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You're
a renowned and respected figure throughout the subcontinent, but how are
you dealing with the level of celebrity you're currently experiencing
in the West as a result of Bombay Dreams?
Getting famous in India is very different to getting famous here, but
I think for me, it's nothing unusual really. It was the same thing when
I first started aged 13 on a kid's TV show. People say to you "Oh, I saw
you on TV". It's all friendly. But at the end of the day I just go back
into my studio and work. There’s a spiritual side that helps me to sustain
myself from the harm of fame and money. But it's fine.
So you're getting recognised on the streets of London now?
Yes, a bit. That's why I changed my hairstyle...!
What was it like hearing your music on the West End stage?
It was a bit peculiar actually because usually when there's a live performance,
I'm sitting there playing keyboards or singing or something, whereas here
I was just sitting watching. It's quite an unusual situation and you're
more tense that "Is he going to sing in tune? Are they going to play it
right?" It's the first time that the music score is being taken over by
somebody else and performed by others. Sometimes you're surprised and
other times, you feel it's not right, but I think on the whole we got
the flavour of it. It was quite exciting.
While the production has received mixed reviews the music has been
universally well received. Of all the songs it is Chaiya Chaiya presented
in its original form that has struck a chord with the western audience.
What do you think is the appeal of a completely Hindi track to a western
audience?
They liked it. Thank God! I think if you take a previous example of world
music, say Nusrat, it's the energy and it's the sound of the words which
matter more. Chaiya Chaiya has that and it has a spiritual feel also.
Even the Wedding Qawwali is getting very popular, and neither of these
songs are in English.
Did you have any apprehensions at the outset that a western audience
wouldn't be able to relate to the music or that with English lyrics to
popular Hindi songs, it wouldn't work for an Asian audience?
There's a balance to be achieved. We knew that Chaiya Chaiya was like
an item number and people have always responded well to that, even before.
We wanted to take the story forward on certain numbers so we couldn't
just do another item number. They worked well with Chaiya Chaiya, Shack-a-lack-a-baby
and the Qawaali. I think the English lyrics do their job in taking the
story forward and it gives the show its character. The only real worry
I had was placing my old numbers in Bombay Dreams, but I think the public
have taken it very well.
Was it always your ambition to take your music to an international
audience?
It was, but in a different way. Not this way. When I used to listen to
music ten years back, a young guy would normally have an English cassette
and an Indian cassette in his car and you could hear the difference in
the quality and production and the disco sound. People would prefer the
English one, because it was cooler. For me it was a silly ambition that,
whatever I was doing I would get to that level so that people will say
the Indian one is more cool. I think it worked, but in a very different
way to how I'd planned.
How do the UK singers compare to the singers you normally work with
in India?
Here it's as though they see Indian culture through a pane of glass rather
than like me, as someone coming from India. I think most of the second
or third generation Asians have not been to India at all. I think they
should make trips there and increase tourism to India…! Actually, some
of them did go. Raza Jaffrey went. I think it helped that they had some
guide and someone teaching them about the culture. I was really surprised
at how accurately the actors portrayed the eunuchs. It was so true to
life.
How do you feel about the news that Harvey Weinstein is planning to
take the show to Broadway?
It's brilliant. We don't have to adapt it for the US audience, but we
will just make it a bit tighter. I think, as it is, it's a very good start.
I've seen it 23 times. But I think the show will get even better as they
continue to perfect it.
You've been based in the UK for sometime now. How does life here compare
to Mumbai?
I was here for four months last year, back and forth, and then most of
this year. It's ok as long as you’re occupied mentally. Plus I had my
family here. It's active in it's own way. Here I could achieve certain
things which I could not have done in Bombay. I did the title score for
The Legend of Bhagat Singh here and used all the English session artists
for it, so that was very exciting, a new experience. We finished almost
ten days of work in three hours.
I hear you had to direct recordings that were happening in India, over
the phone?
Yes, because certain films had to be completed. Like a southern film,
a Rajnikant film had to be finished and so I had to do a song through
the internet. I had my assistant sitting there; they did the vocals and
sent it back through the Internet. It worked well.
You've been approached to provide the scores of Hollywood films. Can
you tell us more about that?
It might be happening. It's just that I don't know whether I should do
those films first or wait. People know me and that I work at a slow pace
so if I get an understanding director, that's the choice I would make.
Certain projects get completed in four or five months, others take a year.
I think ultimately I want to do the best of both East and West rather
than leaving anything. Just take the cream of Indian directors and work
with them … that is if they want to work with me.
Can you describe the process that you go through when composing a piece
of music?
If there are five songs in a movie, some of the songs come immediately,
some of them don't. Because there might be the same sort of situation
in another movie I've done, I'd rather not go into that area so I think
of how to approach it differently. It takes time to come up with other
fresh ideas. You have to understand the story first. There are certain
things that happen also on a spiritual level when you're composing a tune,
for example, you might imagine that this is the tune you want and you
sit there trying to play, but something else keeps coming. You play that
to the director and he says 'this is what I had in mind.' It's not in
your control at all. It's that which makes it outstanding. That's the
secret of it.
Do you still compose at night?
I've just come in straight from the studio. I had one hour's sleep. It's
not that I'm an insomniac. It suits me. When I'm deeply involved in a
recording session I can't take myself away. There are so many phone calls
and interruptions during the day that I prefer working at night.
You're also working on an Imax movie about Shahjahan starring Aishwarya
Rai as Mumtaz Mahal. How is that progressing?
We've done a couple of songs for it already. Again, Don Black is setting
the lyrics for that along with Javed Akhtar, so it will be a mix between
Hindi and English. It's for an international audience.
Is it important for you to work on such a diverse range of projects?
It's very confusing. I sometimes think "What the hell am I doing?" When
you work with directors they have so much that they like or don't like.
Even with my own music they have do's and don'ts so you have to try to
understand each project in terms of the director and their likes and dislikes.
Do you continue to be affected by piracy in India?
Very much. For the past one and a half years it's affected the whole Indian
market and discouraged so many people from making films. The market was
so good before that that everyone wanted to make good movies. Now everybody
is stopping. Film production is down from ten to 1. The price of CD's
has dropped. It affects the whole industry.
Having achieved so much, what is it that continues to spur you on to
greater success?
After every movie that you complete you have some other work pending.
Before you have time to relax or brood over it, the next thing comes.
Life goes on. When you finish it you know exactly which is your best work
which is not. I think if you think about it too much, you don't progress,
you have to keep working and keep moving on. It's a journey. It's a quest
for things. Not material things, it's a spiritual journey; a musical journey,
a hunger that you always have rather than just quenching your thirst.
There are so many surprising things that have happened already: to have
done a track with Nusrat, a track with Michael Jackson, then Andrew Lloyd
Webber. I just believe that if it's meant to happen, it will.
What do you do when you're not making music?
I spend time with my children. I have two daughters who I have to tell
stories to. My six-and-a- half-year-old daughter won't eat till I tell
her a story.
With Lagaan going to the Oscars and the music of Bombay Dreams being
so well received, how will you look back on the achievements of 2002?
Actually, my Madras industry fans will think I've not done very well because
I've not done enough Tamil movies to satisfy them. Since that's my root
and where I've come from, I take that very seriously. If something is
new, often the audience can't digest it. You want to do something new
and they reject it for the first four weeks and then they slowly get into
it. Most of my fans are optimistic about me doing Bombay Dreams and they
are always very positive. The nicest compliments I receive about my music
are the genuine ones from parents. Those who say "My daughter sleeps well
or eats well when she hears your music." That's very cute. I think ultimately
it's a blessing from God. Just as long as the music happens.
Interview by Poonam
Joshi
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