JOIN USRahman: The way music is consumed has changed
A R Rahman, who will complete three decades in the film industry in 2022, recently turned writer-producer with '99 Songs', a Hindi musical starring Ehan Bhat, Lisa Ray and Edilsy Vargas. The film, praised for its visual grandeur and experimental music, was directed by Vishwesh Krishnamoorthy.
Rahman's detractors never expected his terrific longevity. The ace music director with legendary works in Tamil and Hindi cinema, has also scored in mainstream Hollywood. Apart from bagging a plethora of reputed awards, the ace music composer has stayed relevant in changing times.
So what made him turn to production, an area seldom explored by composers?
“I wanted to take a movie through the eyes of a composer," he replies. "The way music is consumed has changed. The world is changing and there are many tools now for music. I wanted to see if this too can be a great experience. Also, there is a certain freedom that you automatically get as a producer and storyteller. But that’s easier said than done,” he says with a chuckle.
He notes while we Indians are in awe of Western music, our music is not entirely accepted in the West. “There have been phases when the likes of Pt Ravi Shankar ji, Zakir Hussain saab and Ali Akbar Khan saab were appreciated in the West. But their mainstream sensibilities differ from ours. Even 'Jai ho' was essentially a pop song," he explains.
It seems like Rahman is in a rewind mode. His first original Hindi film after dubbed hits like 'Roja' (1992) and 'Bombay' (1995) was 'Rangeela' (1995). For 'Heropanti 2', he now reunites with Mehboob, the man who wrote the lyrics of the chartbusters in the Aamir Khan-starrer. Mehboob, who struggled with prolonged health issues, last worked with Rahman in 'Yuva' in 2004.
“I like to work with everyone — Irshad Kamil, Amitabh Bhattacharya, Javed (Akhtar) saab. Ahmed Khan, the director of 'Heropanti 2', is a great fan of Mehboob. When he suggested his name, I was more than willing,” he says.
'Heropanti 2' has Tiger Shroff in the lead. Rahman admits that it makes him slightly emotional to see children of yesteryear stars growing up so fast. “Not only in 'Rangeela', Jackie Shroff also played the lead in 'Kabhi Na Kabhi' (1998), the other Hindi original I did during the early phase of my career. And I also worked with Tiger’s mother Ayesha Shroff in her production 'Bombil And Beatrice', which never released. My wife is a big fan of Jackie as well,” he offers.
How does he choose his assignments? “I go by the feel,” he says. Currently, Rahman is doing Aanand L Rai’s 'Atrangi Re' and is putting together something musical for the Dubai Expo. Then there is also a Hindi remake of a National-award winning film in the pipeline. Not much can be revealed about the project.
Rahman talks about the practice of incorporating multiple music directors in a project. "In the last five years, it has been an interesting trend — to curate what you want from five or six composers. I guess it makes things easier for the makers but I don’t work like that. I even want to do the background score,” he opines.
When asked if it’s an indication of the diminishing star value of a composer, he shrugs. "I guess everyone likes power in their hands. In fact, people have been asking me why I have done fewer Hindi films of late, as all sorts of rumours have been circulating that I am not interested in work here after working in Hollywood,” he says.