Rahman spoke to Namita Devidayal about his latest project, his views on music, and how children should be left to their own wisdom
A R Rahman has made yet another breakthrough on the international scene -as music composer of Pele, the Hollywood film on Brazil's sports legend. Notwithstanding his glittering track record -which includes Oscars, Grammys, National and Filmfare awards -the Chennai-based singer, songwriter, composer says he is an eternal student at the altar of music. Excerpts from an interview:
You've done many multicultural projects over the years. Can you describe how you crafted the music for the film Pele?
The director had heard my music and liked it. The music for this film was not meant to be entirely Brazilian, it also had to be contemporary . They wanted a mix of everything, of what I was doing before.I sent them some ideas and they liked them.We looked into what would be very Brazilian as well as international. The music contains love, sadness, anger, compassion.All these emotions are part of the human spirit. Whether you are a sportsman or a musician, you experience them, and everyone can relate to them. Doing music is very similar to playing sports. So the music in the film had to have the colour of that culture, but the heart of it is always universal. It should touch someone from Kerala or Kashmir or Brazil.
Your music has touched so many people.What do you think music does for people, at a very fundamental level?
You see so many things these days -on television, on the internet, and all around us. Good things, bad things...More bad things, in fact. But if you just close your eyes and shut everything out and listen to music, it transports you, it takes you out of the chaos and makes you think even of things that are unthinkable. I think the magic of music has still to be explored fully. We have only scratched the surface. I still feel like a student every time I go into that space.
Recently, there was the terrible murder of a qawwal in Pakistan.How can we respond to this kind of intolerance?
We should actually stop about all this, because it talking about all this, because it makes people angry and anger is a branch of foolishness. You cannot change what is happening in the world outside. You have to keep looking within and working on self-refinement and strive to make people happy. You have to keep doing what you're doing, change yourself, and the world will change.
Can you talk a little bit about the role music has played in your own life?
I always feel so blessed that I had music from the beginning, from a very young age. I have to credit my mother who helped me choose my career. The thing is music has never felt like work. You go into the studio, spend hours there, and it doesn't feel like work, it's like being on a holiday...not knowing what is going to come out. Only when there are deadlines then it feels like work. There is so much beauty in this profes sion, so much self-satisfaction.
Your music clearly has a strong spiritual undercurrent. How do you see the connection between music and what we call God?
I think any art is a reflection of your internal self. We have to keep remembering that it is a shrine to God. Whether you look at Carnatic music or north Indian classical music or Beethoven, it was all inspired by the divine. These were all offshoots of an internal faith, a belief in a higher ideal, which pulls us out of normal mundane life. That is the only thing which inspires us to keep working more, going into what is beyond us, aspiring for the unattainable.
You have explored such a wide range of musical styles and elements. What comes next?
I am finally releasing my movie, '99 Songs', which I have written. It's a film based on music, directed by Vishwesh Krishnamoorthy. The cast is entirely new. The hero is from Kashmir. Again, this movie is about self-discovery, love and art. I wanted to create a platform to explore all the questions that musicians con stantly have.
If there is one message you would like to pass on to all children, what would that be?
There's a saying that children come through us, not from us. Each one has independent knowledge and wisdom. Just keep going and keep refining yourself. Don't look at what is happening in the world outside.