He has been the most celebrated Indian composer of his age. A two-time Oscar winner, Grammy winner, and globally celebrated, AR Rahman draws crowds wherever he goes. The composer-performer is in the middle of his Wonderment Tour, which is coming to Mumbai and Delhi in the coming days. Ahead of his ‘homecoming’, Rahman sat down with Hindustan Times to discuss his musical journey, the initial ‘fear’ of live performances, and why being in music is a blessing. Excerpts:
Now, it’s been the 30 years from my first performance in ’96 in Malaysia to what we’re doing now in various things—one with the symphony orchestras in the US, and Wonderment , which is a big entertainment extravaganza. Rahman: I think both. There was a time when I was on stage I felt like I was seeing death. I was so terrified! My music was so different and it was hard to interpret for musicians on stage. So it took a bit of time to take those liberties to live up everything, get the right kind of musicians who would add things and not destroy what was created for months. And so now I’m more comfortable. Rahman: No, it takes at least a couple of days. In the case of a tour, probably a month before prepping alternate arrangements. Right now, for this one, I’m coming from a completely different state of mind from the symphony concerts in the US, and then flying straight on the day of the concert and doing it. It’s terrifying, but we did Bangalore a couple of weeks back and it did well. One day before is always nice to get people from different mindsets to be in union with what we’re doing on stage. We do all the surprises, all the alternate arrangements, the intro—everything. So it is still a lot of stress before, and then when the music lovers come in, you forget all the trouble and stress.
Rahman: They’re coming for an experience and excitement. I don’t overdo things, but I do have something that surprises them. When we work hard on a concept and it clicks, it feels very gratifying. It’s not just me traveling—there are directors, lyricists, singers, storytellers, actors, and then the fans. Every bit of their life—whether love stories, hope, winning, losing, or loss—everything is connected to a song. Songs release every two or three months with a new movie and soundtrack. If you look at the poster, there are various different paths of people’s lives—graduating, a baby born, marriage, first love—all in that garland. Rahman: No, I feel like it’s a blessing to be in music, first of all. Luckily, I was sane enough to filter and do less work, but focus on quality. Now when I think about it, I’m really proud of the fact that whether the movie did well or not, my job had to be great within my limits. When I look back, every musician, singer, and director is proud of that work.
With Wonderment especially, it’s been 34 years since Roja . When the same people come after 30 years and watch two different generations vibing with it, it’s very gratifying.
