“I miss those life-changing lyrics” - A R Rahman
He has proved that music may have languages but not boundaries. Here's the reticent A.R.Rahman, who has left no award unturned in the last six months, in a midnight chat from Chennai that brims with rare candour.
For
two
years
in
succession,
you
have
clinched
both
the
Best
Music
and
Best
Background
Music
Screen
trophies.
What
do
you
have
to
say
about
this
unique
achievement?
I
always
feel
that
nothing
can
be
planned,
and
sometimes
things
just
fall
into
place!
Just
a
few
years
ago,
a
lot
of
things
seemed
to
be
going
off-track.
Mani
Ratnam's
Lajjo,
Shyam
Benegal's
Chamki
and
Krishna
Shah's
Baiju
and
one
or
two
other
musicals
were
wonderful
subjects
that
inspired
me
then
-
and
none
of
them
even
took
off!
On
the
other
hand,
Jaane
Tu...Ya
Jaane
Na
that
got
me
your
Best
Music
trophy
this
year
was
almost
shelved
-
till
Aamir
Khan
took
over
its
production.
Last
year,
a
lot
of
my
films
came
all
together
-
Jaane
Tu...,
Jodhaa
Akbar,
Yuvvraaj,
the
music
of
Ada,
Ghajini
and
then
Slumdog
Millionaire.
So
I
have
stopped
expecting
anything
in
life.
If
good
things
happen,
it's
okay,
but
if
they
don't,
at
least
you
are
not
frustrated!
(Laughs).
Do
two
background
music
trophies
indicate
that
the
background
score
is
gaining
more
importance
nowadays?
Background
music
is
something
that
needs
ten
times
more
energy
than
making
songs.
You
can
do
songs
for
four
more
films
in
the
time
you
take
for
composing
a
background
music
score
for
just
one
movie!
In
the
West,
they
are
amazed
that
in
Indian
films
the
same
person
composes
both
the
songs
and
the
background
score.
But
over
here,
whether
it
was
Naushadsaab
in
Hindi
films,
Ilayaraja
down
here
or
most
other
composers,
we
have
had
this
tradition
almost
as
a
culture.
Speaking
for
myself,
I
like
to
do
both
and
it
is
about
my
credibility
and
sometimes
when
I
get
both
right,
it
is
a
great
high
for
me
Why
do
you
use
the
word
"sometimes"?
Why
are
you
so
modest,
almost
Bachchan-esquely
so,
in
your
statements?
I
have
so
much
to
learn
and
so
much
to
achieve.
And
things
can
go
wrong
despite
hard
work
so
often.
You
can't
orchestrate
results
and
the
magic
just
happens
sometimes.
When
it
does,
every
aspect
of
the
film
and
the
music
blends
together,
sometimes
intentionally,
sometimes
unintentionally!
"Unintentionally"!
Well,
sometimes
you
are
trying
to
do
your
part
right
and
it
may
or
may
not
happen.
Or
things
can
just
go
wrong
elsewhere.
Just
one
slip
-
like
in
an
expression
on
the
face
of
one
actor,
or
in
the
way
a
director
expresses
himself,
or
even
some
technical
point
can
prevent
everything
from
falling
in
place.
So
when
everything
turns
out
perfect,
as
in
my
Tu
hi
re
in
Bombay
or
as
in
Pyar
kiya
to
darna
kya
in
Mughal-E-Azam,
you
feel
blessed
like
an
angel.
Gulzarsaab
tells
us
that
you
light
a
candle
when
your
singer
enters
the
recording
cabin.
Have
you
always
done
this?
I
began
to
do
it
after
my
first
visit
to
Khwaja
Gharib
Nawaz
at
Ajmer
Sharif.
The
candles
lit
there
have
an
effect
I
cannot
describe.
In
my
studio
too,
it
is
so
inspirational
and
organic
amidst
all
the
electronic
gadgets.
He
also
tells
us
that
over
the
decade
since
you
first
worked
with
him
in
Dil
Se...,
you
have
become
much
more
familiar
with
the
Hindi
film
mijaaz
or
temperament.
Would
you
agree?
I
have
become
more
conscious
of
the
language.
Subhash
(Ghai)ji
and
some
others
made
me
conscious
about
that
when
I
began
working
with
them.
I
always
had
this
belief
that
music
has
no
language
and
that
a
tune
could
be
converted
by
extraordinary
lyrics
into
a
great
song
in
any
language.
But
Subhashji
taught
me
otherwise.
In
Taal,
Anand
Bakshisaab
wrote
most
of
the
lyrics
before
I
made
the
tunes.
The
same
was
the
case
with
The
Legend
Of
Bhagat
Singh
and
Sameerji.
I
realised
that
you
cannot
express
certain
words
just
anyhow.
The
elongation
of
syllables
or
of
words
-
the
syntax,
that
is
-
is
something
that
is
peculiar
to
every
language.
So
I
am
learning
Urdu
for
the
last
2-3
years
and
my
Hindi
vocabulary
is
also
up
by
40-50
per
cent!
And
did
that
also
apply
to
English?
English
was
easier
for
me,
though
when
I
took
up
Bombay
Dreams,
I
did
not
know
whether
I
could
pull
it
off.
But
I
managed,
I
think,
though
the
first
song,
Journey
home,
was
already
made
before
I
took
up
the
project.
And
with
the
passage
of
years,
as
you
get
the
time
to
evolve
and
be
more
of
yourself,
you
begin
to
learn
which
song
to
hold
back,
even
if
you
have
liked
it
yourself,
when
you
are
offering
a
director
your
compositions.
How
upsetting
is
it
when
a
film
like
Delhi
-
6
does
not
work
and
your
music
does
not
get
its
due?
Initially
I
would
find
such
a
contingency
very
painful,
but
now
I
have
learnt
to
be
detached.
I
explained
to
myself
that
the
next
assignment
is
waiting
and
that
you
can't
spoil
it
by
brooding
on
this
but
should
aim
to
score
there
instead!
With
Rakeyshji,
I
was
very
happy
with
both
Rang
De
Basanti
and
Delhi-6,
but
when
a
film
does
not
work
I
think
that
all
of
us
should
admit
that
we
have
gone
wrong
somewhere.
Music
alone
may
not
have
ever
helped
a
film
become
a
hit,
but
it
is
definitely
one
of
the
major
factors.
And
yet,
even
success
or
failure
of
a
film
is
relative:
I
know
people
who
have
watched
Dil
Se...
30-40
times
just
for
one
sequence
and
I
know
of
people
who
loved
Delhi-6.
Like
I
said,
it's
all
about
the
right
timing.
Society's
state
of
mind
and
its
concerns
are
all
important.
People
do
not
like
darkness
in
films
now
because
I
guess
there
is
so
much
of
it
in
real
life!
(Laughs)
And
coming
to
Slumdog
Millionaire,
a
cliche
that
you
will
have
to
answer
again
for
us,
Did
you
expect
the
film
and
your
songs
to
reach
where
they
have?
No
way!
(Laughs).
But
yes,
I
loved
the
film
when
I
watched
it.
All
I
was
thinking
about
is
that
I
wanted
to
work
with
a
filmmaker
as
loved
and
respected
as
Danny
Boyle.
There
was
something
strangely
positive
about
the
film
-
I
remember
feeling
inexplicably
relieved
at
the
end
of
the
movie.
So
you
worked
on
the
music
after
the
film
was
complete.
Yes
and
after
putting
in
the
songs
Danny
re-cut
the
film.
How
did
you
get
the
idea
of
working
with
M.I.A.?
I
find
her
an
extraordinary
artiste
who
makes
political
statements
with
her
music.
Some
years
back,
she
had
come
down
to
record
her
music
at
my
studio
because
she
needed
some
specific
kind
of
percussion
and
had
expressed
a
wish
to
work
with
me
then
because
she
liked
the
energy
in
my
music.
At
that
time,
I
was
busy.
But
when
this
opportunity
arose,
I
naturally
took
it.
How
do
you
react
to
Indians
slamming
Jai
ho
as
nowhere
compared
to
your
best
songs,
even
though
its
versions
abroad
have
rocked
charts
too?
Well,
I
had
to
make
something
that
was
right
for
the
film.
It
wasn't
a
situation
that
demanded
a
Beethoven's
Symphony
or
a
Ba-ba
black
sheep!
Composing
for
films
is
not
about
showing
the
world
what
you
can
do.
You
have
to
get
something
right
first
and
then
try
and
excel
in
it.
The
reverse
way
would
be
disastrous.
The
other
criticism
is
that
you
have
reworked
Choli
ke
peeche
from
Khal-Nayak
as
Ringa
ringa.
But
despite
the
story
you
gave
to
a
section
of
the
press,
it
just
had
a
similar
flavour.
I
was
misquoted
in
that
story
-
I
never
said
that
I
was
remixing
the
song.
I
only
said
that
I
was
influenced
by
that
song
as
the
most
important
anthem
of
the
1990s,
which
is
the
era
being
shown
when
Ringa
ringa
is
playing
in
the
film.
That
was
the
reason
why
I
chose
not
to
compose
a
completely
diverse
song
for
this
situation
and
also
why
I
took
the
same
singers
-
Alka
Yagnik
and
Ila
Arun.
It
was
my
ode
to
Laxmikant-Pyarelal,
Subhash
Ghai
and
the
song's
team.
Digressing
a
bit,
don't
you
feel
that
Subhashji's
Yuvvraaj
was
very
underrated
among
your
scores
from
last
year?
I
agree.
Of
late,
Subhashji
has
been
repeatedly
unlucky
-
in
the
1990s,
I
was
to
do
a
fantastic
subject
called
Shikhar
with
him.
In
2003,
there
was
Motherland.
Neither
film
took
off.
And
now
it
is
Yuvvraaj,
on
which
we
worked
for
almost
two
years
and
made
some
extraordinary
songs,
that
went
unnoticed
for
various
reasons,
while
Slumdog...,
on
which
I
worked
for
two
weeks,
went
so
far.
Life
can
be
so
unpredictable!
And
what
were
your
first
thoughts
when
you
won
first
one
trophy
and
then
another
-
and
we
do
not
mean
the
words
you
spoke
at
the
Oscar
ceremony
where
you
also
have
to
keep
in
mind
the
audience?
I
was
extremely
happy
that
my
mother,
my
wife
and
my
sister
Ishrat,
who
is
a
singer,
were
all
there
with
me.
Such
occasions
are
less
about
personal
happiness
and
more
about
what
precious
people
around
you,
especially
your
family
and
friends,
feel.
My
first
thought
when
the
first
award
was
announced
was
nothing
-
my
mind
went
blank
since
I
was
due
to
sing
in
some
20
seconds!
(Laughs)
When
the
second
award
was
declared,
I
just
wanted
to
take
the
trophy,
go
into
my
room
and
sleep!!
(Laughs
again).
The
one
week
of
anticipation,
rehearsals
and
tensions
all
dissolved
into
that!
And
what
do
you
feel
-
sorry
again
for
the
cliched
query
-
about
being
the
first
Indian
to
clinch
two
Oscars?
I
can't
gauge
anything
now
-
maybe
I
will
know
after
a
couple
of
years.
Let's
see
what
good
things
come
out
of
it.
And
now
we
have
so
many
fans
in
India
depressed
because
you
will
be
working
here
for
a
less
here.
(Laughs)
Honestly,
after
Bombay
Dreams
I
had
scope
to
do
work
outside
but
never
used
the
opportunity.
I
was
not
ready
then
-
not
that
I
am
ready
now!
(Chuckles)
-
but
I
came
back
here
then
and
as
it
happened
did
some
pretty
ordinary
work!
But
now
I
want
to
work
there
-
for
me,
it's
more
about
developing
relationships,
collaborating,
culturally
connecting
and
doing
the
right
organic
stuff.
I
have
an
agent
there
and
have
taken
up
one
major
assignment
that
I
can
reveal
only
after
a
while
because
of
a
non-disclosure
clause
in
my
contract.
All
I
can
say
is
that
it
is
a
proper
American
film
that
will
also
demand
music
of
the
kind
that
I
am
at
home
with.
And
what
are
the
Indian
films
in
your
bag?
I
have
Anthony
D'Souza's
Blue,
Mani
Ratnam's
Ravan,
Abbas
Tyrewala's
1
-
800
-
Love
and
one
more
film.
In
Chennai.
I
have
Robot
and
the
animation
film
Sultan
with
Rajnikanth
and
a
film
with
Gautham
Menon.
What
changes
do
we
get
to
see
in
your
music
after
the
Oscar
win?
There
will
not
be
a
change
in
my
music
but
I
have
to
be
more
careful
-
because
I
guess
my
music
will
be
noticed
by
more
people
now.
I
guess
we
have
to
culturally
accommodate
as
much
as
we
can.
There
is
definitely
a
sense
of
pressure
but
that's
good.
Good
music
always
comes
with
honesty
and
when
made
directly
from
the
heart
and
by
being
conscious
of
melody.
A
lot
of
new
composers
have
come
in
of
late.
Have
any
of
them
impressed
you?
I
like
their
spirit
and
also
their
desire
to
experiment.
At
the
same
time,
however,
I
miss
excellent
melodies
and
life-changing
lyrics
in
today's
music
and
I
am
looking
forward
to
hearing
some
of
those.
Lyrics,
for
example,
should
be
much
more
than
about
Soniye
and
Maahiya!
The
new
music
directors
must
also
realise
that
it
is
a
team
that
consolidates
your
work
-
you
need
a
director
who
understands
you.
Ismail
Darbar
got
one
in
Sanjay
Leela
Bhansali
and
Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy
in
Farhan
Akhtar.
A
composer
cannot
be
like
an
island.
The
director
has
a
huge
hand
in
decisions
about
both
creativity
and
also
dignity
-
dignity
about
what
you
should
and
should
not
do,
about
a
mission
for
reviving
something
good
and
other
firm
convictions.