Saluting The Composer Who Revolutionized Film Music On His Birthday

In 1992 the nation and its favourite DJ were poised for a musical revolution. Over the years, a score by Rahman is not only rare but also habitually pathbreaking. In 2001 the maverick composer scored resoundingly in Lagaan. 2002 it was Saathiya. But there was a difference. A large chunk of the Saathiya soundtrack was transposed from its Tamil counterpart Alai Payuthe, the Mani Ratnam film which launched Madhavan’s career as a Southern superstar.

And yet Saathiya was certainly not the handiwork of a lazy or bored artiste. The stunningly laid out tapestry of tunes went from genre to genre in search of flawless harmonies. The film’s debutant director Shaad Ali inherited his musical ear from his father Muzaffar Ali who got terrific music out of composer Khayyam in Umrao Jaan and Jaidev in Gaman.

Says Shaad Ali, “I’ve grown up in an atmosphere of music and aesthetics. As a child I’d sit with my father Muzaffar Ali, composer Khayyam and his lyricist Shahryar. Later when I began assisting Mani Rathnam as a filmmaker I was associated with Gulzar who scored music for Mani’s Dil Se. It was a great privilege to be associated with Rahman in my first film. Actually only the title song had identical sentiments to those expressed in the Tamil original. The rest of Gulzar’s lyrics were all original. Even the title song which we called the “colour song” because it goes into a different mood and colour in each stanza, went way beyond the original Telugu. It isn’t often that an adaptation goes further than the original. The imagery in Saathiya is far deeper and richer than the original. I’m very lucky to have worked with geniuses like Gulzar Saab and A.R Rahman in my first film. What was unusual for Rahman is that he composed tunes for the poetry by Gulzar Saab in these two songs. Usually words are set to his tunes. The sound quality is really different. Adnan Sami had never worked with Rahman before. The composer was hesitant to use his voice. But the minute Adnan stood in front of the voice, Rahman was hooked. My greatest compliment was when my father said he liked the music. He thinks very highly of Gulzar and Rahman’s talents.”

Adds Gulzar Saab, “It was always a great pleasure working with Rehman. His tunes are always innovative. Since Rahman and I had worked together earlier in Dil Se our comfort level increased in Saathiya. We understand each other better now. On a personal level too we understand each other better. I explain my poetry to him. Either I write well or I explain well because Rehman always reacts with , “Ah, lovely.”

To what do we attribute the magical longevity of A.R Rahman?

“God has been kind,” sighs Rahman. “But this reputation is a great responsibility. I try to combine traditional and contemporary styles. But at times the outcome isn’t in my hands. Everything depends on the project. I was very proud of my music in Doli Sajaa Ke Rakhna. But the film and music went unnoticed. That really depressed me. There’re too many pressures on the entertainment industry in India. Music composers can’t function freely. I try to do my own thing. I guess I’ve become used to the brickbats,” the softspoken creator laughs. “I’m praised for my innovations,” he continues after a pause. “But there can’t be too much of that quality.. Some praised me for breaking the antara-mukhda-antara format of a film song. Others criticized me for it. ”

Rahman’s two daughters seem musically inclined. “I think they’ll get into it slowly. My father too was a composer. He died before he could see success. On the day his first film as composer was released he passed away. I was 9, and the only son. I started working at the age of 11. At 13 I started playing music and by 19 I was composing jingles.”

In a startling revelation Rahman had once revealed to this writer that 70 percent of his film compositions in the opening years of this century never saw the light of day. “Between 2000-2002 nine of my projects in Hindi and a couple in Tamil never took off. So 70 percent of my output during this period never came out. It was very frustrating. There’re so many people waiting to work with me. I had to turn them down to do work that never got released. I can’t complain. Because I know what the film industry is going through. It takes me one week to get my bearings after I go to a new place. I’ve to decide where to put my coffee cup before I get down creating a music. For one recent Tamil film I had a mental block for ten days because my vision was far bigger than what the film required.”

Rahman admitted he was a slow worker. “I can only do one thing at a time. Even if a track is transferred all other work stops. I guess different people like different things in my music. And I’m open to more offers in Mumbai. For me music is music. It doesn’t belong to any region. My theme for Mani Ratnam’s Bombay was done in Tamil, then it went into Hindi and soon it was playing all over Europe and Australia. If a tune comes to me it takes wings. The problem is with the shrinking film market in India. Because the budgets for films are shrinking, so are the funds to compose music. So my creative vision has to be tailored to suit the altered financial state. This is the first time I’m facing this situation in the last ten years, and I don’t relish it.”