He
is
a
man
of
few
words
yet
his
music
does
all
the
talking.
Directors
from
Bollywood
as
well
as
Hollywood
wish
to
have
him
compose
music
for
their
films
yet
his
super-busy
schedule
allows
him
to
green-light
only
a
handful
of
projects.
Over
the
last
couple
of
years,
he
has
bagged
every
possible
award
from
the
Padma
Bhushan
to
the
BAFTA's
and
the
Grammy
to
the
Oscars
yet
he
remains
as
humble
as
ever.
Last
week
he
once
again
gave
his
millions
of
fans
a
reason
to
cheer
in
the
form
of
the
spectacular
musical
score
of
Raavan.
He
is
none
other
than
Allah
Rakha
Rahman-
the
man
who
eats,
breathes
and
(whenever
he)
sleeps
music.
Bollywood
Hungama's
Nikhil
Ramsubramaniam
caught
up
with
the
Musical
Maestro
for
an
exclusive
interview
to
talk
about
the
experience
of
composing
music
for
Raavan,
his
special
bonding
with
Mani
Ratnam,
his
much
talked
about
world
tour
and
much
more.
Read
on...
18
years
after
debuting
with
Mani
Ratnam's
Roja,
you
are
back
once
again
with
Mani
for
Raavan.
How
has
the
journey
been?
It's
all
been
very
good
and
exciting.
The
thing
with
Mani
is
that
he
receives
every
idea
with
great
respect.
It's
not
just
the
usual
"Give
me
5
tunes
for
my
film" We
try
to
explore
various
avenues
while
composing
the
music
in
the
interest
of
the
film.
In
spite
of
your
super-busy
schedule
you
always
manage
to
take
out
time
for
a
Mani
Ratnam
project.
You
have
composed
music
for
all
his
films.
What
is
it
about
Mani
that
makes
it
difficult
for
you
to
say
'No' to
him?
After
a
point
I
think
you
understand
exactly
what
a
person
needs
and
what
is
it
that
he
actually
wants.
It's
pretty
much
the
case
between
Mani
and
I.
However
having
said
that,
getting
such
vibes
and
sharing
such
a
comfort
level
with
someone
is
easier
said
than
done.
By
the
grace
of
God
we've
pulled
it
so
far
and
continue
to
do
so
in
the
future
(smiles).
The
one
word
synonymous
with
your
music
is
Experimentation.
So
what
kind
of
experimentation
have
you
tried
in
Raavan?
I
don't
think
in
terms
of
experimentation
in
each
project
that
I
do.
I
just
go
with
a
theme
that
will
make
the
project
sound
exciting.
In
case
of
Raavan,
we
have
used
a
lot
of
African
vocals
and
sounds
in
some
of
the
songs
keeping
with
the
mood
and
theme
of
the
film.
The
music
of
Raavan
released
last
amidst
much
fanfare.
There
are
6
tracks
in
the
album.
Could
you
take
us
through
each
of
the
tracks
in
your
own
words
and
explain
the
essence
of
songs...
'Beera
Beera'
'Beera'
is
a
song
that
describes
the
lead
character
played
by
Abhishek
Bachchan.
When
we
set
out
to
compose
this
song,
we
didn't
want
to
make
the
song
or
the
character
seem
dark.
We
wanted
'Beera'
to
be
liked
by
everyone.
He
is
someone
who
has
a
point
of
view,
it
may
be
wrong
according
to
some
sections
of
the
society
but
when
you
see
the
film
you
will
realize
his
justification
for
the
same.
The
song
is
like
a
celebration
of
his
character.
'Behne
De'
Karthik
sang
this
song
as
a
scratch.
At
that
point
in
time,
we
didn't
know
if
we
were
going
to
retain
it
but
everyone
seemed
to
like
the
version
and
we
did
retain
it.
We
also
added
some
background
vocals
by
Mohammed
Irfan
to
give
a
different
edge
to
the
song.
It's
not
your
usual
typical
song.
'Ranjha
Ranjha'
'Ranjha
Ranjha'
is
an
idea
that
I
had
done
earlier
but
gave
it
a
skip.
It's
poetry
of
Baba
Bulleshah.
Though
the
song
that
you
hear
in
the
album
(sung
by
Rekha
Bhardwaj,
Javed
Ali
and
Anuradha
Sriram)
doesn't
feature
in
the
movie,
we
have
created
another
version
of
the
song
that
is
sung
by
Ila
Arun
and
Richa
Sharma
which
would
be
featured
in
the
film.
This
version
has
been
shot
beautifully
and
works
better
for
the
film.
'Thok
De
Khilli'
'Thok
De
Khilli'
of
course
has
Sukhwinder
at
his
energetic
best.
He
is
simply
a
powerhouse
of
energy
and
talent.
However,
in
this
song
he
didn't
get
a
chance
to
improvise
a
lot
as
he
had
to
fit
his
vocals
to
match
the
form
of
the
song.
In
spite
of
that
he
has
done
a
fabulous
job
'Kata
Kata'
'Kata
Kata'
is
a
very
typical
Mani
Ratnam
style
song.
In
every
film
of
his
you
have
this
folk
celebration
kind
of
song
like
you
had
'Chalka
Chalka
Re'
in
Saathiya
or
for
that
matter
'Rukmani
Rukmani'
in
Roja.
However,
this
time
we
have
given
it
a
different
feel
and
it
was
really
an
enjoyable
process
composing
this
track
'Khilli
Re'
'Khilli
Re'
has
been
sung
by
Reena
Bhardwaj
who
earlier
sang
'Yeh
Rishta'
from
Meenaxi.
She
has
got
a
beautiful
voice
which
suited
the
song
perfectly.
She
is
a
very
talented
singer
who
certainly
deserves
more
opportunities
in
the
future.
During
the
music
launch
you
also
surprised
everyone
by
composing
and
singing
a
new
additional
song
'Jaa
Re
Udd
Jaa
Re'.
Is
that
song
going
to
be
added
later
in
the
album
or
featured
in
the
film?
The
song
was
a
very
last
minute
addition.
I
saw
the
movie
and
felt
like
adding
a
song
to
a
particular
situation
in
the
film.
The
lyrics
of
the
song
were
ready
for
a
while
however
I
had
to
yet
compose
the
tune.
Meanwhile
we
had
already
planned
our
music
release
for
the
24th
of
April
so
we
didn't
want
to
delay
or
postpone
that
because
of
one
song.
The
song
may
be
later
added
to
the
album;
however
it
would
feature
in
the
film.
In
every
album
of
yours
a
striking
aspect
is
zeroing
in
on
the
right
singers
for
the
right
song.
How
do
you
manage
to
do
that?
Well...to
be
honest,
I
don't
know
(smiles).
Most
of
the
time,
it's
not
planned.
I
just
look
at
who
would
suit
the
song
and
more
importantly
who
is
available
at
that
point
of
time.
So
do
you
have
multiple
singers
recording
scratch
versions
and
then
you
taking
a
call
on
whom
to
consider
for
the
final
version?
Well...
No
we
don't
actually
do
that.
Usually
its
just
one
or
two
times
that
we
rehearse
the
song
before
recording
except
for
directors
like
Abbas
Tyrewala
who
is
very
particular
about
getting
the
right
voice.
Most
of
his
songs
are
recorded
about
6
-
7
times
(smiles)
In
Raavan,
you
once
again
re-unite
with
Gulzar
saab
after
the
Oscar
winning
score
in
Slumdog
Millionaire.
How
is
it
working
with
him
time
and
again?
There
is
a
certain
kind
of
affinity
that
Gulzar
saab
has
for
Mani
and
me.
When
he
works
with
us,
he
is
always
very
happy.
I
think
when
you
are
happy
working
as
a
team,
it
shows
on
the
result
of
the
end
product.
In
June,
you
embark
on
your
world
tour
called
The
A.R.Rahman
Jai
Ho
Concert...The
Journey
Home.
Tell
us
something
about
that
and
why
is
it
called
'The
Journey
Home'?
It's
called
The
Journey
Home
because
even
though
it's
a
World
Tour,
it's
going
to
feature
a
repertoire
of
songs
from
my
18
year
old
career.
We
are
not
going
to
go
with
the
obvious
way
of
mainly
performing
English
songs
just
because
it's
a
world
tour.
I
am
really
excited
about
the
tour
as
its
going
to
have
some
really
spectacular
and
different
production
values.
A
lot
of
money
has
gone
into
that
and
a
lot
of
Western
artists
have
been
working
on
giving
the
tour
a
whole
new
feel.
The
show
is
also
directed
very
differently
giving
a
whole
new
perspective
to
my
music
and
to
our
country.
So
who
are
the
singers
who
are
going
to
be
a
part
of
this
tour?
There
is
Hariharan,
Javed
Ali,
Shweta
Pandit,
Benny
Dayal,
Blaaze
besides
my
usual
troupe
comprising
of
Sivamani
on
percussion,
Naveen
on
the
flute
etc.
Over
the
last
couple
of
years
Rahmania
has
reached
an
all
time
high
with
you
bagging
the
BAFTA's,
the
Golden
Globes,
the
Oscars
and
the
Grammys.
Closer
home
there
were
awards
like
the
Padma
Bhushan,
Indian
Of
The
Year
etc.
Is
there
a
special
section
where
you
keep
all
your
awards?
There
is
a
place
in
the
office
for
them
but
once
you
get
an
award
it's
a
thing
of
the
past.
You
just
keep
marching
on
and
look
forward
to
the
future
Now
that
the
music
of
Raavan
has
released,
what
are
your
future
projects?
After
Raavan,
there
is
a
Telugu
film
called
Puli.
Then
there
is
Shankar's
Robot
and
Abbas
Tyrewala's
1-800
Love.
Are
you
also
composing
the
music
for
Imtiaz
Ali's
Rockstar?
Yes...we've
just
started.
In
fact
we
just
finished
out
first
sitting.
It's
a
great
experience
working
with
a
team
comprising
Irshad
Kamil
and
Imtiaz
Ali.
How
is
your
pet
project
KM
Music
Conservatory
doing?
It's
doing
really
well.
We
just
signed
up
with
Middlesex
University
to
oversee
the
whole
education.
We
are
expanding
and
going
to
a
larger
campus
very
soon.
Finally
we
know
that
you
listen
to
all
kinds
of
music.
So
what's
currently
playing
on
your
iPod?
Well...I've
been
listening
to
Susan
Boyle's
album,
Kumar
Gandharva's
songs
and
Coldplay.
Besides
I
am
always
listening
to
my
songs
while
mixing
(smiles).