The reluctant talker turns chatterbox; talks about turning film maker, and confesses why he’s awkward during interviews
That AR Rahman is a man of a few words is a universally known and reluctantly accepted fact. He is a superbly talented musician, but interviewing him is considered a challenge.
When India’s top composer starts to make music, we listen. So when AR Rahman gets chatty, it’s imperative we listen in too!; Location courtesy: House of Nomad at Taj Lands End, Mumbai(Prabhat Shetty)
“I didn’t know how to frame my sentences earlier. My speaking could not keep up with my thoughts”
His authorised biography, Notes of a Dream captures the nostalgia, the drama and the extraordinary success story of A R Rahman (Prabhat Shetty)
“Passionate people get angry to motivate more than anything else. Otherwise, nothing happens, right?”
AR has directed a Virtual Reality film called Le Musk and according to him the film that came out of a casual chat with his wife (Prabhat Shetty)
“A lot of people have come to me and said, ‘Hey AR, if I convert to Islam will I be successful too? I’m ready!’ I keep quiet. It’s a trick question!”
“I had a lot of showdowns during the making of Le Musk. The main artists rebelled saying ‘what is this script?’ I had to explain it is for VR, not for film!”
AR claims that although he can learn the most complex synthesizers with algorithms, it took him a year to learn to use the iPhone (Prabhat Shetty)
“I use a major seven flat and fifth, but I don’t tell people what chords I use in my music. In the same way, the religious beliefs that define my character are personal”
A R Rahman is a man of many talents (Prabhat Shetty)AR’s first project as a filmmaker, One Heart, was a documentary on his musical tour (Prabhat Shetty)
“In between prayers, I think ‘I have to pray, so I can’t do this mischief’. People from other faiths do the same and are peaceful too”
News/Lifestyle/Brunch/ Why AR Rahman embraced Islam, and other pertinent questions: India’s most reticent opens up in an exclusive interview to HT Brunch
