Friday, November 23, 2007
Saturday, October 20, 2007
Saturday, October 13, 2007
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Being A R Rahman: Musically yours
These videos talks about the ARR working style.....
http://www.ibnlive.com/news/being-a-r-rahman-musically-yours/36286-8.html
Saturday, July 21, 2007
ARR - New Studio..
A.M. Studios Music Recording and Mixing Film Mixing
A.M. Studios Music Recording and Mixing Film Mixing
The building process was started several years before Sound Wizard was
approached to take full charge of the project. We restarted almost from scratch
and with the active collaboration of Studio 440 from Los Angeles, managed to
complete the project within nine months.
This recording studio is interesting because of the flexibility it offers for
music recording and film mixing, thanks to variable acoustics. The control room
has a large bay window offering full view of the big screen in the mix stage.
The recording area, which doubles as a mix stage, can accommodate up to
thirty musicians for large recordings. There are also two additional isolation
booths with large glass sliding doors, offering easy viewing to and from the
main recording area.
Most acoustical treatment was done using specially imported RPG diffusers,
clouds and Maharam acoustically transparent fabrics, giving the facility a chic
plain lines and a roomy feeling.
Layout: | 35m2-380ft2 control room 120m2-1300ft2 mix stage / record space | |||
| 2 isolation booths 2 machine rooms One lobby | ||||
Control room Front Surrounds Subwoofers Amplifiers Processing | 7.1 monitoring 3 x Dynaudio M4+ 4 x Dynaudio BM15 2 x Dynaudio 18" Chord SPA XTA DP226 & DP224 | |||
Equipment: | Neve 88R mixing board Protools HD3 system Pyramix system MOTU 896 interface | |||
Mix stage Front Surrounds Subwoofers Amplifiers Processing | 7.1 monitoring 3 x Tesseract MPTS-1 8 x JBL 8340 4 x Bag End Infrasub-18 Bryston 9B & 4B SST TMH Bass man Ashly 424Gs & 224GS | |||
Equipment: | Euphonix System 5 |
S.J.Surya's article about A.R.Rahman..
"SHOT 1
There are quite a few interesting incidents behind the making of the song “Thottal Poo malarum” from NEW. One day, I told A.R.Rahman, “Can you do a remix of a old tamil song for NEW?”. He had never done a remix, so he told me that will not do a remix.
I requested him, “Sir, please… Lets remix the song “Pesuvadhu Kiliyaa”. If you do a remix, that’ll be great”. He wasn’t convinced. But, I did not give up. “Sir, think of it this way. If you remix that song, you will receive the blessings of lyricist Kannadasan (One of the all-time-best lyricists in Tamil) from up above!”, I tried convincing him.
At one stage, unable to stand my pestering (!!!), he had tried it out. But according to him, it did not come out that well! But since I kept forcing him, he said, “Ok… I’ll do ..But not this song… Shall I try “thottaal poo malarum”. But, I will change the tune”
I hesitated a bit… I thought, “Aha!! The tune of the original song is good.. It would be nice if he changes only the rhythm. But he wants to change the tune itself!!” Rahman understood what I was thinking and immediately said, “I make good tunes, Surya!!!”
“Ooops… Sir, Don’t mistake me!! Oh…My God!!!”, I retreated… Rahman started laughing!!!
Then he asked me, “When does your shooting finish?”. I told him it was at 1:30 am.. He asked me to come to his studio at 2:30 am.
--cut--
SHOT 2
I reach there at 2:30 am after the shooting to find the CD ready there, waiting for me! He had gone off to sleep just 5 minutes back, asking the people there to give the CD to me when I reach there! I get back to my car and played the CD. I was spell bound! I immediately realized that entire Tamilnadu is going to be spellbound over this song!
I called up choreographer Brinda, cinematographer Guhan and art-director Anand right away and asked them to come over to AVM Studios. Sincere persons that they are, they reached AVM by 3:00 am. I opened the doors of my car and played the song in high volume. They were enthralled! Their reaction to this song was same as that of mine!
Left AVM at around 4:15… Was so excited that I was in no mood to go home and sleep. So, I roamed all over Chennai in my car, listening to this song again and again. I reached home only at 6:00 am. I send a message to A.R.Rahman - “Hats off to you genius”. That would have definitely brought a smile on his face!
Left AVM at around 4:15… Was so excited that I was in no mood to go home and sleep. So, I roamed all over Chennai in my car, listening to this song again and again. I reached home only at 6:00 am. I send a message to A.R.Rahman - “Hats off to you genius”. That would have definitely brought a smile on his face!
SHOT 3
There is one small similarity between both of us (I am happy to say thatthere is some similarity between me and the genius). Both of us are nocturnal creatures! Both of us like working in the nights.
The way he composes tunes is a beauty in itself. It is like a tapas. Unlike other music directors, he does not compose music, surrounded by people. Whoever be the director, he gets the “situation” for the song and composes the tune all alone. Will anyone do a tapas in the midst of a crowd?
Once I had taken my brother-in-law along to ARR’s studio for a recording. Work was going on till 4 am. Then Rahman came to me and said, “I feel very tired. I will sleep now, wake up at 6 and finish the work”. Then he went off to sleep.
I came out, woke up my brother-in-law, who was sleeping in the visitor’s area. “You want to see how Rahman sir sleeps?”, I asked him and escorted him inside. We stealthily opened the door and went inside. There was “Isai Puyal” – sleeping in a corner of the singers’ cabin - on the floor, even without a pillow – just like how people sleep on the “Thinnai” in villages.
SHOT 5
God creates humans using flesh and blood. But for mothers, he just fills up with LOVE. I have got a loving and caring mom, Anandam. Similarly Rahman sir has also got a great mom - Kareena! Very spiritual person. She has unlimited devotion towards Allah.
The audio cassettes of NEW were released by both our moms. That was a memorable moment.
When Rahman has finished composing for a movie, the first copy does not go to the producer or the director. He give it to his mother. She goes to the mosque, offers the CD to God, prays and then returns it to Rahman. Be it Lagaan or whichever “big” movie it may be, the first CD always reaches his mom. Who else in the world, apart from a mother, would wish more for the success of a son? Very good character… A great woman.
There is a cupboard in Rahman’s house. Since biggies like Ram Gopal Verma, Shankar, Mani Ratnam spend their nights working at their place, his mom makes snacks and delicacies (like murukku, seedai) and fills the cupboards with them. We do our work, munching these tasty delicacies. Some jolly moments!!!
Dear God, give the mother and her children a happy and prosperous life, without any difficulties."
First Luv.....
My First Luv Honda Unicorn (from side).....
My First Luv Honda Unicorn ( from front)..
Interview : Sound of Rahman
TALKING MUSIC: India's most respected musician AR Rahman talks about his music and more
He is considered India's most respected musicians. He has been credited with giving Indian film music a global, a more original, more unique sound. He is also one of the highest selling artists in the world, having sold more than 50 million albums in Tamil, Telugu, Hindi and English. He has also made a very successful crossover to the West, while his roots, his first love, continues to be Indian music. He is A R Rahman.
In an exclusive interview with CNN-IBN’s Entertainment Editor Rajeev Masand, A R Rahman talks about Rang De Basanti, his music and some of his outstanding works.
Rajeev Masand: The most obvious question first: Where did the dreadlocks go?
A R Rahman: I went for Haj, so I had to get them off. Or you can say, to washed my sins, I got my hair chopped off.
Rajeev Masand:That was your most marked characteristic. Do you miss them?
A R Rahman: I know, but my wife likes me better now.
Rajeev Masand:Rang De Basanti, your most recent work, is a film which really marked a milestone. Isn’t it? Apart from the fact that it has great music and it’s a great album, it is one of those rare soundtracks where the theme is blended perfectly with the music. Your earlier work Bombay and Taal were also examples of that. Do you agree?
A R Rahman: Yes, I think so. The process with Rang De Basanti started when Rakeysh (Rakeysh Om Prakash Mehra, the film’s director) told me the story, which had freedom fighters in it. I was working on Legend of Bhagat Singh with Santoshji at that time. So, I said that I would not do another film like this. Of course Rang De Basanti happened four years later.
When I started on this film last year, what we decided to do was not to have anything which is preachy and going to bring people down. We wanted to go abstract and go counter-point, like people and children are dying there and we have a happy soundtrack, which is Ru Ba Ru and going to the light and there is more positivity rather than going along with the film.
In fact, everything is in opposites -- like the song Khalbali, which has the word ‘ziddi (stubborn)’, and it came because of the tune. And then the way after the song was recorded, which Rakeysh used in the film, when Bhagat Singh refuses to take any food and becomes ‘ziddi’. Now that is the stroke of a genius. And that's how things should be done, more interactively, not by having a per se idea and defining it. If you want to break and go on to the next level, you need to take a chance. Sometimes, it works out this way. And in this film, it all worked out, I guess.
Rajeev Masand: One of my favourite songs in Rang De Basanti soundtrack is Lukka Chhupi. I have read a fair bit of criticism about the song, largely perhaps because it is a collaboration with Lata Mangeshkar. I could be wrong, but I guess the reason should have been Lata Mangeshkar. The song is really a mother’s call and a mother’s song.
A R Rahman: See, the song was not designed to be in the film at all. I was doing the film and I was doing Ru Ba Ru and Khalbali and Pathshaala. I felt it was all upbeat and modern. What was the film about? It is about a call of a mother. It is how the characters in the film change. I was actually hearing a song from Born On The Fourth Of July soundtrack and there is a song, which goes this way: ‘Where have you been my blue-eyed son’.
I thought why not do a similar song for the film. It is very abstract, it takes the inner feeling of the film into a soundtrack. So I was telling Zaria, and Rakeysh was saying, “Mmm... OK.” And Prasoon, of course, said it won’t work. We then came up with Lukka Chhupi. I said why don't we have an answer for the mother who calls. And in a way, I was trying to do a duet with Lata Mangeshkar, which I had wanted to do for a long time, because whenever I had approached, it never happened. The plan got cancelled for almost six times, until it finally happened.
So, in which scene will this song fit in is the next question, right? When we tried to spot the scenes, it fitted exactly with Waheedaji and the death. But then the reverberation of the song is within the film and outside the film also. So, I feel doing a song is taking me from the cliché' of situation which films have. And working outside it and then fitting it in. So all these things fitted in.
Rajeev Masand: You have just signed up as world ambassador for World Space. This is not the first time that you have endorsed a brand. How long does it take or how do you decide as to what is it that you want to get attached to and don't ?
A R Rahman: I probably was the first one to get the radio of World Space. I just wanted to check it out first. I was really impressed with the variety and the manner World Space had put up their advertisements. I did not know that here was a policy of not having any hassle in it, which is brilliant. I remember 20 years back, I used to go all the way to Bangalore to pick up my favourite music, and here we have everything on the touch-move-button --jazz, classical, pop. So when they ask me, I said: "Yes, let's do it!"
Rajeev Masand:You were in Toronto recently for the opening of the Lord Of The Rings musical. Tell me, was that a daunting task, for doing a score for that? Especially, because the comparisons between the musical and Lord Of The Rings film series were almost inevitable and especially because those films have gone on to become cult films.
A R Rahman: I think people very well know what is possible on stage and what is not. In films, you can add a lot of special effects and get away with. But to do something like this on stage is an incredible task. We have to give it to them the way they produce it and direct it and how they have put up this whole thing. It was a big gamble and they have succeeded in it. And being a part of it is a nice feeling.
Rajeev Masand: You have composed music for a musical before, including Bombay Dreams. Was Bombay Dreams perhaps a little easier, especially because you were familiar with the milieu. It was a story of a boy who wants to become an actor in Bollywood?
A R Rahman: One more thing is Bombay Dreams is a musical, which was written around the music of life. So we already knew that Ayesha was going to be in it. Taal's music was going to be in it. The music was written around it. But here it was vice-versa, we have script and the successful movies and they said do not derive inspiration from the movies. No music should come out of the movie, but it should be original from the book. So this is more difficult, this is really difficult. And I worked with Bartana, who is from Finland. Ultimately, when the music was put together, you could only see the scene and the episode there and get excited rather than trying to research which music is whose and cannot find that out.
Rajeev Masand: Your music is quite a rage among Chinese filmmakers. Your score in Warriors of Heaven and Earth became immensely popular. You have apparently been getting lots of offers from Chinese filmmakers. Is that true?
A R Rahman: Yes, there were a couple of offers which came in, but then I was busy on this side.
Rajeev Masand: Is it difficult doing a Chinese score? What's the challenge there?
A R Rahman: The challenge for me was not just doing a Chinese film. It was about the Silk Route, the Turkish and the Russian influence, and all those stuff. Working of the film was really good. For the first time, I got to work with the Prague Orchestra and the orchestral experience was really something.
Rajeev Masand:Which you used again in Mangal Pandey…
A R Rahman: Yes.
Rajeev Masand:If I ask you to pick your most under-rated film score out of 1947 Earth, The Legend of Bhagat Singh, Bose... which one do you think had the most under-rated score which could have perhaps done well, but didn’t ?
A R Rahman: I want every film score I do to do well. But some don’t, because there are a lot of actors involved. Yet, it adds to the repertoire because someday people might listen to it in a different frame of mind. Like when I did Mani Ratnam's Iruvar, I literally had a person asking me why did I do a score which looked so old-fashioned. He didn’t know that it was a period film. There are so many elements and when people come to know about them, then after a year they buy the same music.
Rajeev Masand: You are dodging the question. Which is that one score that you were disappointed with, perhaps because of its failure?
A R Rahman: Yes, sometimes you get disappointed, but then its not just you, it’s the entire team that gets disappointed because it did not succeed. Bose, I know that most people wouldn’t have listened to it at all. Most people won’t be having a cassette or a CD of it. I hope it gets released soon as I have heard it was finally getting released some time (soon). I hope that gets done.
Rajeev Masand: Have you ever been embarrassed by the way a song has been filmed?
A R Rahman: Yes, a lot of times. But, I guess the people are intelligent enough now to know all that, what is personal and what is not, and what is done for the movie.
Rajeev Masand: You won’t take any names?
A R Rahman: No.
Rajeev Masand: We know that Mani Ratnam has been an influence and a mentor. While you were doing ad films, he offered you Roja and most of your best work has been with him. Tell us as to what kind of relationship do you share with him. Is it something apart from just the director-composer relationship? Are you two friends? Do you hang out outside the studio?
A R Rahman: We don’t hang out much (laughs). What is really a relationship? A relationship means the first good experiences, like first love and you always remember that. He picked up the best out of my work and said, “This is you.” He was the first one who gave me a good work. For us, it’s been a challenge to cross each thing from Bombay to Iruvar. Whenever we sit, we don’t talk about old things, rather we try sharing a new frequency to create the same magic again.
Rajeev Masand: Your score for Roja was ranked by the Time magazine as one of the 10 best scores in the world. How do you look back at it now, since so many years have passed since Roja? Is that flattering?
A R Rahman: Yes, it’s quite flattering. It’s a small world, isn’t it? You see Inside Man using Chhaiyyan Chhaiyyan, Lord of War using Bombay theme.
Rajeev Masand:Do you think Roja is your best work?
A R Rahman: It’s probably my first good work. Like I said about Mani Ratnam, who gave me my first good work. It brings back all those memories. It gave me the urge to go further and maintain quality work, crossing over to the North Indian audience with the film, lyrics which were never imagined before.
Rajeev Masand:Chhaiyyan Chhaiyyan is one song that you've always been remembered for. People continue to love this one song. It was used in Bombay Dreams, in Hollywood films, Spike Lee’s Inside Man… Do you ever feel like telling people to get over with it and look at your new work? Do you ever feel that it is a like a double-edged sword?
A R Rahman: It was very strange how Chhaiyyan Chhaiyyan was done. I wanted a Punjabi singer for Chhaiyyan Chhaiyyan, while I had Nusrat’s voice in my head. I asked my friend Brijbhushan in Bombay if he knew anybody like that. He suggested me three names. Finally he said ‘Mr Singh’ will be coming in.
I had expected somebody with a turban . That's when Sukhwinder Singh landed in Chennai. He was working on Govind Nihlani's Thakshak and I asked him if he knew any Sufi lyrics because his voice has that Sufi touch. He said, “Yes, I know this.” We went to a room and then did Chhaiyyan Chhaiyyan. It was lying there for one year. I wanted to use it for my album Vande Mataram, but it didn’t fit in. Then Mani asked me if I had a tune for his next film. I said something is ready and he immediately liked it. Then Gulzar sahib wrote the lyrics. It was first Thaiyan Thaiyan and then it was changed to Chhaiyyan Chhaiyyan. At that time, I realised that it had the potential. The intention of doing this song was not to make it into a film song. It had that Sufi aspect.
Rajeev Masand: Gulzar sahib once said, “A R Rahman’s greatest achievement is that he didn’t mess around with my lyrics.” Is that something you like to elaborate on?
A R Rahman: Yes, I do. And where is the need to mess around with the lyrics when somebody writes them so perfectly?
Rajeev Masand:You have often confessed that you are not so familiar with Hindi.
A R Rahman: (Laughs) Yes, I can’t talk but my vocabulary is better than what it used to be. I have been learning Urdu. I can’t talk but I can read now and I can understand most of the vocabulary. The thing about words, certain words give you a sound and meaning, if you get the right kind of balance, the song becomes a hit and everybody takes pride in it.
Rajeev Masand:So many actors, especially in Hindi films, have been singing their own songs and you have said that it is good for actors to know how to sing so that they can act as if they are singing themselves.
A R Rahman: Yes, like in the West, actors never practise to use someone else's voice. Nicole Kidman used her own voice in Moulin Rouge. I think that should happen in India too. It will be good if actors learn music because it will make our industry more credible. It will be good if these things could happen simultaneously.
Rajeev Masand: Let me put you in a tough situation. What do you think of Aamir, Shah Rukh or Amitabh, who've been singing their own songs? What do you think of them as singers?
A R Rahman: I think they are intelligent enough to choose songs, which go along their own voice. You can’t expect classical songs being sung by kind of actors like Shah Rukh. They don’t want to torture people like that.
Rajeev Masand:You said some of your songs were composed in two days while some of them took up to 45 days. How do you know when a song is ready?
A R Rahman: It’s based on one's instinct. Sometimes, when you overwork on something you go back and sometimes abruptness is the best.
Rajeev Masand: Over the years, you've sung many songs yourself. Like, Ye jo des hai mera, in Swades, Chale Chalo from Lagaan, or Ru Ba Ru from Rang De Basanti. How do you know when a song requires your own voice?
A R Rahman: Sometimes I've worked from the scratch using my own voice. Like in Dil Se, Mani said why don’t you sing it in your own voice. Or when I did Ye Jo Des…Ashutosh Gowarikar suggested that I should be singing this song. Initially, I was supposed to sing Ek Taara but it didn’t match Shah Rukh's voice.
Rajeev Masand: Has it ever happened that you recorded a song in your voice and the director told you that someone could have sung this better? Sukhwinder Singh or Shankar Mahadevan? Has it ever happened to you?
A R Rahman: I would be the first one to suggest such a thing (laughs). The last thing I want to do is put my voice in a song. There are so many lovely singers out there and I would love to get their contribution in my music.
Rajeev Masand:You daughters are learning music as well. In fact, they are on the soundtrack of Mangal Pandey...
A R Rahman: They are getting trained, but they have not been singing so much. It’s just to give them a choice that they can take up music if they want to.
Rajeev Masand:So in many ways, it’s like a legacy you want to give them.
A R Rahman: Yes. That’s true.
Rajeev Masand: Talking about Mangal Pandey, apparently you've still not been paid entirely for your work in the film. Does that upset you since the actor and the producer of the film have gone on record saying that the movie was highly successful. Not only did they recover the entire investment in the first week, but that they made a lot of money.
A R Rahman: That’s a very delicate question. Mr Bedi came the day an article on it was published. He promised me that everything will be settled sometime in July. I didn’t want to go the legal way. He is a nice man and I trust his word. Besides, everybody has been watching everything. All these things were not intentional I guess.
Rajeev Masand: Please tell us what do you like to do when you are not working? What kind of a husband are you? What kind of a father are you?
A R Rahman: Good question (laughs). I think you should be asking this to my wife and children. My mother, my kids are very supportive of me. They always know what I'm going through. I also try to play my role as best as I can within the limitations of my schedule.
Rajeev Masand: Let’s hope you have lots of time for them. Let’s also hope we can see lots of interesting work from you in India and outside it. Thank you very much.
A.R. Rahman - Intro
Artist : AR Rahman
As we step into another year with more expectations, lets relive the past as well as enjoy the present with this artist of the month. Yes, the artist of this month is still going strong and is a pride of TFM. Its none other than our own A.R. Rahman.
A. R. Rahman(originally named as A.S. Dileep Kumar) or Allah Rakha Rahman was born on the 6th of January in the year 1967, in Madras. His father R.K. Sekhar was a composer, arranger and conductor in Malayalam movies and had worked under the likes of Salil Chowdhary and Devarajan. His mother was Kasthuri (now Kareema Begum). Dileep's baptism in music happened early in life. Dileep's earliest memories of the studio are with his father. On one of those visits, a music director Sudarshanam Master found the four year old playing a tune on the harmonium. Sudarshanam Master covered the keys with a cloth. It made no difference. Dileep replayed the tune effortlessly. This impressed the music director who suggested that he be trained in music. Dileep started learning the piano at the tender age of four. He received his early training in music from Dhanraj Master.
But he wanted to grow up to be an electronics or computer engineer. He says today, in reminiscence " I was not crazy after music. I was more interested in technology". He was first drawn to music strongly when his father bought a synthesiser, one of the very first in film circles then, from Singapore. "Till then", he now says, "As a child, music seemed to be a means of earning bread and butter. I had no special fascination for it... it was associated purely with work. Yet I couldn't take my eyes away from the synthesiser, it was like a forbidden toy." This instrument was an object of much curiosity to the young Dileep and caught his fancy. Dileep used to spend hours experimenting with the novel instrument. This instrument was to shape the future of this child. It was perhaps divinely ordained that the synthesiser would become Dileep's favourite instrument since it was the ideal combination of music and technology.
Rahman's early years were one of struggle and hardships. At the age of 9, his father passed away following a mysterious illness with rumours abounding that he was the victim of black magic practised by his rivals. Unfortunately R. K. Shekhar passed away the very same day his first film as composer was released. It was at this time that Rahman's belief in God first took a beating. Much of his time was filled with hospital visits, pain and anxieties. It is an issue that Rahman outrightly refuses to discuss even today. After his father's death the pressure of supporting his family fell on the young Dileep. At first the family subsisted by lending out his father's musical instruments. At the age of 11, he joined Illaiyaraja's troupe as a keyboard player in order to earn for his family's upkeep. He also learnt to play the guitar. Thus Rahman formally entered the world of music. He also began to play the keyboard for programmes on television.
It was his mother Kareema Begum who encouraged him to follow in his father's footsteps and fully supported him in his vocation. But all this had an adverse effect on his formal education. Infrequent attendance and an unaccommodative management forced him to shift schools from the prestigious Padma Seshadri Bal Bhavan to the Madras Christian College and finally he dropped out of school altogether when he was doing his 11th grade. He also played on the orchestra of M.S.Vishwanathan, Raj-Koti and Ramesh Naidu and accompanied Zakir Hussain and Kunnakudi Vaidyanathan on world tours. He also appeared playing the keyboard on a few popular music shows on televison like 'Wonder Balloon' on the Madras Doordarshan channel. He also did music programming in some Ilaiyaraja's films, a notable one being K.Balachander's 'Punnagai Mannan'.
All this experience enabled him to earn a scholarship to the famed Trinity College of Music at Oxford University from where he obtained a degree in Western Classical Music. He came back with a dream to bring an international and contemporary world perspective to Indian music.
Fast forward to the year 1991. Arguably the best director in Tamil film industry Mani Ratnam was looking for a new music director for his movies after his long relationship with Illaiyaraja ended. Manirtathnam had a chance to listen to ad jingles in an awards function while presiding over a function. Manirathnam was curious about the composer and requested a few of his works.. Impressed with the young man, Manirathnam visited his studio and the young man played a tune that he composed long back on the cauvery issue. Manirathnam signed the guy immediately for his next movie being produced by Balachanders Kavithalaiya. The movie was "Roja" and the song was Thamizha Thamizha ( http://www.musicindiaonline.com/p/x/QAfgVpJVqd.As1NMvHdW/) and the young 24 year old lad was A.R. Rahman. It was the best entry a person can think about in the film industry.
Though Roja was an instant hit, critics didn"t stop questioning Rahman's style of music and whether he was a one-movie wonder like many other music directors. His second movie was Suresh menon's "pudhiya mugam". ( http://www.musicindiaonline.com/l/26/s/movie_name.5118/).
Though the movie was not a hit, the music was well appreciated by the fans. Rahman's usage of singers was also well received as he tried out new and young upcoming singers in his movies as well as veterans like P. Susheela and Jayachandran. Also Rahman didn't go on a signing spree based on the success of 2 movies. He was very choosy in his projects and took his own time for composing. This was considered by a few directors and a critics as a major drawback. At a time when TFM had music directors like Deva who composed music for 15-20 movies in a year for a paltry salary, Rahman took 6-7 months for a movie but the output was much different and led to many success stories. His third movie was what brought him into the limelight. The movie was "Gentleman" and it was a directorial debut for Shankar. The music for the movie came out well ahead of the movie's release and it was the talk of the town. "Chikku bukku rayile" ( http://www.musicindiaonline.com/p/x/kUKgIcZfJd.As1NMvHdW/) and "ottagathai kattikko" ( http://www.musicindiaonline.com/p/x/-4KgPFIovd.As1NMvHdW/) were runaway hits and "ottagathai kattikko" also went onto be featured as the background music in BBC's fashion show.
All of Rahman's movies were city-oriented movies. He had used keyboard and digitial synthesizers for these movies. Now the question was: could he score music for village based movies. There was a doubt whether he would be able to score folk music and excel in all sorts of music like Illayaraja. Then came his opportunity to work in movies like "Uzhavan", "Vandhicholai chinnarasu" and "Kizhakku seemaiyile". These movies were village based movies and Rahman seemed to handle it with ease. Kizhakku seemaiyile was a big hit and it also united veteran director Bharathiraja with Rahman. The music for other movies were moderate hits. Rahman also did a couple of Telugu movies and a Malayalam movie meanwhile. It was his second movie with Manirathnam "Thiruda Thiruda" which got rave reviews for his Background music. "Konjam Nilavu" was easily one of the best songs of the year. The next hurdle was to score music for a music-oriented movie. The chance came in the best possible way, a movie with Veteran director K. Balachander "Duet". KB is known for his music oriented movies like Aboorva Rahangal , Sindhu Bhairavi, Ninaithaale inikkum. So Rahman had to be at his best for this movie. Duet turned out to be one of the best (if not THE best) in his short career until then. It also stopped critics questioning Rahman's knowledge of Carnatic music. Though the music was a great hit, the movie was a big disappointment.
Rahman continued his success with movies like May Maatham, Kaadhalan, kadhal desam, Minsara kanavu, Bombay etc. His music in Bombay (which was dubbed into Hindi) caught the notice of many in the Hindi Film industry. Rahman got his first opportunity in Hindi music with Ramgopal verma's Rangeela. Rangeela's music was a hit in south India but it wasn't an instant hit in North India. It took a reunion with Manirathnam in "Dil se" to capture the hindi music audience. Rahman got more and more opportunities in Hindi with Daud, Kabhi na kabhi, Shikar (which never came out) etc but it was not until "Taal" that he was really treated as a Hindi music director. Taal was well received and Rahman got more offers from Hindi film industry and from well known directors.
In 1997 , during the 50th year of Indian independence, Rahman along with his childhood friend bharat came up with an idea of doing a private album. In 1997, the International music giant, Sony Music, whose portfolio included the likes of Michael Jackson and Celine Dion, entered the Indian market in a big way. They were looking to promote Indian artistes internationally. And the first person to be signed up by Sony Music from the Indian sub-continent was, who else but, A.R.Rahman, on a 3-album contract. The financial details of the contract were not disclosed but Industry experts believe it to be the largest of its kind in India. Rahman suggested the idea that he had discussed with Bharat to Sony Music India and was immediately accepted. Called 'Vandemataram', it was a tribute to the motherland and featured songs to mark the 3 colours of the Indian Flag . Sony asked him to choose from any of its international stars to work with and supposedly even suggested the name of Celine Dion. But Rahman settled, very appropriately, for the Pakistani Sufi music star Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Dominic Miller. Rahman had decided that he would definitely work with Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan after he attended his performance in Delhi. Explaining his choice, "I don't want to collaborate with just a name. I must feel something for the person and relate with his work. I've seen several famous names collaborating on songs and albums , but they remain just two names. There's no chemistry. It's like oil and water. They can' t come together." Rahman worked overtime on it to come up with a memorable album. He devoted so much time to this prestigious project that his film assignments went behind schedule. He went all the way to Pakistan to record the 'Gurus of Peace' number with Khan Saheb. Rahman composed, arranged and sang all the songs on the album. http://www.musicindiaonline.com/l/12/s/album.1058/
Rahman continued his success both in Tamil and Hindi film industry with hit after hits like Jeans, Pukar, Deepa Mehta's The Earth, etc. He became a regular for the movies of Manirathnam, Shankar, Bharathiraja. He also scored music for Rajinikanth's Muthu and Padayappa which topped all the cassette sales records. In 1999, he signed for an aamir khan movie named Lagaan. The movie came out after two years but Rahman got international acclaim after that. He made frequent abroad trips on light music shows and performed in different countries. It also earned him the chance to compose for Broadway show Bombay Dreams by Andrew Lloyd Webber. This was a prestigious honor for anyone and Rahman started to concentrate on this more. His TFM projects started to go down as he concentrated more and more on International projects. He composed music for a lot of periodic films like "The legend of Bhagat singh", "1947- The earth" etc and his commercial music style was going down. He still composed for tamil films but at a very low rate of 2 or 3 films every year. He continued producing quality music for movies like kannathil muthamittal, kadhalar dhinam, paarthale paravasam. He also composed for a chinese movie named Warriors of Heaven and Earth.
After a long gap in Tamil film music, Rahman has chosen to comeback to TFM and concentrate more on the industry that introduced him. He was a trendsetter and his unique style captured the youngsters attention easily. His style of music has also inspired fellow music directors like Harris Jayaraj and Yuvan shankar raja and others. He has been conferred with a quite a few national awards and the padmashri award as well. On a humanitarian note he has also floated a Tuberculosis network by the name of "TB Sangarsh". He is also a global ambassador for "International Stop TB Partnership".
It is an understatement to say that Rahman is just another successful music director. His achievements and trend setting music will go a long way in Tamil music industry.. Lets hope that we are in store for a longer treat in his musical journey.
Aamir with Arr -- Making of Lagaan
| Pictures ... at the Recording Studio ... Friday, July 20, 2007 |
| Just got a few pics of the late hours that Aamir spent at the recording studio with A.R. Rehman & Prasoon Joshi. Enjoy the pictures. .           |
Friday, July 20, 2007
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