Into the mind of A.R. Rahman
THE MUSIC MAESTRO TALKS ABOUT FILMS, SOCIAL MEDIA, POLITICS AND MUCH MORE...
After 25 years of entertaining people, A.R. Rahman opens up about how music has become a way of life. In this exclusive chat with DC, he talks about the advice he gives his team, the different avatars he’s taking on and much more.
Q A journey of 25 years
I am grateful for the love of people, the directors, lyricists, singers and actors.
Qmusic Did you always know was going to be your life?
I was more interested in electronics! (laughs) But my mom knew even back then; parents always see the future and have better foresight. Once I started pursuing music though, I developed an active interest in it. Initially when we went to a studio, they chucked us out. But once I started my own studio, the interest of creating something new grew. Today, I always ask my people this question... now you have a studio, equipment, time, energy and money; what stops you from doing great work? Why should you settle for ordinary?
Q What do awards and honours mean to you?
It is a good feeling as a composer and a music producer. People love the music I make. It gives the team a lot of energy and motivation.
Q You have seen plenty of success as well as few failures. How do you handle both?
As long as we do our work properly, it feels good. At the same time if it fails — like in Vikramasimha — it is disheartening. There are many other factors, which results in the failure of a film. There’s no point brooding over it.
Q You are a very spiritual person even today...
I am strongly driven by spirituality, every three hours, I pray. If I miss out on my next prayer, the whole system collapses! It is good for me that it has become a part of my life, like eating or breathing. My prayers protect me — physically and mentally.
Q You are associated with so many causes. Do you think, you can do better by entering politics?
No way, I am not inclined towards politics. But it is very important to invest in creating a great leader, who is kind, forward-thinking, and who will change the country. If done, in 20 years from now, we will become a truly great country.
Q Social media — a boon or a bane?
I think that whatever I do and say, is recorded. If all those things are played back in front of everyone in the world after I die, will I be proud of it? If I say something, I should stand by it.
Sometimes Wikipedia and other websites carry news without checking. Do you know how I lose movies in Hollywood? They list movies — even those that I am not doing! When a Hollywood filmmaker sees that, he or she feels I am very busy and may not be available for them.
Q Tell us about your new avatars — script writer/producer for ‘99 Songs’ and director for ‘Le Mask’...
99 Songs is in the pre-production stage. The shooting for Le Mask is over — it is not a regular feature film. A lot could be explored in music through the concept of virtual reality. In Le Mask, using VR, the viewer is virtually transported into the film and all the objects become mobile and one can even smell the surroundings.
Sometimes news websites carry news without fact checking, due to which I have lost some Hollywood projects