Globe & Mail is one of the leading newspapers here in Canada.. will try to get yesterday's paper's copy.. which features this interview :)
--- In [email protected], Gopal Srinivasan <catchg...@...> wrote: > > http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/music/music-interview-with-bollywoods-ar-rahman/article1609314/ > MusicBollywood and fine > [image: A.R. Rahman won two Academy Awards for his music score in the movie > 'Slumdog Millionaire'.] > > Years after playing a bit part in one of his own song-and-dance > blockbusters, composer A.R. Rahman talks to the Globe's Joanna Slater about > his myriad musical inspirations, his Slumdog Oscar and his first world tour > > - Share with > friends<http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/music/music-interview-with-bollywoods-ar-rahman/article1609314/#> > - Print or > License<http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/music/music-interview-with-bollywoods-ar-rahman/article1609314/#> > - > > > - > - > Article<http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/music/music-interview-with-bollywoods-ar-rahman/article1609314/#article> > - > - Comments > > > <http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/music/music-interview-with-bollywoods-ar-rahman/article1609314/#comments> > - > > Joanna Slater > > NEW YORK Globe and Mail UpdatePublished on Friday, Jun. 18, 2010 1:18PM > EDTLast updated on Friday, Jun. 18, 2010 3:16PM EDT > > On a sunny afternoon in suburban Long Island, elevator music is piping into > the atrium lobby of a Marriott hotel. Or perhaps it's some kind of very > smooth jazz. It's the type of tune that you barely hear, deadening the ears > and perhaps the brain. > > It feels absurd, somehow, that this musical slush will serve as the backdrop > for a meeting with the reigning maestro of Bollywood. This is the man whose > thumping, soaring anthems have bewitched millions, making him one of the > bestselling musical artists on the planet. > > In India, where chart-topping songs come almost exclusively from films, A.R. > Rahman occupies a position for which there is no equivalent in North > America. Imagine a cross between a renowned film composer (John Williams, > say) and a blockbuster recording artist (Michael Jackson, maybe) and you'll > start to have a sense of his celebrity. > > Among his fellow Tamils, he's known as *Isai Puyal*, or Musical Storm, an > apt description for the way his songs have thundered across the Indian film > industry and into the national consciousness. His Oscar-winning soundtrack > for *Slumdog Millonaire* is a source of national pride, but redundant in a > way: Everyone in India already knew that Rahman's music rocked. > > He doesn't write the lyrics for his songs, but they have a distinct style, > as *Slumdog*'s tracks showed: groovy beats, plaintive melodies, and a global > cache of instruments from the sitar to violins to Japanese taiko drums. > > During my own exceedingly brief stint as an extra in a Bollywood film six > years ago, it was Rahman who wrote the movie's score, and also sang on one > track, as he often does. So it's fair to say that I experience a minor jolt > when the revolving door in the lobby turns and I see him in person: a small > man wearing jeans, a denim shirt, and a frayed green cap. We repair to a > nearby restaurant, beyond the reach of the smooth jazz. > > Rahman, 43, flops onto the banquette seat with his can of mixed-fruit soda. > His flight from Los Angeles arrived the previous night, and after sleeping > through the morning, as is his habit, he headed to a nearby mosque for > afternoon prayers. > > He is in New York to launch a new concert tour, dubbed the A.R. Rahman Jai > Ho Concert: The Journey Home World Tour. The travelling two-and-a-half hour > spectacle will touch down in 16 cities worldwide, including Toronto on > Sunday and Vancouver on June 30. > > "These days, Rahman moves in a kind of musical stratosphere" > > Bringing the show to life requires a cast and crew of 75, including > musicians, singers, and a troupe of insanely energetic dancers. As is > fitting for a Bollywood blowout, there are colourful sets and costumes, > often accompanied by stunning backgrounds projected onto a huge screen. > Rahman sings, jams with other musicians, plays the piano, and even takes a > turn at the harmonium. > > Asked about the show, whose opening night is now just hours away, he jokes > about the "trauma" involved in the months of preparation, adding that all > the rehearsing has made him "a bit numb." He laughs easily and speaks so > softly that at times I strain to hear him. > > Beyond concerns about the show, he seems preoccupied. His youngest daughter, > 11, one of his three children, recently had heart surgery in India to > address a birth defect. While he was in rehearsals, she developed > complications and had to return to the intensive-care unit. "It's such a tug > of war, an emotional tug of war," he says. When the tour ends, he'll head > home, but in the meantime, there are video chats. "It's a boon, isn't it, > Skype," he says. > > Then there's the work. Back in Chennai, formerly known as Madras, there are > three soundtracks awaiting his attention that need to be finished over the > next month. Rahman is also in talks with a major Hollywood studio, but > worries about the pressures involved in movies where the budgets run to > $100-million or more. "If something goes wrong, blame it on the music," he > says. "They can't throw out the actor, they can't throw out the director." > > These days, Rahman moves in a kind of musical stratosphere. He is on a > first-name basis with Australian singer Kylie Minogue. He bonded with > Michael Jackson not long before the star's death. He was particularly > tickled to meet Peter Gabriel, whom he cites as an inspiration. (Also on his > list of influences: Indian classical singer Kumar Gandharva, film composer > Ennio Morricone, Czech classical composer Leos Janacek, and the band Queen). > > Rahman met Gabriel at the Golden Globes, though in a somewhat awkward twist, > they turned out to be competing at the Oscars in the category of best > original song (Gabriel, for a track from the film *WALL-E*). "You know > inside you want to win," says Rahman. "But you feel like, `Oh my God, he's > almost like my teacher. And he has to win.' " Rahman hoots with laughter. > (He won the Oscar for *Slumdog*'s *Jai Ho*). > > The key turning point on his journey to stardom, he says, was a spiritual > one. Born A.S. Dileep Kumar, he converted from Hinduism to Islam in his > early 20s, an unusual and potentially contentious choice given India's > religious politics. He later changed his name to Allah Rakha Rahman. > > Rahman says his path toward Sufi Islam began with the death of his father, > also a musician, who passed away when Rahman was only 9. "It's a deep story, > I could write a book on it," he says. "It'll offend a lot of people." > There's more to say, but he won't talk about it on the record. A recent > biography of Rahman notes that he believes his father was killed by a kind > of black magic. > > Sufi devotional songs and writings have helped inspire some of his biggest > hits. "Poetry like that, it's got its own potency, its own truth," he says. > "Whatever you throw on it, it comes like gold." > > A talented keyboard player, Rahman started out writing advertising jingles > before his big break at 25. A director named Mani Ratnam asked him to write > the music for the 1992 film *Roja*. Rahman took six months to produce the > score, an eternity in the Indian movie industry, where it wasn't unusual to > expect a full complement of songs from a composer in five or six days. > > The waiting paid off. Made in Tamil, *Roja* was dubbed into Hindi and other > Indian languages, turning into a major national hit. Ratnam and Rahman went > on to collaborate on two more films in the 1990s, *Dil Se*and *Bombay*, > whose soundtracks were also monster hits. The trilogy introduced Indians to > a distinctly Rahman sound: inspired by Indian traditions but possessing a > chameleon-like quality, blending such influences as rock and reggae. > > As our interview wraps up, I can't resist asking Rahman about the film in > which I played that tiny role, a historical epic called *Mangal Pandey: The > Rising*. He groans. It turns out that five years after the movie's release, > the producer still hasn't paid Rahman in full for the music. > > Later that night, he takes to the stage. The show a collaborative effort > between Rahman and Los Angeles-based Amy Tinkham is alternately dazzling > and perplexing. There's a beautiful virtual duet between Rahman and Lata > Mangeshkar, the aging queen of Indian women singers, whose apparition hovers > over the stage. But there's also what may be a prison-themed instrumental > number complete with dancers writhing on bars. By the last half hour, a > series of rousing hits has the crowd on its feet. > > In the days after the show, I find myself humming the songs on the subway, > at the office, back at home. They refuse to yield, proof that Rahman's magic > has worked again. > > *The Journey Home World Tour stops in Toronto on Sunday, and in Vancouver on > June 30.* >
