|
Music wizard A R Rahman in an interview to
Chennaionline.com said he was privileged to work with several
outstanding musicians of the country while making 'Jana Gana
Mana', the national anthem.
Talking about the album, he said he had the rare opportunity
to rub shoulders with several leading lights (like Bhimsen
Joshi, Pt Jasraj, Pt Viswa Mohan Bhatt, D K Pattammal, Vikku
Vinayakram, Ustad Ghulam Mustafa Khan, Bhupen Hazarika,
Hariprasad Chaurasia and others). The list is long and obviously
it would be too much of a strain to recall all the names.
Asked how he would compare the work on 'Vande Mataram' and
this album, Rahman said the two were different musical products.
Each had its own mood and quality. "I thoroughly enjoyed working
on the National Anthem. I deem it a rare privilege, especially
to have so many wonderful musicians singing and performing."
Turning to Bharatbala (standing next to him), Rahman said,
"We had a great time working on the video, including a shoot at
Siachen and with the armed forces. That was something extra
special."
On how he managed to get both Latha Mangeshkar and Asha
Bhosle together for this album, Rahman laughed and said, "Well,
that is a trade secret. We will keep it that way. All I can say
is that we managed to get them together and it was exceptional
to hear them sing the National Anthem."
Asked as to how he managed to mix the tracks sung by
different singers into one album taking just a phrase or two
from each singer, and what the basis for such selection, Rahman
said he went by the mood of the anthem, and whichever particular
phrase which he thought came out as exceptional, he chose that
from a particular singer. "The result is an amazing collection
of phrases sung by different singers."
"I'm happy to pay a humble tribute to 60 years of India's
Independence. This is special as all over India we now celebrate
India 60," said Rahman.
"All our classical musicians came together to do this - they
all came together in the same vibe, that's one of the reasons
why it is so special," said Rahman.
What's up Rahman's sleeve? Were he and Bharatbala planning
some more patriotic themes, Rahman said, "I don't know about any
plans. It's left to Bharatbala."
On Sivaji - The Boss, Rahman said he was glad that the audio
and the movie were big successes. "I'm glad people liked the
songs. Some of them were composed in a different manner. I'm
happy the film-goers liked the way something different was
attempted and succeeded."
About his choice of Udit Narayan for the 'Sahana' song in the
movie, though some would have preferred Hariharan or Srinivas
for their better pronunciation of Tamil, Rahman said choice of a
singer was governed by different considerations. The choice of
the music director may not always match the choice of the
listeners. It is not easy to visualise why a particular singer
is chosen for a song and why someone else doesn't get to see it.
"All I can say is that I felt Udit's voice would suit the mood
of the song. And he did exceptionally well."
"In fact, the original version of the song was much slower.
That was sung by Vijay Jesudas (son of the famous singer, K J
Jesudas). But then it was decided by the production team that
the song will be made slightly faster. At that time, we picked
Udit to sing the final version, which is much faster than the
original one," quipped Rahman. Faster? For those who think 'Sahana'
song is slow - wonder how slow the original version would have
been.
Asked about Rahman's pattern of musical compositions and
whether he had deviated from his style of compositions of six to
eight years ago due to pressure from film producers or
directors, or whether he thought the change was desired by
listeners, Rahman said he did not compose due to others'
dictates. "I do what I think is good music and based on people
liking new stuff, variations, and not the same old thing. If
that was so, I would be bored with it, and the public too. In
music, I like to do different things, and keep experimenting.
Sometimes, people like the effect, sometimes they may not
appreciate it at that point of time but may do so later."
So, you don't you go by trends? For example, one hears that
producers and directors of Tamil films now seem to think that
only fast tempo songs or 'kuthu' songs are popular and drive a
film and not just the audio CD, Rahman says he doesn't get
affected by what people say are current trends. "I don't compose
music that way or thinking this is what people now want. I
basically like to compose music which I like. And I don't get
rushed into it."
On limiting his number of Tamil productions, Rahman says, "I
work less on Tamil films these days. It's true. That's not
because I don't like doing them."
Has his concentration or focus shifted to national films like
Hindi and may be even international/global music, Rahman said,
"It is not as if I have taken any conscious decision to do only
Hindi films or global music. The story line of films 'Lagaan'
and 'Rang De Basanti' or 'Bhagat Singh' were interesting and
different. One would naturally like to work in such films. That
doesn't mean I will not work in Tamil films. I still do work for
some Tamil films, for some directors, who make different films,
where I can experiment too and be more creative. I worked for
some global productions earlier because there were some specific
offers at that point of time and the roles for me on a global
stage were challenging."
On his forthcoming assignments, Rahman says he would like to
take a break after a global tour of music. And then? Any film in
the offing?
Rahman says he will work for the Maniratnam film - Laajo.
R Rangaraj
| 
