I don't think remix is a bad word: AR Rahman

MUSICAL GENIUS: He has revolutionised Indian film music and now he is nurturing young talent.

            

Other stories in the section:

Masand's Verdict: Rock On rocks | Wanted is good fun

Other reviews: Wall-E | Wanted | Mukhbir | Chamku

• Katrina is a part of our family: Sohail Khan

• Wall-E: Most adorable non-human since ET

Featured Blog

Rajdeep Sardesai

Bhiwani to Beijing: Lessons from a journey

Featured Slideshows

Related Headlines

powered by

• Interview: Sound of Rahman
• Exclusive: Shankar, Ehsaan, Loy get candid
• To Catch A Star: Shreya Ghoshal | Her songs

Keywords: Rajeev Masand, Rahman Rhapsody

There's little one can say about him that has not been said before. He is a musical genius whose popularity spans across continents. He has revolutionised Indian film music and now he is nurturing young talent at his own music conservatory. The man who delivers music from the heart and he is AR Rahman.

Rajeev Masand: Let me start today by throwing an accusation at you. You seem to be reserving the best songs in your album for yourself, whether it is Khwaja mere Khwaja from Jodha Akbar, Tere Bina from Guru, whether it is a song from Sivaji. Is it pure selfishness or is it the fact that you think that you can bring something to the songs that perhaps others can’t?

AR Rahman: I don’t make decisions for myself. I leave it to the directors. In Tere Bina, I had Khader Mustafa who I liked very much. But Mani Ratnam felt that I should sing it. Khwaja mere Khwaja was a song done as a template to listen to and when I played it Ashutosh wanted it. He added it. It was not there in the film earlier.

In Jaane Tu, it was just the opposite. He did not want my voice. He felt it was too soft. I said I like this song and I will do another song for you. He then asked me to re sing it. Initially it was soft jazz and he did not like it. He wanted it more aggressive and more fun kind of singing.

Rajeev Masand: Originally I know, you were committed to do music for Om Shanti Om but you did not do it because you were refused the publishing rights, which is the ownership rights. I know it is common practice in the West and makes perfect sense that the person who creates the music should own the music.

AR Rahman: It is both ways. Some people buyout the music and it is transparent. The buy out is shared. But in this case, strangely we never intended to do that. At that particular time, when my company was launched, I realised the importance of having a publishing of ones own. I have reached 41 now and somewhere I felt that I have to do something for my kids and the generation and in a way to exploit our music in the west, something like an ambassador in the other country. Like recently there is a movie, The Accidental Husband, which has three of my Tamil songs. To give more scope and accessibility to my stuff, it is important. It is a little shocking in the beginning but people are getting used to it.

Rajeev Masand: Did you hear the music of OSO?

AR Rahman: Yes. I liked it. I would not have been able to do it the way it was done.

Rajeev Masand: Was it very different from what you had imagined doing it when you were committed to do it?

AR Rahman: I had a couple of meetings with Farah and we were discussing the Bombay theme and it is unfortunate that we could not work on this. But we are great friends and we will be working in future.

Rajeev Masand: I also know that you were committed to doing Kamal's film Dasavatharam, which you couldn't because time constraints did not allow you.

AR Rahman: Yes at that particular time, I was doing many things. I was travelling and Kamal ji wanted me to give the music immediately and it was a huge film. I knew the kind of work it would require. I knew I could not do justice in that short period.

Rajeev Masand: You were replaced then by Himesh Reshammiya. Were you insulted?

AR Rahman: No, not at all. Himesh did the songs but I think Devi Sri Prasad did the background music.

Rajeev Masand: Have you heard the music?

AR Rahman: No, I have not heard the music.

Rajeev Masand: He has also sung in Tamil.

AR Rahman: I would love to listen to it.

Rajeev Masand: What do you think of him as a singer? You have used so many Bombay voices. You have introduced so many people in the music industry. How come you haven’t found anything for Himesh?

AR Rahman: I think he has got a particular style. I have heard him very closely and I think he is capable of much more. In fact we were co-judges in a show for a channel. So, I am waiting for the right song for Himesh. I like him as a person and I wish him all the best.

Rajeev Masand: You know that he is a movie actor now as well.

AR Rahman: Yes I know. Awesome.

Rajeev Masand: I know you have started a music Conservatory in Chennai. Is this your way of giving back to the industry?

AR Rahman: I just get panicky thinking what if there are no violin players and no trumpet players and I would have to go to Prague or London again or other places. Not only me, Ilayarajah goes to Budapest and Salim goes to Prague. We are all passionate about music and if we don’t have the right kind of players then we will have to compromise and even spend more. I was waiting for someone to bell the cat. I waited for almost 10 years. It did not happen. So just a week before my birthday, I decided to do it. Everything has gone well and we will start in June.

Rajeev Masand: Do you find that we are too lenient as a society? Why are we so indifferent about plagiarism? Look at Pritam’s track record lately. Look at Race, Jab We Met, Metro. Almost all his track records can be traced to either a Korean hit or another Hindi film song or a foreign song. Why are we so lenient as a society as far as plagiarism is concerned?

AR Rahman: It is not just one person. There are a number of people. It’s also how the industry has forced people to do that.

Rajeev Masand: Do you actually believe that?

AR Rahman: I think now people are in a position to say no that I can’t do that. They will be respected even more when they do that. I think that it is what each composer needs to do when he is forced and told that some song is needed. So, one should maintain one’s integrity. If someone wants a particular song without courtesy, then the composer should refuse and say he doesn’t want to steal the song. Else most of them will land up paying a lot of money from their pockets as an out of court settlement.

Rajeev Masand: Your fans were very surprised when you took a shot with remix. You did it few years ago with New, then you did it with Azhagiya Tamil Magan and then now you have done it again with Jaane Tu…Ya Jaane Na.

AR Rahman: I don’t think remix is a bad word. There is both good and bad in that. You can’t say all Western music is bad and noisy. I don’t agree with that. You also can’t say that all Indian music is classic. I am a composer and if there is a song which I love, for example Tu hi re and someone remixes it, I would not like it, but if there is a peppy song and I want to hear something interesting, then it’s okay. That’s what I did. I took two tracks from Adaan and I released it. Some guy there in a village will be remixing it in his computer and singing in his voice and producing something interesting, an idea that may not have occurred to us.

Rajeev Masand: You said no to Spike initially when he said he wanted to use Chaiyya Chaiyya and wanted to add rap to it when he wanted to use it for his film, The Inside Man.

AR Rahman: No. We were trying to be careful. Rap means swearing and I did not want Chaiyya Chaiyya to have any swear words in it. So, when they assured me that they would not have any swear words in it, and then we said yes.