A multifaceted musical genius By S Murari Chennai-born Allah Rakha Rahman has come a long way since his song Chinna chinna aasai in his debut film Roja (1992), which won a national award.
All big journeys start with a small step, as the cliche goes. Chennai-born Allah Rakha Rahman has come a long way since his song Chinna chinna aasai in his debut film Roja (1992), which won a national award. In 17 years, he has reached the pinnacle of success by winning two Oscars for his original score and song Jai Ho in Slumdog Millionaire. In a way, Chinna Chinna aasai (meaning little desires) personified his character, for they were anything but small he wanted to reach out to the moon and be the centre of universe, among other things. But his ambition was not overt or aggressive. It was his modesty in an industry known for sycophancy that won him admirers more than his songs, some of which do tug at your heart. During a concert at Chennai a few years ago, when song writer Vaali praised Rahman sky-high, Rahman rushed down from the top of the stage, literally touched his feet and asked him to stop. That was Rahmans way of winning peoples hearts. Success did not go to his head. That did not mean that Rahman did not covet an Oscar. A few years ago, when he visited Los Angeles, Rahman got himself photographed with an Oscar statue and wondered child-like if he would ever win the award. Critics say Slumdog is in a way a reflection of his life from humble beginnings to celebrity status. Born Dilip in 1967, Rahman was nine years old when he lost father R K Shekhar, who was assistant to music director G K Venkatesh. After the death of his father, the family went through hard times, making ends meet by renting out musical instruments. He converted to Islam (Sufism) in 1989 along with his family after he was reportedly cured of serious illness by a hakeem. During his early years, Rahman served as a keyboard player and a musical arranger in bands such as Roots with childhood friend and percussionist Sivamani, John Anthony and JoJo. He played the keyboard and the piano, synthesiser, harmonium and the guitar. His curiosity on the synthesiser in particular increased because, he says, it was the ideal combination of music and technology. He began his training in music under Master Dhanraj at a young age. When he turned 11, he joined Ilaiyaraaja troupe playing the keyboard. Raja was one of many composers to whom musical instruments belonging to Rahmans father were rented. Rahman later played in M S Viswanathan and Ramesh Naidu orchestra, accompanied Zakir Hussain, Kunnakudi Vaidyanathan and L Shankar on world tours and obtained a scholarship to attend the Trinity College of Music in London, where he graduated with a degree in Western classical music. In 1992, Rahman began his own music recording and mixing studio built in the backyard of his house. He initially composed jingles for advertisements, Indian television channels and music scores for documentaries. It was a 20-second jingle with veena strains wafting through the air that added aroma to a coffee advertisement. Tamil film director Mani Ratnam noticed that and signed him up for Roja in 1992. Rahman got the Rajat Kamal award for best music director for that film, the first ever by a first-time film composer. Rahman has since won the award three more times. His genius lay in fusing Western classical with Carnatic, Tamil traditional/folk, jazz, reggae and rock music. Though other great composers like Salil Choudhry, Sachin and Rahul Dev Burman, not to mention Ilayaraja, were equally at ease with western as well as Hindustani classical music. Theirs was a small world whereas Rahman was born into a global village. The Hindi versions of Roja and Bombay, both by Mani Rathnam, introduced Rahman to Bollywood. It was Ram Gopal Vermas Rangeela which established him there. Sufi mysticism formed the basis of Chaiyya Chaiyya from Dil Se and Zikr from Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose: The Forgotten Hero. He composed songs with Hindustani motifs for Water (2005). Later he co-scored Shekhar Kapoors Elizabeth: The Golden Age in 2007. But the real break came in Bombay Dreams of Andrew Lloyd Webber, a musical that took the West by storm; never mind that most scores were rehashes of his Hindi and Tamil films hits. 2009 has been the year of awards for Rahman. The Lord of the Rings, co-composed by him, was voted as one of the 10 greatest musicals of the last 30 years in an online poll conducted by Dress Circle, on January 16, the leading website which covers theatre in the UK. He was well on the way to winning an Oscar for his score in Slumdog when he got the Golden Globe and the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA). Through Slumdog, he brought glory to London-based Sri Lankan Tamil Mathangi Arulprakasam and her rock group MIA (meaning missing in action, as her father, a militant, was underground most of the time). Rahman perhaps had an inkling that Slumdog would change his life. To quote him when he teamed up with Danny Boyle: To say life is full of surprises is a cliche... when the sudden call from Danny came through, it was truly unexpected... and to know that Danny has been closely listening to my work caught me by another big surprise Slumdog the soundtrack is a result of the mutual admiration we have for each other and was a blast to work on. it was also great fun working with MIA. She brings great flavour and energy to the soundtrack, as Salim in the last reel of the film states God is great. Critics say Rahman is yet to cross the benchmark he has created for himself in Chinna, chinna aasai and in any case, Slumdog is not his best work. But this is the time for congratulations and celebrations. Jai ho Rahman! http://deccanherald.com/Content/Feb242009/panorama20090223120273.asp
