December 2003

MUSIC MAESTRO RAHMAN SCALES
GREATER HEIGHTS

By Suhel Johar

Tete-e-tete

Though he had a super-hit with 'Saathiya', Rahman has been less prolific in the past year. But now that he's long done with Andrew Lloyd Webber's 'Bombay Dreams', he has signed on some prestigious films. On the cards are Subhash Ghai's 'Krisna', M F Husain's 'Meenaxi - A Tale Of Three Cities', Shyam Benegal's 'Netaji', Ketan Mehta's 'The Rising', Rakesh Mehra's 'Samjhauta Express' and Atul Agnihotri's 'Dil Ne Jise Apna Kaha', besides the forthcoming films of Mani Ratnam and Ahmed Khan.

In his mid-thirties, India's numero uno musician, A. R. Rahman has carved an enviable niche for himself, with his inimitable notes, sounds and compositions. Having worked on the biggest and best projects, bagging encomiums and statuettes unlimited, and catapulting India to the international plane by signing up mega international projects, this workaholic is often locked up in his studio for days together making music actually sound like music to your ears. Rahman is collaborating with Finland's contemporary folk group Varttina in composing the score for the stage version of JRR Tolkien's classic trilogy, 'Lord of the Rings'. The trilogy will be condensed to an approximately three-hour musical, which will open in London's West End in early 2005 to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the publication of the complete trilogy. Yes, Sanjay Leela Bhansali is also reported to have approached him for 'Bajirao Mastani' - but Rahman isn't talking about this. He took time off to discuss the music of the 'Tehzeeb', which topped the charts within a fortnight of its release.

'Tehzeeb' is your first release in 2003. Are you planning to spoil it (victory at the awards) again for Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy 'Kal Ho Naa Ho', Vishal-Shekhar 'Jhankaar Beats', Aadesh Srivastava 'Baghban', Jatin-Lalit 'Chalte Chalte' and Rajesh Roshan 'Koi... Mil Gaya'?

To be honest, awards do mean a lot to me. It's an expression of public appreciation for your work. Yes, I hold awards in high regard, but they are not an obsession. I feel I'm overrated at times and underrated at others. I think the only right judge is God Almighty.

Last year Nadeem-Shravan was very hopeful of winning for 'Raaz', as was Ismail Darbar for 'Devdas'. But, you bagged it for 'Saathiya'. How do you feel?

I didn't expect to win any award last year. So, the award for 'Saathiya' was a very pleasant surprise, thanks to the fans and the juries.

How would you define the music of 'Tehzeeb'?

'Tehzeeb' was a challenge; because this was the first time I was entering the ghazal zone. There are so many milestones in ghazal compositions, so many masterpieces. For 'Tehzeeb', we adopted a simple contemporary style to take ghazals into mainstream, and to suit the mood and theme of the film. Besides Javed Akhtar's lyrics for 'Meherbaan', 'Na shikwa hota', he worked on three compositions of the great Urdu masters - Daag, Momin and Shaad. The thoughts were inspiring and that the words lent themselves easily to the metres of the compositions. One could easily adapt tunes to their great poetry.

What brief director, Khalid Mohamed gave you?

Khalidbhai wanted a music score that had a range, moving from ghazals to pop, rock and trance. That was fun. And, while doing the background score, another song emerged with fusion Lebanese riffs.

What inspired to compose ghazals in 'Tehzeeb'?

Some of my favourite ghazal albums are Jagjit and Chitra Singh's 'Beyond Time', Hariharan's reflections, Mehdi Hasan and Ghulam Ali's numerous recordings over the years and some of Lataji's extraordinary film renditions. When Khalidbhai picked classic ghazals by Daag, Momin and Shaad, I had scratch recordings sent to him in a week in voices of Madhushree (Sujata Bhattacharya). He liked most of them, and we got together to adapt those compositions to situations in the script.

Which is your favourite track in 'Tehzeeb'?

I know 'Meherbaan' and 'Khoyee khoyee aankhen' have more of an instant appeal as they are fast-paced. My personal favourites are the ghazals with a reflective pace.

Are you happy with T-Series' 'Tehzeeb' publicity? They didn't extensively publicise your '1947-Earth' at all, though they did hype 'Doli Saja Ke Rakhna'?

No comments!

What do you think of the music of Khalid Mohamed's previous film 'Fiza'?

Good.

What do you think of the movie 'Lord of the Rings'?

I didn't really appreciate the 'Lord of The Rings' movie when I saw it, but I like the treatment of the stage version - it is more appealing and lateral.

Are you a fan of science fiction and fantasy films?

Yes, I like them. In fact, Bladerunner' is one of my favourite films.

What did Prince Charles tell you at the launching of 'The Rising'?

Before the meeting at the muhurt of Ketan Mehta's 'The Rising', I had met the Prince of Wales at a reception at British Museum in London. He was also familiar with 'Bombay Dreams' and asked me about that.

What kind of a score are you working for 'The Rising'?

For 'The Rising', I will be providing situational songs, which will be very "deep-rooted" and not necessarily patriotic. The film marks the "turning point" in British colonization.

Which have been some of your memorable tracks in recent times?

'Dil Se', 'Taal', 'Saathiya', the Chinese film 'Warriors of Heaven' and 'Earth', and now 'Tehzeeb'.