But did you expect things to turn out the way they did?

It is very unusual. I started my career thinking that Roja would be my last film. I was not interested in doing films. I had been in it for almost 15 years with my father, playing for other people. I didn't want to go through that again. I wanted something different in my life.

Are you satisfied with the way your career has shaped up?

The way it took off, it seems it was destined. Mani Ratnam, who had sworn he wouldn't sign a music director other than Ilayaraja, came to me. So my career started on a high. After that everything had to go beyond that; it pushed me to do something more. I am not a very ambitious person who says I want to do this, this and this. I think God has been very kind to me. He has given me the best.

But did you expect things to turn out the way they did?

It is very unusual. I started my career thinking that Roja would be my last film. I was not interested in doing films. I had been in it for almost 15 years with my father, playing for other people. I didn't want to go through that again. I wanted something different in my life.

Have you become more confident of your music?

No, I am never confident. Sometimes it takes me two or three days, sometimes three months, to get the sound right. Sometimes things go wrong always. But once it is fixed then it's fine.I belive that every individual, even an atom, can move only with the will of God. I don't take credit for doing all this. If I did, then I would fall flat.

How important is the Tamil identity to you?

I hate the discrimination between south, north, Tamil, Hindi. If I represent India that is good enough for me. Of course, I have always been here. But we should cross all these barriers and think bigger. I get very irritated with this kind of thinking.

How do you cope with your unorthodox working hours?

There is so much disturbance during the day. To create music you need peace and in my style of work if I turn my face away even once, I have to start from the beginning. So night time suits me. I finish off my other work by 10 p.m. and start with my sound engineer and maybe the director also.

What do the initials A.R. stand for in your name?

Allah Rakha. My friends call me A.R..

Are your two daughters musically inclined?

Yes, I think they'll get into it slowly. My father too was a composer. He died at the threshold of success. He passed away the same day his first film as a composer was released. I was nine then, and his only son. I started working at the age of 11.
What were you doing at that age?
Setting up music equipment for others. At 13, I started playing music. At 19, I started composing jingles.

You've tried to synthesise the two generations of influences in your music, haven't you?
Actually it's a bit of both, yes. I started my career as a musician within a rock band called Magic. Some of my colleagues from those days are still with me. Others have moved on. After Magic, we formed another band, Fusion. We backed L Shankar during a concert. That meant a lot to us. L Shankar gave us a whole new hope for fusion music, clubbing Indian and western music together. Finally, when I was doing jingles, I was part of a band called Nemesis Avenue. This was when I really began interacting with young contemporary musicians.

At any point of time have you felt the pressure of competition?
Actually, I do not take part in any competition. Competition comes only when one vies for a number of films. I try to do each job perfectly and take rest to recharge my batteries. Rest is essential for the kind of work I do.

Can you tell something about your contribution for Illaiyaraaja's score in ``Punnagai Mannan.''
I was only an operator and not a composer. When I first bought the computer, Illaiyaraaja called me and we had lots of work sessions. He composed the song and I programmed it.

Q:what are the jingles u have done
arr:john umbrellas,MRF,boost,titan,leo coffee, and i dont remember (giggles) (ofourse how can he remember 300 ads!)


Q:How did you come into films?
arr:My father, R K Shekar was a music director in Malayalam films. He assisted Salil Chowdary, Devrajan and others. He died when I was nine. At eleven I came into the field, playing on the keyboards and later as an accompanist. I worked under various music directors in Tamil, Telegu and Malayalam- Ramesh Naidu, MS Vishwanathan and Illayaraja. It started becoming a bit monotonous. I thought advertising would be a good alternative. This went on for three years. I built my studio and took to different forms of music- pop, rock and so on. It was then that I met producer Tirlok Shardha, cousin of Mani Rathnam at a party. He (Mani) came to my studio and heard some of my tunes. We agreed to work together though we did not decide on which movie. Only later he told me it was to be Roja, which he was directing for K. Balachander.

Despite your success you do not seem to be working on a lot of films?

Rather than making money I believe in making people happy, all other things are secondary. That is why I am not interested in a lot of movies but only in one at a time. I like directors whom I can vibe with. Ten years of experience in this field has made me quite frustrated. I've evolved a technique, which requires a lot of time. Other music directors record a song in 7-8 hours. But I am different. We do a basic sitting and we record it. We record the voice and I add instrument by instrument to improve the quality.

At this point can you tell me what attracted you to show business?

(Laughs) The need to survive. My father was a music conductor and arranger in Malayalam films, I would often accompany him to the studios. When I was 11, my father passed away suddenly. It was difficult to make both ends meet; I had to get a part-time job and fast. So, I joined Illaiyaraja's group as a keyboard player.

Were you formally trained in music?

Let's say, I had a working knowledge of music. I could identify the varnams and the thumris. I'd studied Hindustani classical music. I had a taste for ghazals. I could play everything from folk to fusion music.

As a result, did your studies suffer?

They did. I was cutting classes regularly [...] bit of money for the house. But my principal refused to understand. I used to get a right royal yelling every day because of my poor attendance. After ninth standard, I was forced to move from Padma Seshadri to the Madras Christian College. After that, I joined a music college. I enjoyed school; it was fun.


How long do you take to compose the song?

Depends! At times, I finalise a tune after an hour... at times, I have to allot another session. A song can take me two days or two weeks. 'Uyire Uyire' ['Tu hi re, Tu hi re' in Hindi] from 'Bombay' took me ages... so did kuchi kuchi rakkamma. On the other hand, Veera pandi kottaiyile ['Pyaar kabhi na todenge' in Hindi, from 'Chor Chor'] from 'Thiruda Thiruda' was ready in a week. Occasionally I've had to change the singer.

It's said that for 'Muqabla' you lifted a Dr. Alban number.

I was inspired by a beat which also seemed to be the inspiration for Dr. Alban. I heard his number only after my song was composed. After Muqabla, I haven't turned to the same beat... a beat which we call a 'loop'.

Why did you turn to ad films? Was it the money?

I wanted a change. After a year with Illaiyaraja, I wanted a break. So, in 1987, when I was offered teh Allwyn's Trendy Watch campaign, I grabbed it. I went on to do almost 300 ad films: Leo Coffee, Boost with Kapil Dev and Sachin Tendulkar, MRF Tyres, Hero Puch... there were so many. The Asian Paints ad which I did with cinematographer Rajiv Menon even won an award. Money isn't important, creative satisfaction is. You can never achieve quality if you just want to make a fast buck.

What made you veer towards feature films?

Mani Ratnam. His cousin, Sharda Trilok (Trish Productions) had produced one of my ad films. I met Mani at the party hosted by her. I invited him to visit my studio.. he came after three months. He must have been impressed with my work because he offered me 'Roja'. I was quite happy in my ad world. I had no intention of joining the film industry as a composer. The pace is much too hectic. But Mani's offer was too tempting to refuse. I love his picturisations, he can elevate a routine song by 400 percent; give it a new dimension. Also the audience is larger... much larger.

Have you met MSV or Illaiyaraja after becoming a music director?

I met MSV a couple of times. Since my studio's at home, I don't go out much.

Is it true that you're a threat to their position?

That's what the media says. I don't think so. Illaiyaraja is doing 25 films a year, I have only 10 films on hand.

Whom do you consider your closest rival?

The man who's inside me and constantly trying to distract me from doing good work.

There was some talk that you were very close to a chorus singer.

Chorus singer? What're you saying? In the studio, we're all brothers and sisters. That's the only way we can work late into the night... without getting involved in messy affairs. All the girls I work with treat me like their bhai

Are you a perfect Muslim?

We're a very secular family. My sister's married a Hindu. We didn't try to stop her from marrying the boy. It's her life, she had to make her decision.

Q: First of all, do you prefer to be called Allah Rakha? Or A.R. Rahman?
A: A.R. Rahman...like M.C. Hammer (laughs).

Where do you get your inspiration?
A: Everything. I feel the whole world is like one. There are different cultures, but you get moved, and even when they listen to a "raag" like in "Vande Mataram" I did, or the Bombay theme or anything, they hear the "raag" and they feel they can tell what the pulse is, I can see tears sometimes and I can see joy sometimes. So it doesn't have any language.

Q: I heard that you like to work all night and sleep all day.
A: Mostly (laughs). When I work during the day, I get a lot of phone calls, and a lot of decisions need to be made. I have to come out of my trance. So nights are better for me. Mainly when I do overdubs and things it's during the day. My own work, whenever I write and do creative work, though, is mostly at night.

Q: Besides Webber are there any Western collaborators in the wings?
A: There is The "Thief of Baghdad," a film which is a co-production between Hollywood and Madras, which we might collaborate on but we still haven't done it.

Q. How did you come into films?

A. My father, R K Shekar was a music director in Malayalam films. He assisted Salil Chowdary, Devrajan and others. He died when I was nine. At eleven I came into the field, playing on the keyboards and later as an accompanist. I worked under various music directors in Tamil, Telegu and Malayalam- Ramesh Naidu, MS Vishwanathan and IllayarajA. It started becoming a bit monotonous. I thought advertising would be a good alternative. This went on for three years. I built my studio and took to different forms of music- pop, rock and so on. It was then that I met producer Tirlok Shardha, cousin of Mani Rathnam at a party. He (Mani) came to my studio and heard some of my tunes. We agreed to work together though we did not decide on which movie. Only later he told me it was to be Roja, which he directing for K Balachander.

Q. What music do you like?
A. Bach, Beethoven and Mozart and Carnatic music. I was into rock and fusion. I like to bring all these into my music.

Q. Your views on film music in India?
A. Film music in India is like pop music in the West. Movies are the channels for this music.

Q. Despite your success you do not seem to be working on a lot of films?

A. Rather than making money I believe in making people happy, all other things are secondary. That is why I am not interested in al Lot of movies but only in one at a time. I like directors whom I can vibe with. Ten years of experience in this field has made me quite frustrated. I've evolved a technique, which requires a lot of time. Other music directors record a song in 7-8 hours. But I am different. We do a basic sitting and we record it. We record the voice and I add instrument by instrument to improve the quality.

Q. Do you use computers in your film tracks?

A. No, not computers. The technique is different. In fact they say the music in Roja was computerized. As I said earlier the recording takes time. You can hear the same flute in a different way. It is not computerized music. Nearly 40% "Veerapandi Kottayily" (a song from "Thiruda Thiruda") that does not sound like computer music and "Vellai Mazhai (from Roja) is synthesizer oriented. I do not restrict the musicians but ask them to play whatever they feel. Then I record what I want. I spend a lot of time on lyrics too. It takes around 4 days. We write something in the first instance and then improve. So it take about a week to complete a song.