MUMBAI – When Nasreen Munni Kabir first proposed writing a biography on composer A. R. Rahman, her editor was skeptical. How would she put together the life of someone who is famous for his reticence? Kabir did manage eventually but it took her eight long years to do it. During this time, Rahman had also changed, going from a popular Bollywood and Tamil film composer to an Oscar-winning artiste working with the likes of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Danny Boyle. One thing didn’t change – Rahman still doesn’t talk much. But the reclusive 45-year-old spoke to us on the sidelines of the launch of his first official biography ‘The Spirit Of Music’.
Q: Was it difficult to talk about yourself during the writing of this book?
A: Actually, there are a lot of facts in there that I’ve already said in a lot of interviews. But what she (author Nasreen Munni Kabir) wanted to do was to have a completeness in the whole thing, and that’s what is special about her and what makes it work. It’s more universal, rather than one picture of me in a very nice simple tone. Most of the stuff I have spoken about before but there are certain aspects which are new.
Q: You’ve spoken about having to choose between love and hate. Have you experienced hate, or perhaps envy after your huge success in the West and the Oscars?
A: I think everything has opposites. And spirituality says that when you have so much everything, fame, the opposite also comes to you. So I was waiting for it. It did come, but I could handle it. It wasn’t as disastrous as I thought it would be and being spiritual helped. It was almost predictable that it would happen, in a way. I was famous from the age of 13, and after a while you become immune to it – in a good way. You look at positives and what you can do with it.
Q: The criticism you faced for the Commonwealth Games song. Did it affect you?
A: I told myself that I also need a chance to fail (laughs).
Q: Did you look at it as a failure?
A: Yes and no. After the Games, there was so much positivity, but some people just want the negativity. It’s fine.
Q: Could you talk about the production company that you are supposed to launch?
A: It’s an inspirational idea that could lead me to different things. It has to become a reality. It will be more native to our country and there will be stories from here.
Q: Also, you have a music school. Is mentoring a role that you enjoy?
A: It’s amazing. It’s not an easy thing to do, but I had a great team that helped me. My sisters involved too. I’ve kept them out of my productions because I don’t want any jealousy among them. They will showcase their talent themselves.
