Grammy and Oscar winning composer A.R Rahman says that in the last few years, he had not been offered many musical scripts where he could project his magic. He says his upcoming film “99 Songs” will be the answer to several questions.
Since the 1990s, Rahman has delivered hit songs like “Hamma hamma”, “Rangeela re”, “Chaiyya chaiyya” and “Jai ho”.
But if we look at some of his latest compositions, some believe that he has missed out in keeping the ‘Rahman magic’ alive.
Asked if he could find out the missing link in his latest work, Rahman told IANS here: “It also depends on what the director wants to do, like the problem that I dealt with in the last few years was that. All the films that came to me were different, where music was secondary.”
“The kind of music that you are talking about needs a certain conviction. Are they (filmmakers) coming to me with enough of that, to create good musical stories?”
He said that his upcoming production “99 Songs” would be the answer to the questions being raised. “The questions that you are asking, about me not being able to create such magic, the fact is, those kind of scripts are not coming anymore,” he added.
On producing films, he said: “There is a reason why we put so much effort to set out our production company. From here, I want to make musical stories and celebrate music ideas. So yes, in a way, in the last 25 years, my life has changed — from being a music composer to a visionary, from a writer to producer and film director,” said the artiste, who has earned the title ‘Mozart of Madras’.
The musician is currently performing in different Indian cities for his live gig A.R. Rahman Encore — The Concert in association with MTV, which celebrates 25 years of his journey as a composer.
Asked to choose his favourites, he said: “Choosing five songs is tough. I would say ‘Humma humma’, ‘Tu hi re’, ‘Maa tujhe salaam’, ‘Chaiyya chaiyya’, ‘Khwaja mere Khwaja’, but there are more.”
Which one is the closest reflection of his personality?
“I think all my compositions are the reflection of my personality and I am the combination of everything. I am funny, light-hearted when I spend time with family. And then there are times when I get into the zone of spirituality. I think such emotions and moods are there in all of us. At times, music takes us to different zones too,” he said.
Rahman has created compositions for filmmaker Ashutosh Gowariker’s movies — “Lagaan”, “Swades” and “Jodhaa Akbar”, but failed to impress his fans with his last work in “Mohenjo Daro”.
“That story goes beyond our civilisation, to an era where we do not know that well about how the music was. And if you look at the story, it has got so many things happening in it. It was not a ‘Lagaan’ where the picture was clear. In ‘Mohenjo Daro’, Ashu tried something different. At least, we should appreciate that,” said the music maestro.
