A.R. Rahman gets fresh at 40

It was a special effort. Very rarely does one come across filmmakers who excite and enthuse you as much as Mani Rathnam, Ram Gopal Varma and Rakeysh Mehra. Just before shooting we did a workshop with all the music I had composed for my film. I discovered there was a slow song just before interval which was a no-no according to trade pundits. They were wrong. Earlier I had thought people would walk out in Tu hi re in Roja , O paalan haare in Lagaan and now Lukka chuppi in Rang De Basanti. I was wrong . It all depends on how the director treats the music.

How did the music of Rang De Basanti evolve?

First of all , it was conceived four years back when I was doing The Legend Of Bhagat Singh . And since Rang De Basanti was also partly about Bhagat Singh I was reluctant to do it. Fortunately Rang De got delayed and because of the over-dose of patriotism within the 'period' format, we re-considered the entire structure of Rang De…. The first meeting we had with Rakeysh and lyricist Prasoon Joshi we decided, we're going to make all the songs super-hits.

How on earth do you decide that ?

It was a complex theme. We decided it shouldn't be preachy and the songs shouldn't follow a fixed pattern. For example the farewell song after the heroes' death must not be mournful. We decided to make it upbeat. That's how Rubaroo came in. Khoon chala had very dark poetry. We decided to turn it into a love song. There're situations in this film that I had never encountered before. It all happened for the good. God's great. Rakeysh isn't a normal kind of guy. He's open to unpredictable patterns in his movie and music. He never said , no this can't work. A Rang De Basanti can't be done with everyone. Sometimes when you put forward a new idea the filmmaker laughs at you. When I saw Rakeysh's Aks on DVD I saw how well it worked chapter to chapter, but not in totality. Now in four years he and his team had really grown. Then there was Aamir….

There's always something special from you for Aamir.

Like Mangal Pandey ?(laughs). Jokes aside, people did like the music. People liked some of the songs. But my favourite Maula which was supposed to be in the whole climax, was chopped off after one stanza. There're so many factors that a composer can't control.

At that point of time it seemed Hindi cinema had nothing more to offer you.

No that's not true. Some films , like Abbas Tyrewallah's I was banking on, got stalled. At that time my life was too complicated. I was doing a lot of travelling to outside India. I had Bombay Dreams then the stage version of Lord Of The Rings . I was quite excited about doing new kind of work. I saw these as a natural progression in my international career. And now I'm doing the background score for Shekhar Kapoor's Elizabeth 2. My first full-length score in a mainstream Hollywood production. Shekhar was keen on having me. There'll also be original songs from that era, the 15th century. I'm working on it. Earlier I had done the background score for a Chinese music. I've also done the background music in Jagmohan Mundhra's Provoked. Working in three different sensibilities—Chennai, Mumbai and abroad—we tried to bring a certain international quality to the sound in Provoked. It's a crossover film on various levels. For one it isn't the kind of cinema Jag is identified with. But he has made a smooth transition.

Your music has achieved that crossover which our cinema hasn't.

I hope so. Doing music for Deepa Mehta's trilogy Fire, Earth and now Water was also very satisfying…though doing songs for these films was a kind of sacrifice for me. They were put in the background. Most of my fans hate that. They say, don't do that. I've been rather unfortunate with some scores that I worked hard on and they never got released. I've become somewhat conscious of the projects I take up. If my songs get a raw deal I'd rather just do the background music.

During our last conversation you had said Chennai would always be your home.

You never know. I'm trying to cut down drastically on my travelling. Though it was a learning experience I need to be at home more now. The kids are growing up. I need to be with the family more often. A year back I didn't allow my kids to be anywhere me. Now they're all over the place while I compose. I think it's very important for them to absorb the ambience.

Are your children musically inclined?

They've just started learning classical music from Ghulam Mustafa Khan Saab. Just last week he came and took over their training.

Is doing the background score as satisfying as doing songs?

Unfortunately that era when a composer could create something as durable and enduring as Lara's Theme(Dr Zhivago) is almost over. But I'm sure great themes will come back. Internationally my career did take off after Bombay Dreams. It was an A R Rahman musical. It allowed me to go into a direction no one had gone before. Now of course I can compose for international projects from my home in Chennai. I won't say I've become grounded. But I'm trying to avoid too much travel.

Your slow pace used to be a problem for Bollywood filmmakers.

How can my working methods be a problem to anyone ? It's like saying, sitting and eating is a problem, so let's stand and eat. Every person has his own rhythm of work. I believe Naushad Saab did just only 47 films in his lifetime. And he never regretted it. And look at what he did to film music. I've my own way of working. It's a matter of priority. When I'm doing something that I don't enjoy doing, when I'm not in control then the quality of work might suffer. I'm at my best when I'm in control of my work. Change of course is inevitable. That's why I keep renovating and innovating.

What are you doing in Hindi? Rakeysh Mehra has given you to do an entirely Indian classical score in Bhairavi?

This was one of the scripts we wanted to do earlier. Now the whole concept has changed and it's far more exciting. Most of the work that I'm doing is for musicals. And yes, a period film too…Ashutosh Gowariker's Jodha-Akbar . It's a romantic film, and romantic films always work. I also have Chamki Chameli which Sanjay Gupta is producing and Shyam Benegal is directing. It's a full-on musical. I also have Raj Santoshi's London Dreams . There I've to recreate British underground music…Punjab meets Southhall….I'm collaborating with music producers from Birmingham to get the London underground feel to the score…Right now I'm doing Mani Rathnam's Guru where I'm again working with Gulzar Saab.

Do you understand his lyrics?

I do . I'm not that dumb any longer(laughs).

Guru is again a period film .

There are period films, and period films. There're period romantic films, patriotic period films. Guru is partly period partly contemporary. No one wants to watch patriotic period films anywhere but on DVDs.

Describe your experience playing in the universities of the US last month?

It was for Global Rhythms in Michigan and Utah University . These guys had been playing my music for a while. When they met me they said they wanted to do a world concert with me. We had 152 people on stage singing in Tamil, Hindi and English. No one was looking at lyric sheets except me.

Do you feel Rang De Basanti is a new beginning for you in Bollywood?

When I go abroad I find there's still such a big following for Roja , Bombay and Lagaan. I was never complacent about those. I can't be complacent about Rang De Basanti. Otherwise I'll become a has-been.

Do you think international success has eluded you?

It can't happen overnight. But I won't let my career in Hindi and Tamil films for projects abroad. My agent keeps telling me I'd get a lot of work in LA if I went there. But what I'm doing here is more important. I've invested a huge amount in my studio in Chennai. I need to invest time in it.

How does life look to you?

Life is always a struggle. I feel I'm just starting out. I can't afford to get lazy at 40. Lots of things have changed. Lots of young people love music, and that's a good thing. But music doesn't sell, and that's a bad thing.

What do you think of Himesh Reshammiya's music?

He fills a lacuna in Hindi film music, just like Nadeem earlier on. He's trying to mix a lot of genres. People like his music. It's good. There're audiences for large genres of films. And he's doing a good job.

Himesh says he won't sing for any outside composer except you.

I'm flattered.

Do you think you've achieved what you had set out to?

I didn't set out to achieve anything. It all happened on its own. I always go with the flow.