MJ wanted to work with me: RahmanSHAHEEN SHEIKH Times News Network 14 October 2009, 12:00am ISTPrint<http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/msid-5119376,prtpage-1.cms> Email <javascript:openWindowmail('/mail/5119376.cms');>DiscussBookmark/Share<javascript:void(0)> Save <javascript:showdivlayer('5119376','t','close');>Comment<http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/music/MJ-wanted-to-work-with-me-Rahman/articleshow/5119376.cms#write>Text Size:| Credited with putting Indian music on the world map, the powerhouse of musical talent, global tunesmith AR Rahman talks to Hyderabad Times about [image: AR Rahman]<javascript:openslideshownew('/slideshow/5119406.cms?imw=460','541','526')><javascript:openslideshownew('/slideshow/5119406.cms?imw=460','541','526')> AR Rahman More Pics<http://photogallery.indiatimes.com/articleshow/4593228.cms> ‘what next’ after the Oscars
Has getting the Oscars for Slumdog Millionaire changed the western world’s perception of Indian music? I don’t know. We still have a long way to go. But this award is like an indicator — it helps me take the next big step. And if I do it right, only then will modern Indian music become a factor, a force to reckon with. So many young people in India are doing good music but most of them are trying to be someone else. What I have learnt from getting this award is that to make a significant contribution you need to move into your own zone of originality. Slumdog Millionaire got the award on that strength— it had its own stamp. And Danny (Boyle) helped a great deal in achieving that quality. What’s the key lesson been in your journey to extraordinary achievement? That no musical work is less or more important and every step is important in the journey to achieving excellence. Even when I do jingles for TV commercials I take every step with care and the same goes for orchestral pieces —you need to work at them steadily and give them time to breathe. Otherwise, life is a great teacher and you learn a lesson at every step! Apart from making you an international figure, in what way have the Oscars changed your life? What was unattainable in the West has now become possible for me. I can walk into any studio in the US with no questions asked — be it Sony or Universal— now people there know me better than I know them! Are you aiming for the Grammy now? Yes. In fact Slumdog might get it if it isn’t too late! Scoring music or performing, what do you prefer? Personally I like being in the recording studio and peacefully score music. Performance has its uncertainties besides you never know what will happen— sound failure, mike failure and it might even start raining! But when you perform you feel like a gladiator! It gives you a high that a studio can’t. The greatest advantage with performance is you get live feedback which feeds back into the studio, so both complement each other. There’s a view that you’ve scored better pieces than Jai Ho in your career. Do you agree? There are bound to be musical preferences, but for me Jai Ho is the biggest song in my career. It’s the spirit of the song that’s important. Your thoughts on Michael Jackson... He’s amazing, and undoubtedly the last King of Pop. He was a great human being. MJ called me just a couple of months before his demise, expressing an interest in working with me, but unfortunately that was not to be. Any downside to being a celebrity? Yes, an outing with the family has become virtually impossible. We are being photographed all the time, Although I know it’s out of love but... So I have to go abroad to enjoy family time. There’s been talk about you shifting base to Los Angeles. Is India going to lose you to Hollywood? I will have to balance my assignments in India and abroad. With video conferencing that’s not going to be too difficult. In fact the soundtrack for Blue was mixed in LA and the files came through the internet. But yes, I am cutting down on my Indian assignments. Do you have any Tollywood projects in hand? I’m working on the score of two Telugu films — Puli and an untitled film by Gautam Menon in which Naga Chaitanya plays the lead. There are two films that I’m doing with Mani Ratnam and Shankar which will also have Telugu versions. [email protected] http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/music/MJ-wanted-to-work-with-me-Rahman/articleshow/5119376.cms -- - Regards ~ ~ A.R.Rajib ~ ~
