Saturday, December 13, 2003

MUMBAI, DECEMBER 12: Another step for A.R. Rahman, and a high note for Indian music. The maestro’s film tunes will soon be played by the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra — perhaps the first time that popular Indian music will be showcased alongside legendary Western classical compositions before a foreign audience.

The Birmingham Orchestra is a hallowed fine arts institution which was formed in 1920

After Neville Chamberlain and some public-spirited Englishmen decided that the city needed an orchestra. It gave its 100th performance last year.

Rahman, who reveals that he was encouraged by his Birmingham-based film associate Taz Bashir to be a part of CBSO, will compose for two concerts in March and November next year.

‘‘Instrumental versions of pieces that have been chosen from films that I have composed for the past 12 years will be used in March,’’ says the music director. For the second concert, Rahman will create music based on Sufi poet Farid ud-din Attar’s most famous piece of literature, The Conference of the Bird.

Notwithstanding the distinction, the man who will present some of Indian cinema’s most hummable tunes to an uninitiated gathering, has a complaint. ‘‘I don’t know what’s next,’’ says Rahman. ‘‘Already there’s no sleep.’’

Can’t blame him, going by the list of projects he’s involved in: A London West End production for J.R.R. Tolkein’s Lord of the Rings, Bollywood Dreams for Broadway, five film productions including Mani Ratnam’s Yuva starring Ajay Devgan, Shyam Benegal’s Subhash Chandra Bose, Mangal Pandey — The Rising.

‘‘Time has permitted me to compose only the theme song, which will be in english for Subhash Ghai’s Kisna,’’ he adds.

On other versions of the national anthem in his New Year list, Rahman says: ‘‘No, but I’m doing the music for the IMAX-Bharat Bala film Taj Mahal. It’s mostly acoustic-based classical music that will have a Persian and Arabic flavour.’’