HT Brunch Cover Story: A R Rahman is so much more than just music

Hindustan Times | ByShruti Nair

Jul 12, 2020 02:34 PM IST

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The Oscar- and Grammy-award winning musician has some very strong ideas on how to revive India’s classical art forms

It is 5.20 pm on a balmy Tuesday evening in Mumbai, and I am a little fidgety as Tamil songs play in the background: I’m trying to calm myself for an interview with AR Rahman by listening to the music he’s made. Soon his manager patches me in and I am exchanging pleasantries with the Grammy-and-Oscar-winning composer.

A R Rahman says Covid-19 is reinventing how we make music. Location courtesy: House of Nomad at Taj Lands End, Mumbai(Prabhat Shetty)

A R Rahman says the moment something is presented with pride, a taste for something beautiful is created. (Prabhat Shetty)

“Billie Eilish recorded music with her brother in a bedroom studio. Covid-19 is reinventing how we make music!”

A R Rahman claims he was “very lucky” to have begun at the right place at the right time! Hair and Make up: Nandini D’Rozario (Arun Titan)

“There is a stigma around being a professional musician. People say with pride, ‘My son is a doctor’ but you don’t find them saying, ‘My daughter is a musician’.”