His life spells magic
Shoma A. Chatterji gives a peep into the uncommon life of talented music composer and director A. R. Rahman

THE Lifetime Achievement Award bestowed upon A.R. Rahman at the Dubai International Film Festival is yet another feather in his cap. He has won two Oscars and the Golden Globe and many more titles, awards and others along the same line that do not really matter to him. Rahman’s life story equals the magic he creates with his music.

"Everyone dreams of winning an Oscar," he says. "It gave my work a new level of recognition and legitimacy." Awarded for best song and best score, Rahman became the third Indian to win an Academy award. The success of Slumdog Millionaire brought other advantages — "I got a chance to meet some of my heroes," says Rahman. "I got an opportunity to meet Barbra Streisand and work with Celine Dion, and I was the first Indian to perform at the Hollywood Bowl."

"I started playing the piano and harmonium when I was five," says Rahman. "I was nine years old when my father died. My mother Kasthuri (now Kareema Begum) was determined to see me become a musician."

Rahman’s innovation for Indian films was the blending in of orchestral melodies with traditional Hindi film soundtrack’s fondness for violent, slashing violins and dramatic tablas. This earned him comparisons with Andrew Lloyd Webber and Paul McCartney.

"In India, we love melodies in the background," he says, "in the West, there is a greater preference for more ambient sounds and plain chords."

A. R. Rahman was born A. S. Dileep Kumar on January 6, 1967, in Chennai to a musically talented Tamil Mudaliar family.`A0His father R. K. Sekhar was a composer, arranger and conductor in Malayalam films. Dileep’s earliest memories`A0of the studio are with his father. On one such visit, music director Sudarshanam Master found the four-year-old playing a tune on the harmonium. He covered the keys with a cloth. It made no difference. Dileep replayed the tune effortlessly. This impressed the music director, who suggested that he be trained in music.

He lost his father when he was only nine. It was rumoured that his father died because of black magic. He passed away the same day his first film as music director was released. His belief in God took a beating. He joined Illaiyaraja’s troupe as a keyboard player when he was 11 and learnt to play the guitar. He had to drop out of school in the eleventh grade because of financial reasons. His varied experience of playing at music concerts for stage shows, television, with renowed music composers gained him a scholarship to the Trinity College of Music at Oxford where he obtained a degree in western classical music. He came back with a dream of bringing an international and contemporary world perspective to Indian music.

In 1988, one of his three sisters fell seriously ill. The family tried everything. Then it came in contact with a Muslim Pir — Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jeelani or Pir Qadri. With his blessings, Dileep’s sister made a miraculous recovery. Influenced by the teachings of the Pir, Rahman’s family converted to Islam. A. S. Dileep Kumar became Allah Rakha Rahman. Rahman says "Islam has given me peace. As Dileep, I suffered from an inferiority complex. As A. R. Rahman, I feel as if I have been born again."

"I was not crazy about music. I was more interested in technology".`A0He was drawn to the synthesiser bought by his father, one of the very first in film circles then, from Singapore.

"As a child, music seemed to be a means to earn bread and butter. I had no special fascination for it... it was associated purely with work. Yet, I couldn’t take my eyes away from the synthesiser, it was like a forbidden toy."

Dileep would spend hours experimenting with the instrument, which was to shape his future in music. The synthesiser was Dileep’s favourite instrument, an ideal combination of music and technology."

"Till I met Illaiyaraja, I thought one had to drink or take dope to become a good artist. But Illaiyaraja was making such beautiful music while leading a pure life!’ I was under the impression that if it is music, whoever it is, must have some bad habit. When I saw them with drinks and drugs, I thought ‘Oh! they are music people. They have to take drinks, smoke and have cocaine to get their inspiration’. Illaiyaraja changed all this. He proved that one can make good music without bad habits! Even now, he is an inspiration for me being so religious today," Rahman sums up.

Rahman’s strength lies not only in his perfect sense of melody and rhythm but also in his immaculate sound engineering. His music has been hailed as that of the digital age and has also been assailed for the very same reason. His music can never be adequately described in words.`A0One has to personally experience the pleasure of his creations. Many of his compositions might actually sound ordinary the first time. But his music has this amazing capacity to grow on you. His compositions are an intriguing cocktail of musical pieces that blow your mind. His music is unique in its offbeat instrumental interludes, unconventional harmonies, and use of far from perfect voices and thumping rhythms.

He remains unassuming, charming and modest to a fault in an era of trumpet blowing. "I was born in Mundakanni Amman Kovil Street in Mylapore, Chennai. My mother delivered me at home with the help of a midwife. I have fond memories of this area. The area I lived in was a slum, near Valluvar Kottam. I used to go to Padma Seshadri School from a rented house. The warmth and love I got from these people is touching. Despite rapid progress, some of the people are the same and I love this about them," he sums up.