http://www.bangaloremirror.com/article/81/2010090420100904205519203a6b75953/Lost-to-the-world.html
Lost to the world
Has India’s favourite music composer moved on to a bigger, global platform?
Chandrima.Pal
Posted On Saturday, September 04, 2010 at 08:55:19 PM
>From Internet blogs to the denizens of Delhi’s South Block, everyone is
splitting hair over his compositions. But the man behind it all is ensconced in
his Chennai studio, unfazed by the furore around him. Like the proverbial eye
of
the storm.
For A R Rahman, these are the best of times, the worst of times. His art is at
its most eclectic, garnering international acclaim heralding him as one of the
world’s best. In his own country detractors are declaring that he has lost his
touch. He is buying a five-acre plot in Los Angeles to set up his production
facility with sound engineer Resul Pookutty. He is also being accused of being
indifferent, aloof to his Bollywood projects, delaying them and churning out
music that often stumps listeners. With every milestone in the West, Rahman
seems to move a step away from home.
His fiercest critics are ironically in the industry that has given him his
biggest successes — until of course Slumdog. The Hindi film fraternity has
always had an uneasy relationship with Rahman, who is still god down south.
Many
in Bollywood find it hard to accept his artistic ways – he remains in Chennai,
works mostly at night, has his own creative yardsticks for choosing projects
and
delivers only when he is ready. Some feel his best is behind him, others feel
he is constantly breaking new ground.
“Given his style of functioning and his inaccessibility,” says trade expert
Amod
Mehra, “Bollywood always had a problem working with him.” Rahman has never made
any excuses for the way he functions. And his studio can seem forbidding, or
inspiring.
“There is a divine energy there,” says Subhash Ghai, who has shared an
emotional
bond with the composer since his Shikhar days. “It is not your usual
sharaab-kebab kind of atmosphere that you encounter in most Mumbai studios.”
Ghajini-producer Madhu Mantena, who has worked closely with Rahman since
Rangeela, too says watching the maestro in his studio is like entering a very
sacred space.
CONSPIRACY THEORIES
But Rahman’s inaccessibility – which critics say has increased post his
international-success – has not helped.
“If you are a newbie,” says a producer who has met the maestro and is still
waiting for his verdict on his proposal. “You have to make at least 10 trips to
his studio to discuss your project with him. Unlike other music composers,
money
is no criteria for him. There is no saying why or when he will pick one project
over the other,” the producer adds.
“Now he is zipping around the world,” rues an ad filmmaker who is still waiting
for a meeting, “it is almost impossible for one to get his time and consent.”
Rubbishing these as conspiracy theories, Mantena points out that Rahman has
worked with several newcomers including Abbas Tyrewala, whose Jaane Tu... he
had
accepted way before Aamir Khan came into the picture.
“Besides, he is so dedicated to his work that each song probably goes through
more changes than the script itself,” Mantena reveals, agreeing with other
insiders like Ram Gopal Varma. “No matter how pressured he is, Rahman will
never let a tune pass until he is happy about it.”
On the flip side, that can translate into nail-biting moments for the
always-in-a-tearing-hurry Bollywood producer. Thus, the notion that Rahman is
delaying projects.
Mantena denies the maestro kept him waiting for months for the title track for
his latest, Jhootha Hi Sahi. “There are nine songs and the time taken was the
same as any other album,” the producer says.
There were also rumours that the Jodhaa Akbar music launch was delayed because
the soundtrack was not ready, though the label and the production house denied
it. The Commonwealth Games theme took six months, and then it was back to the
drawing board after the organising committee wanted Rahman to make changes.
“A single failure does not bring anyone down, not at least Rahman, who still
has
the mass with him,” says Mehra, referring to the Commonwealth controversy.
“However, Rahman has not been showing his best elements on his recent works,”
he
adds.
“You cannot judge Rahman on the basis of one song,” says sitar maestro Pandit
Kartick Kumar, who was featured in Rahman and Bharat Bala’s Jana Gana Mana
project. Pandit Kumar worked with Pandit Ravi Shankar during Asiad ’82, when
the
sitar legend composed the then-hugely popular Swagatham. “People have been
comparing that tune to what Rahman has created. It is not fair to compare a
classic with a more contemporary track,” Pandit Kumar says. “But, yes, maybe
Rahman should not have sung the song himself. Just because his Vande Mataram
clicked, does not mean he can bring the same energy to every song he lends his
voice to,” adds Kumar.
The veteran sitar exponent puts it down to an unfortunate error of judgement by
an otherwise superlative production designer and musician.
CRITICS VS LOYALISTS
Rahman’s world is divided into critics and loyalists. “It is every filmmaker’s
dream to work with Rahman,” says director Anthony D’ Souza, who has graciously
accepted all the brickbats for the mega-budget disaster called Blue. Critics
flayed Blue’s Chiggy Wiggy, in which Rahman worked with one of the world’s
biggest pop stars, Kylie Minogue. “I am willing to do anything to have Rahman
agree to my next,” D’Souza maintains.
Rahman loyalists say you cannot judge a Rahman tune instantly; it’s not fast
food, it’s gourmet cuisine. Others seriously question whether he takes any real
interest in the Bollywood projects any more.
Ram Gopal Varma, who gave Rahman his first Hindi break with his 1995-hit
Rangeela, wrote in his blog about the making of the soundtrack: ‘...the
compositions he came up with used to surprise me, though not always pleasantly.
That is because his tunes were so original in his interpretation of the emotion
of a situation that a conventional ear will take time to let it sink in.’
Mantena too believes Rahman’s style is so ‘different’ that it shocks you the
first time. “It depends a lot on what you have been used to listening to,”
adds
the producer.
“Rahman has always maintained he cares less about how the music is received
and
more about being true to the project,” says Mehra. “And while in the past his
musical instincts have served him well, something seems to be going wrong
now.”
The evolution of Rahman from the man who made hummable, instantly likeable
tunes
to someone who makes stylised and challenging music that often leaves you
scratching your head on first listen, has coincided with his exposure to the
best in the West. Sagar Desai, composer, sound designer of Quickgun
Murugan-fame, has an explanation: “May be Rahman does not feel obliged to make
tunes that appeal to the humble rickshawwallah anymore, but is more interested
in staying true to his artistic core, no matter what the consequences.”
There’s no denying Rahman is one of the world’s busiest musicians. He has
toured
across continents – including trying to put up a Michael Jackson-esque show in
his last aborted US tour – worked on some of the world’s biggest projects, with
the world’s biggest names. He has also delivered at least 60 soundtracks
(Hindi,
Tamil, Telugu, you name it), with a hit or three in every one of them. But
increasingly, the misses have piled up. Has Rahman — who once admitted to being
bad at multitasking — spread himself too thin?
“When Rahman was working for Taal,” says Ghai, “he was completely immersed in
the craft of composing. But while working with him on Yuvraaj, I realised he
was
probably having trouble focusing with so much on his plate these days. You
cannot blame him. He is an explorer who is hungry for more and wants to
discover
new sounds and new techniques. You have to allow him to grow. May be there are
not enough challenges for him here.”
One of Rahman’s biggest contributions to the Indian music industry is the way
he
has treated musicians, who often feel short-changed by most composers.
“What makes him stand apart from the others is his ability to understand a
musician and his comfort zone,” says Neil Mukherjee, who has played guitar for
Rahman over seven years on several projects. “He will never make you feel
uncomfortable.” And this quality of empathy, feels Mukherjee, is also tied to
the maestro’s strong spiritual leanings.
But in the chop and change world of Indian film music, you cannot survive on
spirituality. “He is extremely spiritual and sharp at the same time,” says
Ghai.
“He is like Lord Krishna.”
Rahman’s demanding the lion’s share of the music publishing rights for his
films
has not earned him too many well-wishers in the industry. The Om Shanti Om
music
composer shift (from Rahman to Vishal-Shekhar) was because Rahman wanted part
of
the music royalty rights. “Any change is frowned at,” he said then, “I am
standing up for what I think is right.”
Ghai also says Rahman has become tech savvy, worldly wise over the years: “I
have seen him update his gadgets and consoles after every six months, and 2001
onwards [post-Lagaan], I have seen him get increasingly clued into what is
happening across the world. He is the best we have. Sometimes the artiste
becomes much bigger than his art. You can’t help it.”
Recent Rahman
CWG Anthem
Only for Rahmaniacs
Robot
Hit in south, crashing elsewhere
Raavan
Confusing
Blue
Mixed, mostly negative
Slumdog Millionaire
Global phenomenon, but perplexing at home
Delhi 6
Acclaimed
Jaane Tu...
Pappu made India dance
Yuvvraj
Better than the film
Ghajini
Mixed response
Jodhaa Akbar
Esoteric, classy
Sivaji
Fans rejoiced, few takers elsewhere
