my mind and discipline it. It is a good meditation. If something good happens to us, it is because of God. Even if it was a bad happening, God is the cause to the same. So, when we worship God, the mind forgets everything, and peace prevails. With the same peace, when I enter the studio, I get fresh thoughts. Q :- In Tamil Cinema , in music, your entry has created a new trend. The Different, Unique and Accurate Music of yours have made people turn towards you. So, there have been people who have started imitating your style, and thinking that they would achieve success by the same. Isnt this detrimental to the industry ? ARR :- You have asked me something which has been going on in my mind. There shouldn't be any status quo in Cinema Music. We should keep trying something new all the time. We should do it without an fear. With the current trend, if the same music is heard over and over, then it would create boredom. Don't take the people for granted. I think there is come a time, when we should try to do something different all the time. ( and this includes for me too ) Q :- Have you planned anything specially for this. You can do a lot of albums like Vandemataram ! ? ARR :- Its not an easy task to do an album. It should be to the standards of International Level so as to intimidate them. It requires a lot of energy. Q :- Why cant you create an album with Bharatiyar songs similar to Vandemataram. If we read those songs in normal fashion, they create goosebumps in us. Imagine what would happen , if it joins hands with your music ? ! ARR :- ( His face changes. He smiles and starts singing the song " Nandalala ( from Bharatiyar's poems ) . How did you foresee this?. I would make an album out of Bharatiyar songs with Bharatbala. Q :- Advance Thanks. Ok. Lets come back to Cinema. Is there any difficulty in making Carnatic Singers to sing for Cinema Songs ? ARR :- They all have a lot of energy. Solid Energy! How much ever time, they can all sustain their voices by making it go up and down. At the same time, they all have got used to singing by applying beats to their laps, with their hands. When Nityashree came for Recording, and when she was asked to sing a song, she remained silent for quite some time. After some time, she started " Thadarina Thdarina". It was good. I did the recording of that too. After that, she started off in a high pitch " Kannodu Kanbathellam", just like how she would sing on a stage performance. She understood and grabbed like a camphor and sang very well in a very well tone. Q :- Who is your favourite singer ? Why ? ARR :- I like the voice of P. Susheela a lot. In Susheela's voice, there is very clear pronounciation, Voice quality, Youthfulness, Sweetness. Q :- True! She started with a song " Aalayamani" an has sung a lot of songs and everything has been an example. All the songs that you have been singing are of a very high note. Why ?. Arent you trying melody songs ? ARR :- Its not like that! If it comes to Cinema, there would be certain style which fixes upon each one of us. For Illayaraja, melody songs would be very appropriate. In his " Then Paandi cheemayile" song ( NAYAGAN ), the voice modulation would be superb. In the same manner, MSV is a a techie in modulation. For me, the outcome of my singing in high notes has come out well and I started liking it. It has started fixing on me. As you have told me now, I will start singing Melody songs from now on. Q :- Seen from the International Arena, do you feel that we are in a backseat with respect to Cinema Music and do you feel for the same ? ARR :- We cannot term it like that. If we take our Indian cinema, there was only mono sound. They have told that it would take minimum 20 years for us to convert ourselves to Digital Sound. But what happened ?. We have transformed to Digital Sound at a very rapid pace. We have reached international heights in Digital, Dolby effects. Q :- But are we using all these sound effects to their maximum effect " imaginatively". " So, let me leave". Such sort of dialogues are being shown in DTS effect. Isnt this a sad happening ? ARR :- ( Smilingly ) It hasn't been used in the correct sense. Everything will become normal soon. Q :- As an Indian citizen, as a Music Lover, what do you think about Terrorism which has suddenly sprung up in Tamil Nadu ? AR :- It's a dreadful disease ( says Rahman in a a very fierceful fashion). " It's the desperate nature and the failure which creates such situations. It may be because of some bad happening to them or to anyone in their family. Some people capitalize on such situations, and enrage these youngsters and force them to terrorism. This sort of bad happenings must be immediately controlled. Else, it would spread like a dreadful disease. Q :- what do you feel can be best done to control such an happening?. Your personal opinion AR :- My answer is to eliminate religious and caste fanaticism. People who believe in Allah must also believe that He has created hindus along with Muslims, and see them with love. Everyone must get the feeling that all are God's Childen. When would the time come, when everyone sees each and everyone as God's Child ! ? Q :- Finally a question. Music is like a Sacred ritual. We may have to wait for hours, for days to get whatever we want. So long as we were bachelors, it wasn't a problem. Are you finding it the same even after you became a family person ? AR :- For the cause of some big matters, we need to sacrifice somethings in life. " I can be like this only, and can devote only this much time for the family, and my wife knows this well. She also adjusts a lot for my sake. So, there hasn't been any problem between us. I have allocated a separate Call Sheet for my two year old daughter Khateeja. ( Rahman ended the interview with the gentleness of that of a father ) -- regards, Vithur
