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(https://i.ibb.co/KhYWvK8/FB-IMG-1725943405886.jpg) (https://ibb.co/nmTjJPK)
I was coming from Mysore to Bangalore. At that time, in the car, the driver was playing songs of Roja. The songs were being played, and I asked him whose film it is ?. He says that it is A.R. Rahman from Madras. I said, " ya ya. I have heard his name". So, I kept hearing those songs. So, it was two to three hours journey. So, I heard two three times. I could see a lot of talent, innovative quality because I have been trained under Laxmikanth Pyaralal for 20 years, and I had music sense from my childhood. So I had developed an ear for music. I talked to him; I love your music and am planning a film. I would like to have your services as Music Composer. So, he was quite excited and he said, " Even I love your Film " Hero", and I used to play Hero's tunes, while I was a keyboard player. So, immediately, we clicked with each other. It was a very mutual admiration for each other, and when I met him, I could see his clean and Divine qualities in this man.
I remember when he said, " Lets do a good job". I talked to him about money. How much money I should pay?. He says, " Lets do a good music. We shall talk about it later". So I understood his character, and that he is more passionate about his work. And i started blending with him, and we started to work on a film called SHIKHAR, which finally couldnt place. But then , it happened in TAAL.
In Hindi Music, there is always a Northern Music which is dominating. So, they were wondering, How I am going to justify ?. So, I told him, " Dont worry. YOu know the Indian Classical and Western Music well". And he really proved , while recording two songs . Ishq Bina Jeena Kya " was recorded first, which I later on recorded in Taal. This song initially did not belong to Taal. It was recorded for Shikhar. So, I could see the new kind of vibrations and growth in me, treating myself.
The First song that was recorded for Taal was " Kareye Naa", and he had a very tough time, because I had given him some very interior traits of a Punjabi song. Though, he did not pick up any note from that song. He just listened to it, and was quite disturbed But when he came out with that song, it was so brilliant. Actually, he had given me tune. I had given that tune to Anand Bakshi. Finally, when it came out, it was one of the most brilliant songs . Sometimes, he composes three four tunes for me, and then he leaves the studio, leaving the tape recorder with me, and I listen four five tunes. , and pick the ones, which matches to my story. All four tunes are good, but it has to match to my story.
Some tunes, I used to tell him to keep it for me for my next film, ( though it was not matching for that particular story at present) . Then he keeps smiling and says, " Sir. there are other producers too". I remember Taal song. For Nahi Sammne song, I told him that it should be a sad song, and I wanted something like John Alton singing, How John Alton sings. His kind of songs. he looked at me, " Ok I understand . What you mean ". So , he told me to give him the lyrics first. So I told Anand Bakshi to write the lyrics , and he took the lyrics and started singing in that style. That song had come out so brilliantly, and its my most favourite song in that film.
the tracks of Bombay shocked and amazed me, when I listened to the full track. I think Bombay is the best track, he has produced. So many other movies are there. But Bombay was a complete Album, including the Background Score. I still have the Background Score Album with me. He had given to me. He has always been brilliant with Maniratnam. Their rapport has been good always.
-SUBHASH GHAI.
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(https://i.ibb.co/JmmGnw8/FB-IMG-1725944049607.jpg) (https://ibb.co/Gnn874G)
Duet – Mettupodu Song
There is a guitar bit, a lengthy bit. He got the instruments from Bombay and had tried it. He also called a lot of people from Chennai for the same. Both styles were different. But Rahman was telling a style of keerthanam. It’s a typical veena style of notation, but he wanted the same in guitar. It’s very tough to play those bits on a guitar. Even professional guitar players used to call me and ask how I managed it.
The song is an acoustic guitar, just like a veena, and went on in full flow. He was very happy and told me to take double payment before leaving.
- Santoor Seenu
https://youtu.be/bpNA0htkaCc (https://youtu.be/bpNA0htkaCc)
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(https://i.ibb.co/nkkmRnP/FB-IMG-1725948929247.jpg) (https://ibb.co/YjjQby0)
(“Adhisayam” from Jeans)
I worked on Jeans. There was a Chinese instrument called Yangqin. Chinese usually use the Mogana Ragam, which is in the major scale. There is a humming that comes at the beginning of the song, and it has to be done in a Japanese style with this instrument. There is a small object that has to be worn on our fingers to play this instrument, and usually, the Chinese put it on and also bandage their fingers before playing. But after playing the instruments, the tape can be removed from the fingers using a solution.
I didn’t know all this and put the bandage around my fingers in my own style. After the recording was over, I wanted to remove it but couldn’t, and my nails started peeling off. I was feeling very hungry and didn’t know what to do, but somehow managed it, and the recording got over at 3:30 PM. It took me two hours to remove the tape from my fingers. He told me, “Don’t hurry. Go to the doctor and get it removed.”
Patiently, I got it removed, and the pain lasted for a day. The song (“Adhisayam” from Jeans) came out very well. Whenever the song is aired or I listen to it, I check all my fingers and remind myself of the song experience. Another important event was that the song was recorded on my birthday, July 13th. I left home only at 8 PM that day and slept with the pain.
But I am very happy that the song came out very well.
- Santoor Seenu
https://youtu.be/FWvZdFOv95Y (https://youtu.be/FWvZdFOv95Y)
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(https://i.ibb.co/ZKPpP8b/FB-IMG-1725958430620.jpg) (https://ibb.co/92LkLTd)
🎶 Maya Machindra 🎶
For the film Indian, he had asked me to get my own setup. One evening at 6 PM, he asked me if I had got something new. I replied that there was an instrument called Farz. It was a Turkish instrument. A friend of mine had given it to me. I couldn’t understand anything of it. I told him that if there was a cassette on it, I could hear and try to get some idea. Then, he gave me a cassette and told me to listen to one particular style. I heard it for some time and told him that the same could be used in a song. We put it as “Ni Sa Sa Ni Sa Ma Ga Ni Sa Sa Ni Sa.” He told me this is new, for which I told, “No sir, we can play this somewhere in the song.”
This came in the strings following the words “Maya Machindra Macham Paarka Vandeera.” (After these lyrics, the string comes.) It’s fully gut strings. Usually, it comes in two strings, but this came out in three strings. So, we need to fix the fingers well to listen to all three strings. Even if one string is not listened to properly, it becomes cacophony. The song became a super hit, and also the bit where those strings come.
- Santoor Seenu
https://youtu.be/V-xdFMQhvqQ (https://youtu.be/V-xdFMQhvqQ)
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Wow
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Wow
(https://media.tenor.com/pGay8NJTSxoAAAAM/arr-arrahman.gif)
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Kuchi kuchi Rakkamma ♥️
The Bull Bull Thara is actually a qawwali instrument. On the left side, it would be like a typewriting instrument, and on the right side, the usage of the second and third fingers would be on a small clip, like that of a veena. When the right and left ends are simultaneously used, the noises would be high, just like when a typewriter is used. But he wanted those noises in that song.
Nowadays, sensitive mikes capture all sorts of noises and sounds. It was a challenge to play that instrument for the song. It was a speed bit. While pressing one finger and leaving it, the noise would come, and he asked, “Can something be done without the noises emanating?” I said it would be really tough to do anything without the noises. We tried pouring coconut oil into the buttons, similar to pouring oil in cycle chokes to minimize the noise.
The oil worked out, and the noise started reducing. Then he said, “This is okay. We will adjust this to the maximum.” Actually, the price of the instrument is Rs 75, but he paid me Rs 2500. I was very happy for it. The song became a super hit, and for about two to three years, wherever I went, the song used to follow me. It was a great hit in Tamil as well as Hindi languages
- Santoor Seenu
https://youtu.be/1L0Q7JOF_bA (https://youtu.be/1L0Q7JOF_bA)
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(https://i.ibb.co/8jSkbrF/FB-IMG-1726050638176.jpg) (https://ibb.co/zS0dFXK)
“Nenje Nenje”
I loved playing the guitar style in “Nenje Nenje” from Ratchagan. This I loved the most. The guitar style comes in the sarod style. There is a separate style for guitar and a separate style for sarod. One who can play both instruments can do it. He told me to get both instruments. In the second BGM of that song, in that classical guitar portion, he wanted a melody and, on top of it, the sarod style. That sarod bit was very difficult. He didn’t leave me till the last. Somehow he wanted me to finish it. I told him the range of the song was going very high and it would be very tough. The fingering would be very tough. We can play the instrument with a maximum of two fingers only.
He told me, “If you can’t do it, then who else is there? Try it. You will get it.” With his encouragement, we did it in the first take itself. I asked him if we could go for another take, to which he said, “No. You can’t play this bit for another take. Even if I give you a year, it won’t come.”
Even after some years, whenever the same raga is played with the sarod, I never used to get it. I realized the importance of his words.
-Santoor Seenu
https://youtu.be/ugbdnewtQJM (https://youtu.be/ugbdnewtQJM)
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(https://i.ibb.co/1rWkrvV/FB-IMG-1726130523526.jpg) (https://ibb.co/sKYZKmS)
“Oh ho Kick Yerudheee” (Padayappa)
In Super Star Rajni Sir’s song “Oh ho Kick Yerudheee” (Padayappa). The song was primarily prepared for the mandolin, and he asked me to prepare and bring it. During recording, he usually asks for about 10 to 15 instruments, but for this song, he told me to get just one mandolin. I understood that there was something special about this song. Many mandolin players had told me it’s a difficult bit to play. Many people have tried playing it in concerts and struggled. They often asked me, “How did you manage to play it?” I like the song very much as we strained a lot in playing it.
- Santoor Seenu
https://youtu.be/c9t-agSFY_Q (https://youtu.be/c9t-agSFY_Q)
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(https://i.ibb.co/27VhyH1/FB-IMG-1726214656662.jpg) (https://ibb.co/vxyqHR6)
“Chinna Chinna Aasai”
Rahman called me for Roja for the song “Chinna Chinna Aasai.” We had to play the santoor for the song, but it shouldn’t sound like a santoor. Instead of playing with the stick, he suggested we play with ten fingers. In the second BGM of that song, in the left hand, the chord progressions would be going on, and in the right hand, the melody would be continuing. That was the first time in my life that I played the santoor with my ten fingers, leaving aside the stick. The specialty is the usage of the harp at the beginning of the song. Mandolin is used at the beginning of the song itself. I played all three instruments in the song (viz. harp, mandolin, santoor). The song became a super hit.
- Santoor Seenu
https://youtu.be/8z2bGODqtdE (https://youtu.be/8z2bGODqtdE)
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(https://i.ibb.co/PYyCwk9/FB-IMG-1726324254622.jpg) (https://ibb.co/9v0YsPV)
AARARAI KODI
Surya enjoys talking
abt that song. Actually, that was supposed to be sung by another singer, but
then ARR decided that he would sing that song himself. Lot of claps for that song in Theatres. He says he is confident that he will become bigger in future, as said in that song. In he beginning, the lyrics was " Naan Naan ( Myself
Myself )" . Then ARR corrected him saying " You should never boast of yourself. be Humble and changed the lyrics to " Adiyen ( humbly myself ) ".
https://youtu.be/QxBjMA_3fQI (https://youtu.be/QxBjMA_3fQI)
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(https://i.ibb.co/Qp3zMft/FB-IMG-1726895637709.jpg) (https://ibb.co/tQTkD4F)
ARR & Technology:
It would not be an exaggeration to say that Rahman demonstrated how the synthesised sound should be used. Prior to Rahman’s entry on the film scene, music directors harmonised the song with only the string section. Rahman introduced the synthetic pads and created a different effect for different songs with a different sound as harmony. Notice the sound of the pads in Roja, for instance; it created a warmth and also gave a big-screen feel to the sound. Among other things, Rahman’s music is really BIG. It justifies the Cinemascope screen. The use of available technology was always there. When microphones and sound recording on tape was the latest technology, it was also used widely. In fact, commercial music has to be credited with making the optimum use of technology in music. So, the accusation that Rahman uses an excess of technology does not really hold water. He rides technology; he makes sure that technology doesn’t ride him.
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Modern Without Being Western 🎼
The rhythm that Rahman used was also unconventional to say the least. He could be modern without being western in his approach of treating rhythm which I feel is one of his extraordinary qualities. The song in Bombay – ‘Kucchi Kucchi Rakkamma’ is a good illustration of this quality. The rhythm is essentially ethnic and yet it is modern. There will always be surprises but rarely will they let you down. Sometimes for a song of a slow pace, he will use a rhythm that runs in double the speed. It has a strange but a dramatic effect on the outcome of the song. Two cases in point here are ‘Saawariya’ from Swades and ‘Tu Bin Bataaye’ from Rang De Basanti. In Chhainyya Chhainyya, he used the rhythm instruments to create the movement of a running train without using the sound of the train. Rahman is gifted with the quality of saying things between the lines with the use of orchestration.
- Kaushal imandar
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(https://i.ibb.co/MNNKBgC/FB-IMG-1727583879767.jpg) (https://ibb.co/0JJ1snG)
When I was first popular on TV I never used to get feedback from anyone. All I used to hear was “Look it is the same kid.” Only after I got into the film world that I started receiving a varied range of feedback. I used to see several articles in magazines, letters from fans, phone calls congratulating me, and so on. These were all new to me.
This frenzy and media attention went on for a couple of years after I debuted in the film world. I used to follow every news item and article to see what people were thinking and writing about me. My first interview came out in the Junior Post and I still remember that interview. It was a very enjoyable and fun interview. Questions were like “What snacks do you like?”, “Suppose you were to be deserted on an island what book would you take with you to read?”, which I still remember
If you ask me about Vikatan’s reviews, the review of “Karuthamma” is what I can never forget. The reviewer had dismissed the songs of the films saying “There is not much to say about the songs in the film like ‘Thenmerkku Parukaatru’, ‘Pachchai Kili Paadum Paatu’.” If you remember “Porale Ponnuthaayi” song won the National Award for singer Swarnalatha. I even later used the same tune for the Vande Mataram album which was sung by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.
Anyway, the reviewer went on to say “The biggest weakness of the film is its music. Sadly, for the first time the music of A.R. Rahman is a big minus for a film. He seems like a small pup which is completely lost in a deep dark forest”. This review affected me a lot. The tastes of people are constantly changing and I need to adapt myself to these changes. For people who are used to a certain type of music, a different style of a song will feel a little strange at the beginning, and they may not accept the new style immediately.
Once they change these tastes according to the new trend then they start liking the same songs they hated once. This is what happens to most of my songs. Music is like a medicine that cures Just like a medicine, it tastes sour at the beginning but as time passes it starts to work. If you take sweets for example, they taste great at the beginning but they vanish without a trace immediately. Songs are also like that. You like some songs immediately upon hearing but you forget them at the same speed.
And there are songs that you hated the first time you heard them, but as time goes on you get a really satisfied feeling hearing them. So as far as music is concerned you can’t decide anything immediately. Coming back to Vikatan reviews, there have been several reviews later on in Vikatan which have praised my songs but I still haven’t forgotten the review of Karuthamma
-A R R
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for me ARR is an emotion sis
nice post sis
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for me ARR is an emotion sis
nice post sis
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I met Dileep for the first time when he’d come to Bombay to record a jingle. At that time, he told me he’d listened to my ghazals and that he wanted me to sing a song for his first film with Mani Ratnam. I knew Mani sir’s work and liked the track that Dileep played for me. I came down to Madras and recorded the song at his studio. I usually write my lyrics in Devanagiri and sing the song. I remember recording my song for Roja vividly; lyricist Vairamuthu sir was sitting next to me and reciting the lyrics to me. When I wrote ‘Tamizha Tamizha’ in Devanagiri, he was scandalised! “Ennaya idhu, Tamizha Tamizha solrenga… ivar Hindi la ezhudaraar,”he remarked. But then, things worked out fine and the song came out beautifully.
When I saw the song finally, I was really disappointed. It came during the end credits, and everyone was walking out of the theatre when it was playing out. The most interesting thing is that the lyrics actually lend itself to a marching song, but the tune was like a lullaby. That was Rahman’s touch.
- HariHaran
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(https://i.ibb.co/ZpmqpmQV/512298606-3653256524810540-1227591090125131101-n.jpg) (https://ibb.co/67Bj7BKm)
We had a very intellectual discussion while creating " Anbendra mazhiyile" . It's about a girl who basically says she finds God appealing. AR was interested in the concept and wanted to catch it in the music. he wanted to create a prayer song everyone could sing. I collected some Gregorian chants and showed it to him, but he didn't think the audience would like it. But he took the sheer scale of them and set it to an Indian raga, not wanting to do a typical church song . It was totally different. He gave it a feel that made it sound like it was coming from deep European valley . It was totally AR.
- RAJEEV MENON
https://youtu.be/TpydufddAjM (https://youtu.be/TpydufddAjM)
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"Very few people know that 'Guzarish' (Ghajini) was originally sung by me few years ago. Later, the lyrics were changed and since I was in US then – my wife was due to deliver there – Rahman re-recorded it with Javed Ali. By the time I returned, the song had already been shot. But Rahman realised he'd done something wrong, so he sat me down and felt bad, and hoped I'd understand. He didn't have to do it, but that made me respect him all the more. What's more is that he retained my humming in the song . That's Rahman..
- Sonu Nigam
https://youtu.be/ztPa6vkM-yY (https://youtu.be/ztPa6vkM-yY)
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Alea Mam sema post mam ;D Na mostly hindi songs-ae kekamaten rombo kammi ipovarai paatha 10 to 15 songs tha hindi la keturupen athula oru song than intha Guzarish Song my most fav song ... UC la kuda kekalam nu eduthuvechiruken. Ipo neenga pota intha post pakum bothu already ARR sir mela thani respect iruku but inum athiga paduthiruku super post mam. Thanks for sharing this info mam ;D
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Alea Mam sema post mam ;D Na mostly hindi songs-ae kekamaten rombo kammi ipovarai paatha 10 to 15 songs tha hindi la keturupen athula oru song than intha Guzarish Song my most fav song ... UC la kuda kekalam nu eduthuvechiruken. Ipo neenga pota intha post pakum bothu already ARR sir mela thani respect iruku but inum athiga paduthiruku super post mam. Thanks for sharing this info mam ;D
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(https://i.ibb.co/zVCFdhnp/FB-IMG-1750916264096.jpg) (https://ibb.co/7tBQhJYP)
Sometimes, you’re tempted to do a lot of orchestration for a simple melody. Some other directors that I’ve worked with tell me that there’s no BGM, add something more. But with Mani, I can do what I like. ‘Vellai Pookal’ from Kannathil Muthamittal, with just a guitar and a voice, is one example. Even ‘Vaan’ from Kaatru Veliyidai was basically just a piano and voice.
There’s a Thirukkural that says: ‘If you’re with learned people, you also become learned’. It works that way with Manirathnam.
https://youtu.be/FjMs_imWkFM
https://youtu.be/2JVg8j9w7Mg
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The story starts in 1992, with the release of the film Roja in Tamil. I was such an avid fan of Mani Rathnam after Nayakan that I had made the brave attempt of seeing Dalapathy in Tamil, a language that was way beyond my comprehension. My attempt did not go unrewarded and I was completely taken in by the manner of story-telling of Mani Rathnam. I had also become an avid fan of Illayaraja, whose many Tamil cassettes I bought and heard again and again.
So when I heard that a Mani Rathnam film called Roja was being screened, I went immediately to Aurora, a theatre at King’s Circle. I was a little disappointed that Mani Rathnam’s usual music composer, Illayraja, had been replaced by a newcomer called Rahman. My doubts about A. R. Rahman were razed to the ground the moment I heard the first note of the background score play. This sound was BIG… and it was definitely different. Not just different, it was drastically different. Then the first song came – ‘Chinna Chinna Asai’.
The effect of the song, together with Mani Rathnam’s visualisation, Santosh Sivan’s brilliant cinematography, and Rahman’s music was pure alchemy. And how could one forget the background score of the movie? I was so hypnotised by the movie’s background score that I went back to Aurora again the following week, just to hear the background score. I think it must have been the first (and perhaps the only) instance where a Marathi youth went twice for a Tamil film without subtitles to a theatre!
- Kausal Inamdar (Singer and composer )
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“Whenever the plane takes off, I think this would be my last journey of life.” He went further to describe how music and spirituality go hand in hand. “You cannot take one out of the other. Music lets you look inside within you. It takes you on such a high, far away from this material world, and moreover, it also takes you nearer to God. You feel the purification that takes place within you while listening to music. Maybe this is the reason why music is sometimes called an integral part of devotion – of Dhikr and Ibaadat.”
-AR Rahman
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(https://i.ibb.co/V0yngRmp/502861495-3619302601539266-4921695097583752445-n.jpg) (https://ibb.co/Y49ncmZT)
For the film Sangamam, our Master MSV Sir was involved. We are all from his school of music. He has a lot of love for me, and he was at the recording session for that film. Hariharan sir sang the initial bit and left. Rahman sir brought 40 rhythms and mixed them. He told me to get all the instruments I possessed for this song. When I started from home with all the instruments, the neighbors asked if I was moving to another house.
I brought all the instruments in five auto rickshaws. I replied, “No, Rahman sir had called for a recording. He instructed me to get all the instruments to try something new.”
Rubob, Sauce, Mandolin, Utilin, Basukin
We mixed all six instruments into the rhythms to make it perfect, and the outcome was brilliant.
- Santoor Seenu
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(https://i.ibb.co/vxTXhmFX/503550768-3626057700863756-4855536082657440928-n.jpg) (https://ibb.co/991Zh2DZ)
Before Kadhal Desam, AR got me an instrument from Kuwait called the Oud. I haven’t seen that instrument with anyone in India. No one has even used it before. These are available only in Arabic countries, and they use it for the title music there.
He gave it to me and told me to check if I could get some sound out of it. I tried hard to get the “Sa” and went on till “Pa” (in Sa Ri Ga Ma Pa). He told me, “This is enough.” Then he called me and uttered, “Sa Ga Ma Pa Pa Ma…” (Mustapha song’s notations). He finished it in Sa Ga Ma Pa. He said, “Take” in those lower five notes.
It was the first time this instrument, the oud, was used in India, and it was used by him, and I played it. It’s a wonderful song
- Santoor Seenu
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(https://i.ibb.co/VWQ26t0Y/505880634-3634287196707473-2758656771477122259-n.jpg) (https://ibb.co/vxQZ9HC4)
Hit music is important for a mainstream film. It helps you get a good opening. And as an artist, I am happy when people say this is the highest selling album. I am really happy about it because we worked so hard on it – not only me, but the whole team.”
“There was so much stuff in Bose, so much energy and thought. But the producers didn’t release it properly and it suffered a great deal.”
“I went to a restaurant in San Francisco. This Iranian lady came to me and said: ‘You are AR Rahman.’ I said yes. She said: ‘Oh we love your Zikr in Bose. It’s so famous in Iran.’ I never expected that.”
Delayed recognition is not new to Rahman, for each release of his goes through a familiar two-step programme: (a) derisive dismissal, followed by (b) inevitable capitulation after multiple listens, reinforcing the urban legend that His Songs Take Time To Grow On You. Rahman, at first, gets defensive. “When we do a song, the director listens to it thousands of times, and only when everyone likes it, we go ahead.” The song goes through a filter. There’s already some kind of assurance there. “So when people react negatively, we have to wait for three weeks, because we know that the song works (or doesn’t work).”
But Rahman understands. After all, he’s been through the same cycle with that other King of Pop. “I used to wait for Michael Jackson’s albums, and the very first time, I used to say: Oh, I don’t like any of the songs.” Three days later, he’d find that a song was actually good. Then he’d watch the videos, and yet another one would become an earworm. Finally, all the songs would make it to the list. “Because so much hard work goes into an album, and when something is new, you can’t judge it.”
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(https://i.ibb.co/KxcnGMH0/507868162-3641976545938538-1430314957122413027-n.jpg) (https://ibb.co/whZtL910)
The first time I met Rahman Sir was during the “Muthu” film. Myself, Rahman Sir, Director K.S. Ravikumar, Rajni Sir, Thenappan, and Vairamuthu went to Cochin and stayed in a hotel. Rahman Sir was in the adjacent room. Rajni Sir came just for the music composing and has a lot of love for Rahman Sir.
We four members would stay in one room, and Rahman Sir would stay alone in another. He would participate in some discussions during the day, and when we were asleep at night, he used to play some sounds on his keyboard. I used to sneak out silently to hear them. The next day, he would play something and show it to everyone. I didn’t have any knowledge of charanam or pallavi, but our director had a feel for it. When Rajni Sir used to ask, “Enna pa. What is this? What is that?” Rahman Sir would answer, “Don’t worry. Please wait, and everything will come out fine.”
Everyone knows how great a hit “Muthu” was. From that time, my fear of Rahman Sir started to reduce as he behaved very simply all the time.
Once, when I went to the studio at night, I saw Director Subhash Ghai sleeping in a corner, and in another corner was Director Shankar. Everyone was sleeping in a corner, and I felt, “OMG. I have come to a very big place. I need to be careful.” Rahman Sir used to keep working late into the night with his tunes. I had many experiences with Rahman Sir while working on “Muthu.”
- Ramesh kanna
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One day during a chorus session, Rahman said, “You, the guy without spectacles, you stay there, others come out”.
That was me. I know he is going to ask me to sing. I thought this is the opportunity and I have to prove myself else pack my bags and go back to studies. He asked to sing a sad alaap, I was singing and he was guiding by playing the chords. He wanted more cry in the alaap and I just forgot myself and started singing continuously, closing my eyes. After a while, I opened my eyes to see everyone laughing. Rahman had already standing next to me and said “Good Job. You did well”.
Next day, he asked me to come to the studio for a track. He said he is going to try something and also said if it works well, he will use it. That was the song for the movie star and the song is “Nendhukittaen Nendhukittaen”. I was nervous but Rahman has a special capability. He knows what technique to use to extract the work from the singers. He sets the right mood to each singer. He started cutting jokes with me and made me really comfortable before recording the song. It took me 45 minutes to complete the song. After the recording, he said, it’s good, let’s see, if it works out, we will use it. This is how I got my first break with Rahman.
- Karthik
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I had few experiences with Rahman Sir while working on “Muthu.”
One song was supposed to be shot in Mysore. They were supposed to give me the song, and I was supposed to take it to Mysore. The director told me to come on the next flight. That same night, when I went to Rahman Sir, he told me to wait. I was sitting there, and he was doing something. He went upstairs after 1 AM for Namaz. He didn’t return for about 90 minutes, so I slept on the nearby sofa. Rahman Sir, having composed the song, made everything ready and told his people to give it to me before 4 AM. Suddenly, I woke up and saw no one in the studio, and I was afraid the director would scold me for getting it late.
I was fear-struck, thinking the crew would scold me if I didn’t get the song the next day. To my utter surprise, I saw Rahman Sir sleeping just below me. I had to confirm if it was really Rahman Sir. It was a great shock to me. Slowly and stealthily, I went and opened the door, and a person named Sukumar told me that everything was ready and I could leave.
- Ramesh Kanna
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BROTHER ❤️
Despite the fact that He was the breadwinner of the family , AR never once said he was the boss or said " look at all that I'm doing for you all " even once.'. I never heard him utter those words on even a single occasion. And that's why I respect him more. Because he never expects it. He did what he did for us naturally, like breathing air. He never said " I did this for you ". We were never really very affectionate with each other, but he was always there for me when I need him.
-AR RAIHANAH
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•SELECTED FEW•
ARR has a philosophic stance on fatherhood. “I love what Khalil Gibran says, ‘Children come through you, not from you.’ So they all have their distinct personalities. When I went to my father’s studio after he passed away, I heard only good things about him. I wish, as a father, I could be even a small percentage of that to my kids.” His mother introduced him to spirituality and down the years, he’s turned composing music into a spiritual experience. “My music has to work for me first. I should like it because I’m living with it longer than any other person. If it recurrently gives me a good feeling, then I know it will be good for others too.” He says he feels he’s in sync with his Creator while composing. “The Sufi tracks wouldn’t have happened if I didn’t feel a connection.” He admits his connection with divinity is stronger on days he’s working on spiritual themes. “Most of the Sufi songs or the songs, which celebrate the Almighty, like Khwaja mere Khwaja or Oh palan haare orKun faya kun happened because there was a strong sense of surrendering to His will. That state of mind doesn’t come very often,” he confides. “Once the song is made, it’s not yours anymore. You hear many qawwals (singers) performing the Sufi tracks at remote places; it’s so beautiful to see that.” He adds with a childlike smile, “I compose a lot of Sufi songs, which are only for my friends and me. What get released are the selected few.”
🎼🎶 ARR 🎶🎼
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In early 1991, a gentleman named Raviprakash was working with Rajiv Menon and an ad agency called HTA(JWT today) on a commercial. In the early 90's he was the CEO of TV company called solidiare. The aforementioned was for one of the company's portable TVs. And the jungle for it was composed by young AR.
" when we were recording the jingle, says Raviprakash,'the first few times I heard it, I felt like something was missing. But Rahman would just keep smiling and winking at me and adding layers of music until it sounded perfect. He was just god gifted".
In any case after the jingle was recorded, and the executives from HTA had left the studio, AR went to Raviprakash and said softly, " hey there is something i want you to listen to".
'sure, Ravi said. AR then played him a track.
' I was just bowled over when I heard it,' Raviprakash recalls. He asked AR if it was a jingle for somebody else.
AR didn't offer any explanation and just said ," Now listen to this ....
' he played me another track and that was fantastic as well,'says Ravi. I told him " wow man you've gone into another league," and asked him what this music was.'
Only then AR did tell him , ' They are songs for a film I'm doing. Manirathnam directing it, and he asked me to do the music.🌹
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🎼 ORE KANA 🎼
The process of creating and refining each piece of music can get drawn out over a long period of time. Considering the story of " ore kana ( jaage Hain) ", the song that would become the backbone of Mani Ratnam's guru. Rahman spent a whole night working on just the first two notes of the chorus. He sat at his keyboard and played them again and again untill he was happy with it. Untill he believed it was perfect.
https://youtu.be/Sbo9ykF-HqA (https://youtu.be/Sbo9ykF-HqA)
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We had a very non-traditional tune which Rajeev wanted to be developed. The song was ``O lalala, Manamadura Mamarakuile.'' The tune was a bit different. It changes into Tamil folk from half of the song. Vairamuthu found it very alien to Tamil films and rejected it first. He said people will also reject it. We also decided not to use it. After a week when we listened to it again, Rajeev said it sounded good and suggested that we ask Vairamuthu to write a lyric for it. The poet was recuperating after a fever. So we went to his house, made him write for the tune. The song won the national award for Chitra and all of us....
.🎹🎼 A R R 🎼🎹
https://youtu.be/ctzmV3had4A (https://youtu.be/ctzmV3had4A)
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❤ TRUE TO UR HEART ❤
There’s something about my harmonies that makes people think they recognise me in my songs. But I want to surprise, and I want to keep evolving.” AR is always curious to know what people think of his music, good or bad, he says. “You’re in a team, and you are surrounded by opinions, but I always ask, did you play it for someone else outside of us? Did they like it?”
And what if they didn’t? Does he take criticism well or does ego come into play? He can’t be all soft-spoken niceness, after all. “I do listen to the bad, honestly. I think you need to separate your personal ego from your creative arrogance. Creative arrogance is a good thing, it makes you want to create something amazing. Otherwise my art would be as boring as my personality.”
Sometimes though, he admits, people just don’t get it. It takes time and many listens for them to come around to his music, which is something we have all felt at some point about a Rahman song, isn’t it? And when you get it, it’s like a window opens. “Music, you know, it can change people. You can be messed-up in the head, and then listen to a beautiful song, and it brings happiness, hope. It’s very positive,” he says. And hard. “When you first start out, you criticise everybody. Oh, this sounds like that, he sounds like this person, but it’s only when you start writing music that you really understand how difficult it is. For me it’s about taking out all the technicalities and focusing on the truth of the tune, and to connect to that. Sometimes the simplest thing can take a long time to get around, but you have to be true to your heart.”
🎶 🎶 A R R🎶 🎶
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A small but revealing example of his natural humility was when I appeared backstage in the Green Room after his concert at the Gwinnett Arena to do this interview for Khabar. Thronged by close friends and family of the promoters, as well as other ardent fans who managed to make it backstage, the room was a cacophony of squeals and clamor of Rahman worshipers. Even when we sat down at one corner to conduct the interview, the decibels of the guests had far from subsided. When it became evident that the interview would not be possible under those circumstances, any other "star" would have naturally asked the promoters to have the room vacated; instead, Rahman stood up and volunteered to move to another room instead of appearing rude to his fans.
- Viren Mayani( Reporter)
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🤱 A mom feels happy only when the son eats properly ♥️
Even before he’d got film music opportunities, Rahman always used to be busy composing some tune or the other! Right from his childhood, Rahman had no interests other than music. He never had fun like chatting with friends or going for movies. He always used to stay inside the locked room and compose music! I used to ask him why he was straining so much. He used to reply ‘We should keep working hard! That is the effort from our side. Some day, we will get rewards (opportunities) for all our efforts!'”
Rahman’s mom has just one worry – he is so busy with work that he doesn’t eat properly! The motherly love!!
“My son doesn’t even have time to eat properly. Even if it gets delayed till 3 am, I wait for him, serve the food and then only go to bed. Otherwise, I can’t sleep properly! How many ever awards a son may get – a mom feels happy only when the son eats properly!”
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• LAGAAN - AR RAHMAN - H SRIDHAR •
We were mixing it on DTS, which is a six-channel surround sound medium. But this film was an 1893 period film. The first decision both Nakul and I had to take was to do the film in mono.
Mono on DTS? Why?
Because it was happening in a village in 1893 when there was not even electricity there. Yes, it is contradictory as we were using state-of-the-art equipment to try and do something old!
First Aamir said, people would expect sound moving over their shoulder, over the head, etc, from a DTS film. We wanted to transport the audience to a location that was barren, where there were no trees or birds. The film had a strong narrative and we felt the surrounding sound would distract the audience.
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🔹LAGAAN 🔹
When we (AR and H Sri) work together, we always try and find that balance. I remember when we were working on Lagaan and Aamir Khan was sitting outside the studio. He could hear the title track through the studio door. He opened the door and came in. His eyes were moist and he said: “AR, you’ve lifted my film to another level.”
AR 🔹 AAMiR 🔹 H Sridhar
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Sometimes a song is just a tune for a music director, whose rhythm invades you, which you hum in front of a bathroom mirror that has a warranty never to break. Sometimes a song is just an intricately woven lacing of words that embraces you on a still, lonely night. Sometimes a song is just a voice for a music director, whose passion makes your hair stand. When A.R. Rahman takes you on a journey-- and to hear it is to feel you have no choice but to journey with him.......
📃INDIA TODAY
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"One day, around 5 a.m., he (Rahman) called me saying, 'I want you to hear this, I got this tune in my dream'. He played a 37-minute long piece from where we get the song 'Arziyan' -- that's Rahman for you. He thinks about music even in his dreams.
"Music is the extension of his personality. If you want to know about Rahman, you can know him the best through his music."
- RAKEYSH OMPRAKASH MEHRA🎞️
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"You see so many things these days — on television, on the internet, and all around us. Good things, bad things... more bad things, in fact. But if you just close your eyes and shut everything out and listen to music, it transports you, it takes you out of the chaos and makes you think even of things that are unthinkable."
🎶🎶🎶ARR🎶🎶
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🎻 PROFESSION 🎹
I run a conservatory (KM Music Conservatory) and the question I’m always asked by students is: “is music a profession that can be sustained? Do we need another profession?” I feel like my mother made the choice for me. I wanted to be an electronics engineer, and she said: “No, you should do music; it’s what your father did.”
The confidence she had is what made me make music my profession. In most movies — other than La La Land — you only see a musician becoming a drug addict or a loser. It’s always miserable endings. I thought, why not show the real world, where people have money and respect, and it can be a clean, desirable profession?
🎶ARR🎶
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- CRITICISM -
AR never thinks of it as " oh,this person is saying my music is not good enough". He knows that this particular piece of music isn't right for this person. He doesn't take it personally. If you tell him you don't like something he created , he is more willing to go and come with something else.'
- MANIRATHNAM
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For some songs, we have used a region’s soundscape while for others, we have utilised the character’s internal journey as a map. Maahi Ve is one such song. So we have used sounds from Punjab, another that could have been connected with Haryana has transformed to more futuristic soundscape. One song has Kabir’s poetry that Shweta Pandit has rendered. There’s also a cheeky Western pop track used to suit a sudden interesting moment in the film.
- ARR
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-:FLAWLESS ARR:-
The director,who launched Rahman as a film music composer in Roja,admits that he was so struck by the brilliance of the compositions he heard that he doubted their authenticity. I couldnt believe that such beautiful music was being produced by the equipment I was seeing. I played the scratches over and over again,looking for a possible flaw,but couldnt point out a single one. Ever since then,Ive been a fan of AR Rahman,the music composer,but Im a bigger fan of AR Rahman,the person.
After that encounter,Rahman went on to compose the music for each of Ratnams films.
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My father was the first one to get the synthesizer in south India, so I had all these big toys. Even as a kid, I could play on them, pressing every node and switch. It was like a luxury, a music showroom. So that pushed me to what next, what next. It keeps you alive.”
ARR ❤️
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I have watched ARR at close quarters but am yet to understand how he continues to tap these talents.. When he composed Adiye, I watched the magic happening literally out of nothing .. I thought that nobody could sing that song with as much abandon as AR.. When I heard he had recorded it with a new voice i didn't want to hear it.. But when I eventually heard Sid Sriram sing it, i knew what I had already known. That AR had a vision beyond normal guys like me.. It is AR's ability in making an artiste find himself, is where he is without a parallel.. And Sid Sriram has found himself.. What else does an artiste need!!
- Singer Srinivas