Friends, Spurred on by this article, I have put down some of my thoughts on why I think ARR is the great man and musician that he is. This is a thought process which has developed over the last 18 years that I have been listening to his music and following him in the media. A few disclaimers upfront, I have no music background and unlike some people in this group have not met ARR or worked with him etc. So my perspective is purely from the outside.
1) Natural ability: He is a musical genius and this is the first ingredient. This is a god-given gift and there is no other explanation for the same. 2) Intelligence and Emotional intelligence: ARR is a very intelligent man, he comes across as someone very thoughtful and measured. This is then accentuated by his emotional intelligence. Why is this critical ? - ARR composes music primarily for movies, this means his music sense has to combine with a Director's vision of the movie and the two must match. Only then will the music truly capture the essence and emotion of the movie. Even the great Ennio Morricone talks about this as the bedrock of his success. ARR' ability to feel the emotion and convert it to music is exceptional, whatever be the emotion - love, compassion, anger, happiness, etc. 3) Ability and Passion to be world-class: This again comes from his natural intelligence. He Ping (director of warriors of heaven and earth) described ARR's music to this effect - "ARR blends western instruments/music with eastern (indian) melody and creates a sound that is unique only to him". To do this in itself is being a world-class thought leader in music. But even more unique is to do it in the early 90s meant ARR was being world-class even before the world knew what it meant. He was defining a new sense of "great" in music no past definition of greatness. This is belief in one's self. 4) Constant urge and Passion for learning and innovation: ARR never rests with what he knows. He constantly seems to want to do more and better. Infact from the interviews, what I could glean was that Danny Boyle approached him only for a background score on Slumdog millionaire. ARR convinced him to listen to some of the songs for the movie. Danny again tells him "no cellos". Which meant he did not want any emotional or melodious songs. Now ARR's strength is this kind of music. But he takes it on as a challenge and gives Danny the edgy/rough kind of score that he wanted at the same time retaining the ARR essence. And then he wins all these awards. Even ARR will say, he did not foresee all this, but his unique ability to push the edge of his ability and comfort zone has brought this glory. Same thing with RDB - the song lukka chuppi was purely ARR's idea and he naughtily admits that he did it to fulfill a long dream to sing with Lataji. But when the music was done and the movie is watched, that song captures the essence of the movie in a way that is very unique. It is very rare to see anyone push the possibilities so consistently and so well. Numerous such examples be found on this topic. 5) Childlike enthusiasm: Hear ARR speak and you can always see a child somewhere. He wants to learn, he wants to do new stuff, he is never content with his achievements. no arrogance for what he has done. Imagine he goes and learns a new instrument like the continuum and then produces amazing music with it. That innocence and constant energy will always give him ideas and open newer frontiers. It is also the same with technology. ARR till date and since he started has always adopted and mastered new technology. That is a sign of learning and growing rather than stagnating. 6) Ability to overcome hardships at a young age: Particularly in one of his interviews with Simi Garewal, ARR talks about the hardships he had to endure while as a kid his family was struggling and they could not afford him to go to school but work and support the family. This itself is stupendous. But, what I find even more impressive is that he is not and has never been bitter about it. He does not have any self-pity. He talks like a child, but there is a very old and wise man inside when he says, thats what I had to do and that is what I did. For people of his genius and intelligence when you add the quality of taking and overcoming hardships at a youn age, that becomes a very potent combination. Everything else in life looks easy. See his interview with simi garewal on youtube if you want to see this aspect of his character. 7) Finally, but most importantly he is a genuine human being: His integrity is beyond question. His concern for well-being of even the smallest of artists who work for him is genuine. His concern for worldly problems like poverty is again very genuine. His love for his mother, sisters and family is very genuine. With such a great human being, all people will want to love him and support him. There is no other way. This also helps him collaborate and work with many people. These 7 factors in my opinion make ARR an exceptional human being and a genius of a musician. The combination is something out of this world and both aspects feed into each other. May God bless ARR ! Rgds, Ram On Tue, Feb 2, 2010 at 11:44 AM, Kalyan K <[email protected]> wrote: > > > Wow!! Beautiful Article Vithur!! Thanks for sharing. > > Kalyan K. > > On Tue, Feb 2, 2010 at 2:47 PM, Vithur <[email protected]> wrote: > >> >> >> Success thro’ Excellence >> An inspiring story of A R Rahman >> >> >> http://shamimrafeek.blogspot.com/2009/03/ar-rahman-inspiring-story-of-success.html >> >> Few weeks back I wrote an article on M.S Dhoni and the lessons from his >> unique leadership style. We have another role model who has mastered >> excellence in his profession and brought the whole world under his feet - >> The Music Legend - A.R Rahman. >> >> Is there any thing common in these two youth icons of our country ? >> Yes,commitment to excellence is their DNA. Winning is their habit and they >> always perform at ' WOW '! Aiming for perfection and winning the competitive >> edge are the things for what they crave constantly and add them to their >> attitude. The next thing is performance. During any moment of the day, their >> performance is EXCELLENCE. Performance is their language and they understand >> the language of result only. >> >> If you pick up any newspaper or see the web or watch the news these days, >> chances are that you will find an interview of A.R.Rahman. He is all over >> the place after his OSCAR achievement and he really deserves it! All of us >> have been seeing videos of his arrival back to India and his press >> conferences with excitement. >> >> Today, A.R. Rahman is one of the world's most successful musicians. With a >> brand name like Rahman, movies rake in millions. But it isn't just Rahman's >> exceptional enthusiasm that's so contagious, but also the quality and >> success of the work he's churning out. The man has redefined contemporary >> Indian music and has become an icon for millions all over the world. >> >> Like everyone, I have known him and his music right from the time 'Roja' >> was released in 1992.. that's a good 17 years! Everyone speaks of his music, >> and what he eats, sleeps, drinks and what he does when he is free and so on >> so forth. But really, there are things much beyond that one needs to know >> and learn from the legend that A.R.Rahman is. With so many people who speak >> so high of him at all times, there are some things that are unsaid and >> certain things that we so easily ignore about Rahman, that makes him stand >> apart from the clutter. >> >> The musical genius that Rahman is, most of that comes from his being and >> principles. Rahman's success presents some valuable tips to us which can be >> applied to our professional lives and achieve our goals. And on that note, >> with the little that I know of him, let me share some of the learnings from >> A.R.Rahman. >> >> 1. Family - Respect your Parents >> >> It might be very easy to brush this fact aside, but the truth is Rahman >> has always loved, respected and adored his parents. With his father >> R.K.Shekar leaving for heavenly abode when Rahman was nine years old, >> Rahman's mother Kareema Begum, gave Rahman a new ray of hope and fresh lease >> of life. She painfully raised the family, and is one of the driving factors >> of why Rahman is a legend today. >> >> Remember what he said when he received his first OSCAR award, " Mere paas >> ma hai, which means I have nothing but I have a mother, so mother's here, >> her blessings are there with me. I'm grateful for her to have come all the >> way ". Which other music composer or for that matter which other >> media/entertainment/corporate personality do we know who follows this >> principle. How many of us will openly show our love and respect to our >> parents like him. That makes him truly unique. >> >> 2. Belief - Be Spiritually inclined >> >> A.R.Rahman believes in god and spiritualism. Its not about the fact that >> he follows Islam, and offers prayers 5 times a day…its much more than that. >> I believe there is a huge difference between being religious and being >> spiritual, of which the latter is what Rahman is made of. In a recent >> interview Rahman revealed that, "Religion sounds vulgar these days, I am >> more of a spiritual person. And I believe in being consistent with my >> spirituality. As one grows in life, one realizes the magnitude of >> spirituality. It is the most beautiful passion. It raises you above all the >> negativities. For me and my music, spirituality is the most important >> element and I don't think I can create the kind of music I do, if I don't >> practice spirituality." >> >> Spirituality has not only made him connect to his music, but has also made >> him connect to humanity. When he received his second OSCAR, he said " all my >> life I had a choice of hate and love and I chose love and I am here, god >> bless " . That's the powerful message of his spirituality! >> >> 3. Country First - Be Patriotic >> >> Though Rahman acknowledges his accomplishment, after receiving OSCARS he >> quickly points out that this is a COLLECTIVE INDIAN VICTORY. He says, he is >> more happy because this is the first OSCAR for an Indian work and the whole >> country was waiting for this with bated breath and hence he wanted to get >> it. He says, now all Indian artists will be looked upon with more respect as >> we have shown what we are capable of. His patriotism is evident in all his >> patriotic songs including the latest " Jai Ho ". The way he sings ' vande >> mataram ' injects some kind of positive energy into our blood stream ! >> >> 4. Roots - Don't leave your Soul >> >> Mumbai the mecca of Indian films and the entertainment industry, a place >> where any and every musician will find a way out to survive and earn enough >> to feed him for the day. It would have been so easy for a musician like >> Rahman to go and settle in Mumbai and work for acclaimed filmmakers post " >> Roja and Bombay ". But the man preferred not leaving his home, his roots to >> a place where instant fame, recognition and money was assured. Of the many >> ignored facts, Rahman's major success lies in working from his home. Home is >> where your heart, mind, body and soul is. >> >> With no distraction whatsoever, he has all his energies focused on doing >> quality work from the comfort of his home. It means a lot to be based out of >> the place where your family is, where your soul is..your home, your >> hometown. >> >> 5. Focus - Let your work speak for itself >> >> Yes, let your work speak for itself. Many a times, there are instances >> where one will be criticized for the way he is, his dressing, his >> upbringing, his economic background. One will be made fun off, and will be >> called names. One will not get the support he expects to receive from his >> seniors and so on….But at the end of all this, if you have a strong will >> power you can overcome all these, and prove yourself with your work. >> >> There was a time when Rahman was being humiliated by some critics, >> directors and producers over the kind of music he had scored, and all this >> when he was at the peak of his career. He could do nothing about it, and >> preferred to remain calm and unmoved. And when ever his work was released, >> it got an outstanding response and was embraced by the masses. This >> overwhelming response and success was a slap on the face of those critics, >> producers and directors. This tell us, all we need to do is to focus on what >> we are good at, not on the success it can bring. Success will follow us, our >> work will speak of itself. >> >> 6. Service - Consideration for others >> >> Not many may have noticed that Rahman has introduced maybe a hundred new >> young singers to the Tamil and Hindi screens – his faith in the youth of >> India is evident in his statement that he would like youngsters to take a >> different view of music after his winning the OSCARS. Rahman has done what >> no other music director has done for the cause of music-starting a music >> school, the KM MUSIC CONSERVATORY. His objective for starting this school is >> to make Indian musicians have a global orchestra of their own. This is such >> an innovative idea and Rahman is spending a lot of time, money and energy >> towards realizing this noble musical mission! >> >> Rahman is the UN ambassador for the campaign fighting against poverty and >> he has associated himself with many social causes. When he was in a state of >> probably disillusionment - one of the things his mother said to him was "why >> don't you live for others and then you will find a meaning to life". Rahman >> stuck to that and he does music to make people happy and to enrich their >> lives. >> >> On the night he returned to India after receiving the OSCARS, his request >> that his fans ought not to disturb his neighbors in the dead of night >> attracts attention to a long forgotten quality in India—consideration for >> others. >> >> 7. Humility - Be Humble. Be Honest. Be Simple >> >> With all the above in place, being humble, simple and honest is all that >> one needs to do to ensure a great life. With so much of stardom and >> attention after the Golden Globe and OSCARS, Rahman could have got carried >> away with the success, however he always chose work over publicity. >> >> After winning the OSCARS, he was asked by the press, " what's left for you >> to achieve? " He replied in a polite way, " Well, I have not achieved >> anything. I have not ended poverty level. I have not stopped wars >> happening.For me these are achievements. And in my opinion, I am just a >> small musician who has got an award that is it " ! >> >> He carries no weight around him, and that makes him completely >> approachable and genuine. His childlike smile can pacify ones fear and >> anxiety of meeting him in person. Its like his smile speaks a thousand >> words. It depicts the purity of his heart and soul. Each and every success >> makes him more humble, honest and simple. What more we can learn from this >> winner! >> >> Regardless of season he march towards rock climbing success. Even in tough >> time his eyes do not move away from excellence. Commitment, giving 100 >> percent, focusing on performance is the key ingredients to his success. >> Meeting challenges and riding over obstacles are in his blood cells. >> Transferring stumbling stones into opportunities with conviction and leading >> towards 'WOW' level is the essence of his success. >> >> Through his eternal value and simple living A.R Rahman presents us with >> opportunities for professional success provided we learn from them, adapt >> them to our own situations and implement them appropriately. >> >> He convey a message to all of us silently especially to the youth - " >> humble origins need not prevent us from aspiring for and achieving great >> success ". How does he convey this message ? Dil Se ! >> >> Shamim >> >> -- >> regards, >> Vithur >> >> >> >> > >
