I wanted to work with Rituparno Ghosh: A R Rahman

Oscar winning-composer A R Rahman regrets that he did not get a chance to work with director Rituparno Ghosh.

"One Bengali director I really wanted to work with in any film project is Rituparno," Rahman told PTI over phone from Mumbai.

Rituparno, who helmed "Unishe April" and "The Last Lear", died of cardiac arrest at the age of 49 on May 31 this year.

"His death is a great great loss for everybody concerned. His films and musical sense was content-rich, and different. I always look forward to interact with your (Bengal's) cultural icons. Many of them are my good friends," said the 'Jai ho' hitmaker, who will start his 'RahmanIshq' tour from Kolkata on October one.

"This time during my visit to the city I would love to catch up with Pt Ajay Chakraborty, Pt Ustad Rashid Khan, Pt Shankar Ghosh and others," Rahman said.

Asked if 'RahmanIshq' would include something from Bengal, like Rabindrasangeet, Rahman said, "There could be something. We are working on it. Wait for the show to begin. Kolkata will set the trend of RahmanIshq which will then go on trip to other cities -- Vizag, Jaipur and Ahmedabad."

Rahman, who would perform along with Sukhwinder Singh, Javed Ali, Neeti Mohan, Shweta Pandit and Harshdeep Kaur, said he would love to interact with young musicians from Bengal.

Rahman said Rabindranath Tagore's "Chitto Jetha Bhoysunyo" (Where the mind is without fear) is one of the most striking compositions he had come across so far.

This year's Independence Day special "Jagao Mere Des Ko" by Rahman was inspired by "Chitto Jaytha Bhoyshunyo".

Asked what is next for the musician, who has all the feathers in his cap, he said, "My topmost priority now remains to groom young musicians. The KM College of Music and Technology has come into being. We must look forward," said Rahman.