I have heard everything Rahman has ever composed” *Font Size * -A<http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/i-have-heard-everything-rahman-has-ever-composed/478163/#> +A<http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/i-have-heard-everything-rahman-has-ever-composed/478163/#> Pallavi Jassi*Posted: Jun 18, 2009 at 0443 hrs IST * Print <http://www.expressindia.com/story_print.php?storyId=478163> Email<http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/i-have-heard-everything-rahman-has-ever-composed/478163/#> To Editor <http://www.expressindia.com/feedback.php> Post Comments<http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/i-have-heard-everything-rahman-has-ever-composed/478163/#post>
Most Read Articles<http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/i-have-heard-everything-rahman-has-ever-composed/478163/#> Related Articles<http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/i-have-heard-everything-rahman-has-ever-composed/478163/#> AI issues notice to its pilot<http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/AI-issues-notice-to-its-pilot/477433/>AI issues notice to its pilot<http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/AI-issues-notice-to-its-pilot/477433/>LTTE remnants regrouping?<http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/LTTE-remnants-regrouping/477854/>Gaddafi has virgin women as body guards<http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/Gaddafi-has-virgin-women-as-body-guards/249074/>LTTE remnants regrouping?<http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/LTTE-remnants-regrouping/477854/>LTTE remnants regrouping?<http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/LTTE-remnants-regrouping/477854/>Minor girl raped; accused also minor<http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/Minor-girl-raped-accused-also-minor/341025/> **New-York based Wayne Sharpe was introduced to Bollywood six years ago, when a chance meeting with producer-director Prakash Jha landed him with the responsibility of the background score for Jha’s provocative movie, Gangaajal. Apaharan followed in 2005, where Sharpe again got it right, with darkly lilting music. Sharpe’s Bollywood journey now seems to be getting bigger, as he prepares for the forthcoming Katrina Kaif- Ajay Devgan starrer Rajniti. “I’m doing the background score as well as a song for Rajniti. It has a very epic feel to it—which can support large and full background music,” says Sharpe, who is preparing for Jha’s arrival at his NYC studio, to work on the themes, sounds and a song that he’ll be composing for this film. “Like my other scores for Prakash, this too will have a very western sound with some Indian instrumentation,” he says. Sharpe works with a huge library of samples of Indian music and instruments. And though he has heard a lot of Indian Classical music over the years, Sharpe still has to get the hang of Hindi. “Ab main kya kahoon,” he jokes, barely faltering. He acknowledges, composing for films made in languages he doesn’t understand has its own complications, but he’s learnt to work around them. “I’m learning Hindi, not through a real program though, but I spend a lot of time with the filmmaker who conveys the story and emotions to me, verbally,” says Sharpe, who is planning to take proper lessons to learn the language. In Hollywood, Sharpe has done the music for the Donnie Wahlberg-Amanda Peet starrer Southie and Pokemon among other film and television projects. And though his Indian visits are not so frequent, he keeps in touch with Indian filmmakers via the Internet. It was through emails and the phone that he worked from New York and LA on Sanjay Puran Singh Chauhan’s forthcoming Lahore, a film set in India and Pakistan that deals with sports and nationalism. “I composed half the music before even meeting the director since I was sent the script in English,” he says. Sharpe’s musical influences have been Peter Gabriel, Bill Laswell and Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan but the musician he reveres is the iconic A R Rahman. “I first heard his score in Taal and I was blown away. It changed my thinking entirely about Hindi music. He blended the Western sound so beautifully and since then I have actively sought out everything he has ever done,” says Sharpe. While in the US, he’s found time to work on another crossover film with singers Sonu Niigaam and Sunidhi Chauhan for Basmati Blues. This American is here for the long run. http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/i-have-heard-everything-rahman-has-ever-composed/478163/ -- regards, Vithur
