Close my eyes, cross the ocean

AR Rahman on the mind, music and his grand plans for Bangalore

The signature all-black garb is still there, as is the long flowing hair. But fame sits lightly on music maestro AR Rahman. He comes across humble and grounded and the smile which flashes periodically is genuine and wide as he discusses his grand plans for Bangalore. It's one of the centres chosen for his 2005 grand world tour, which will cover cities like London, Vienna, Sydney and Singapore. Why Bangalore?

"It's been my desire to play here for a long time, but it didn't work out. I'm glad it finally has. It's one of my favourite cities," he says. Rahman has the reputation of transcending musical boundaries. His music finds fans from Bollywood right to New York's Broadway and London's West End, where his Bombay Dreams had a dream run. "Ultimately, it's all about a song. It has to reach out to audiences everywhere, whether in Tamil, Kannada or Hindi. To me all audiences are important and equal. A song is like an offering." And which of his ‘offerings' is dearest to his heart? "For me... Roja -- the entire score. It's also been selected by Time magazine as one of the best movie soundtracks of all time."

The magazine also referred to Rahman as the "renowned and preeminent composer of modern Bollywood." Do these accolades give him a sense of his own genius? "Every day, when I stand and pray, I'm nothing -- I don't exist. After all, I don't know about tomorrow. Every day there are deadlines, scores to finish. I just close my eyes, cross the oceans and do my work. Each day is a new day," he says. So how does he cope? "When you take things onto your head it becomes extra luggage, which prevents progress. So open up your mind -- then anything can be filled in -- quality work or even rubbish," he smiles.

He's excited by his new Lord of the Rings project. Then there's Shekhar Kapur's Buddha which he calls "really interesting. I hope it works out." How does he shift gears from Bollywood to Broadway? "The magic word is open. Keep an open mind. The minute you define yourself you get static. You need to travel in your mind."

Clearly, while he can work anywhere and with anyone, his empathy with directors like Mani Ratnam is evident. He nods. "Two minds working together can do it. Break out of the formula. The ultimate mindset should be to achieve something good." And it works, he points out. "People told me Vande Mataram/Maa Tujhe Salaam would never bring me money or fame. But Bharat Bala and I shared the same vision, so we could break barriers with it." He makes it sound so easy. Is it really? "Not always," he smiles, "Sometimes I get on a Chennai flight after getting off a London flight and the sensibilities are completely different. I ask myself can I survive? It's not easy, but if you try, you can get liberated. The mind is an amazing thing."