" I have an agent there and have taken up one major assignment that I can reveal only after a while because of a non-disclosure clause in my contract. All I can say is that it is a proper American film that will also demand music of the kind that I am at home with." very very interesting :)
Warm Regards ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Vinayak theregoesanotherday.blogspot.com On Wed, Apr 1, 2009 at 3:15 PM, Bivin Chandra <[email protected]>wrote: > I miss those life-changing lyrics!’ > -A<http://www.screenindia.com/news/i-miss-those-lifechanging-lyrics/441299/#> > > *+A<http://www.screenindia.com/news/i-miss-those-lifechanging-lyrics/441299/#> > * > Font > *Rajiv Vijayakar > <http://www.screenindia.com/columnist/rajivvijayakar/>*Posted: > Apr 03, 2009 at 1541 hrs IST > Print > <http://www.screenindia.com/story.php?id=441299&pg=-1>Email<http://www.screenindia.com/static/story-email/> > NewsletterPost > Comments<http://www.screenindia.com/news/i-miss-those-lifechanging-lyrics/441299/#postcomm> > RSS <http://www.expressindia.com/fesyndication/screen.xml> > *He has proved that music may have languages but not boundaries. Here’s > the reticent A.R.Rahman, who has left no award unturned in the last six > months, in a midnight chat from Chennai that brims with rare candour* > > *For two years in succession, you have clinched both the Best Music and > Best Background Music Screen trophies. What do you have to say about this > unique achievement?* > I always feel that nothing can be planned, and sometimes things just fall > into place! Just a few years ago, a lot of things seemed to be going > off-track. Mani Ratnam’s Lajjo, Shyam Benegal’s Chamki and Krishna Shah’s > Baiju and one or two other musicals were wonderful subjects that inspired me > then - and none of them even took off! On the other hand, Jaane Tu...Ya > Jaane Na that got me your Best Music trophy this year was almost shelved - > till Aamir Khan took over its production. Last year, a lot of my films came > all together - Jaane Tu..., Jodhaa Akbar, Yuvvraaj, the music of Ada, > Ghajini and then Slumdog Millionaire. > So I have stopped expecting anything in life. If good things happen, it’s > okay, but if they don’t, at least you are not frustrated! (Laughs). > > *Do two background music trophies indicate that the background score is > gaining more importance nowadays?* > Background music is something that needs ten times more energy than making > songs. You can do songs for four more films in the time you take for > composing a background music score for just one movie! In the West, they are > amazed that in Indian films the same person composes both the songs and the > background score. But over here, whether it was Naushadsaab in Hindi films, > Ilayaraja down here or most other composers, we have had this tradition > almost as a culture. > Speaking for myself, I like to do both and it is about my credibility and > sometimes when I get both right, it is a great high for me! > > *Why do you use the word “sometimes”? Why are you so modest, almost > Bachchan-esquely so, in your statements?* > I have so much to learn and so much to achieve. And things can go wrong > despite hard work so often. You can’t orchestrate results and the magic just > happens sometimes. When it does, every aspect of the film and the music > blends together, sometimes intentionally, sometimes unintentionally! > > *“Unintentionally”!* > Well, sometimes you are trying to do your part right and it may or may not > happen. Or things can just go wrong elsewhere. Just one slip - like in an > expression on the face of one actor, or in the way a director expresses > himself, or even some technical point can prevent everything from falling in > place. So when everything turns out perfect, as in my Tu hi re in Bombay or > as in Pyar kiya to darna kya in Mughal-E-Azam, you feel blessed like an > angel. > > *Gulzarsaab tells us that you light a candle when your singer enters the > recording cabin. Have you always done this?* > I began to do it after my first visit to Khwaja Gharib Nawaz at Ajmer > Sharif. The candles lit there have an effect I cannot describe. In my studio > too, it is so inspirational and organic amidst all the electronic gadgets. > > *He also tells us that over the decade since you first worked with him in > Dil Se..., you have become much more familiar with the Hindi film mijaaz or > temperament. Would you agree?* > I have become more conscious of the language. Subhash (Ghai)ji and some > others made me conscious about that when I began working with them. I always > had this belief that music has no language and that a tune could be > converted by extraordinary lyrics into a great song in any language. But > Subhashji taught me otherwise. In Taal, Anand Bakshisaab wrote most of the > lyrics before I made the tunes. The same was the case with The Legend Of > Bhagat Singh and Sameerji. I realised that you cannot express certain words > just anyhow. The elongation of syllables or of words - the syntax, that is - > is something that is peculiar to every language. So I am learning Urdu for > the last 2-3 years and my Hindi vocabulary is also up by 40-50 per cent! > > *And did that also apply to English?* > English was easier for me, though when I took up Bombay Dreams, I did not > know whether I could pull it off. But I managed, I think, though the first > song, Journey home, was already made before I took up the project. And with > the passage of years, as you get the time to evolve and be more of yourself, > you begin to learn which song to hold back, even if you have liked it > yourself, when you are offering a director your compositions. > > *How upsetting is it when a film like Delhi - 6 does not work and your > music does not get its due?* > Initially I would find such a contingency very painful, but now I have > learnt to be detached. I explained to myself that the next assignment is > waiting and that you can’t spoil it by brooding on this but should aim to > score there instead! With Rakeyshji, I was very happy with both Rang De > Basanti and Delhi-6, but when a film does not work I think that all of us > should admit that we have gone wrong somewhere. Music alone may not have > ever helped a film become a hit, but it is definitely one of the major > factors. > And yet, even success or failure of a film is relative: I know people who > have watched Dil Se... 30-40 times just for one sequence and I know of > people who loved Delhi-6. Like I said, it’s all about the right timing. > Society’s state of mind and its concerns are all important. People do not > like darkness in films now because I guess there is so much of it in real > life! (Laughs) > > *And coming to Slumdog Millionaire, a cliché that you will have to answer > again for us, Did you expect the film and your songs to reach where they > have?* > No way! (Laughs). But yes, I loved the film when I watched it.. All I was > thinking about is that I wanted to work with a filmmaker as loved and > respected as Danny Boyle. There was something strangely positive about the > film - I remember feeling inexplicably relieved at the end of the movie. > > *So you worked on the music after the film was complete.* > Yes and after putting in the songs Danny re-cut the film. > > *How did you get the idea of working with M.I.A.?* > I find her an extraordinary artiste who makes political statements with her > music. Some years back, she had come down to record her music at my studio > because she needed some specific kind of percussion and had expressed a wish > to work with me then because she liked the energy in my music. At that time, > I was busy. But when this opportunity arose, I naturally took it. > > *How do you react to Indians slamming Jai ho as nowhere compared to your > best songs, even though its versions abroad have rocked charts too?* > Well, I had to make something that was right for the film. It wasn’t a > situation that demanded a Beethoven’s Symphony or a Ba-ba black sheep! > Composing for films is not about showing the world what you can do. You have > to get something right first and then try and excel in it. The reverse way > would be disastrous. > > *The other criticism is that you have reworked Choli ke peeche from > Khal-Nayak as Ringa ringa. But despite the story you gave to a section of > the press, it just had a similar flavour.* > I was misquoted in that story - I never said that I was remixing the song. > I only said that I was influenced by that song as the most important anthem > of the 1990s, which is the era being shown when Ringa ringa is playing in > the film. That was the reason why I chose not to compose a completely > diverse song for this situation and also why I took the same singers - Alka > Yagnik and Ila Arun. It was my ode to Laxmikant-Pyarelal, Subhash Ghai and > the song’s team. > > *Digressing a bit, don’t you feel that Subhashji’s Yuvvraaj was very > underrated among your scores from last year?* > I agree. Of late, Subhashji has been repeatedly unlucky - in the 1990s, I > was to do a fantastic subject called Shikhar with him. In 2003, there was > Motherland. Neither film took off. And now it is Yuvvraaj, on which we > worked for almost two years and made some extraordinary songs, that went > unnoticed for various reasons, while Slumdog..., on which I worked for two > weeks, went so far. Life can be so unpredictable! > > *And what were your first thoughts when you won first one trophy and then > another - and we do not mean the words you spoke at the Oscar ceremony where > you also have to keep in mind the audience?* > I was extremely happy that my mother, my wife and my sister Ishrat, who is > a singer, were all there with me. Such occasions are less about personal > happiness and more about what precious people around you, especially your > family and friends, feel. My first thought when the first award was > announced was nothing - my mind went blank since I was due to sing in some > 20 seconds! (Laughs) When the second award was declared, I just wanted to > take the trophy, go into my room and sleep!! (Laughs again). The one week of > anticipation, rehearsals and tensions all dissolved into that! > > *And what do you feel - sorry again for the clichéd query - about being > the first Indian to clinch two Oscars?* > I can’t gauge anything now - maybe I will know after a couple of years. > Let’s see what good things come out of it. > > *And now we have so many fans in India depressed because you will be > working here for a less here..* > (Laughs) Honestly, after Bombay Dreams I had scope to do work outside but > never used the opportunity. I was not ready then - not that I am ready now! > (Chuckles) - but I came back here then and as it happened did some pretty > ordinary work! But now I want to work there - for me, it’s more about > developing relationships, collaborating, culturally connecting and doing the > right organic stuff. I have an agent there and have taken up one major > assignment that I can reveal only after a while because of a non-disclosure > clause in my contract. All I can say is that it is a proper American film > that will also demand music of the kind that I am at home with. > > *And what are the Indian films in your bag?* > I have Anthony D’Souza’s Blue, Mani Ratnam’s Ravan, Abbas Tyrewala’s 1 - > 800 - Love and one more film. In Chennai. I have Robot and the animation > film Sultan with Rajnikanth and a film with Gautham Menon. > > *What changes do we get to see in your music after the Oscar win?* > There will not be a change in my music but I have to be more careful - > because I guess my music will be noticed by more people now. I guess we have > to culturally accommodate as much as we can. There is definitely a sense of > pressure but that’s good. Good music always comes with honesty and when made > directly from the heart and by being conscious of melody. > > *A lot of new composers have come in of late. Have any of them impressed > you?* > I like their spirit and also their desire to experiment. At the same time, > however, I miss excellent melodies and life-changing lyrics in today’s music > and I am looking forward to hearing some of those. Lyrics, for example, > should be much more than about Soniye and Maahiya! The new music directors > must also realise that it is a team that consolidates your work - you need a > director who understands you. Ismail Darbar got one in Sanjay Leela Bhansali > and Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy in Farhan Akhtar. A composer cannot be like an > island. The director has a huge hand in decisions about both creativity and > also dignity - dignity about what you should and should not do, about a > mission for reviving something good and other firm convictions. > > >
