Shantanu Moitra

AR Rahman is the reason that I had thecourage to leave my advertising and enter the films music world. The fact thatthe kind of music that we used to hear and always thought that it wasn’t thekind of music that goes into films because films had a different sound. But thefirst time I heard Roja, the Tamil version of it, I realised that, okay, these kindof sounds do work in films -- the lovely melodic structure, the rhythmicpatterns, the western guitarist and the contemporary modern cinema scoring.And that gave me the courage to try and venture into it. I know that it's not justme, but an entire generation who have entered this industry thankingRahman, after RD Burman, I guess.

He himselfis a technician, so he actually works with textures of voices. For example, hemay take the voice recording and completely reduce the lower frequency andhighlight the mid frequency and the high frequency. What happens due to that isthat if the voice is thin he, he would fill that up with instruments like a low cello.This was a very revolutionary way of recording and engineering a voice.

Rahman’s mixing really stands out -- be it on a transistor or a hi-fisystem. The voice just seems to be crystal clear. Other things like using Tamilwords in Hindi songs. Then the no mukhda-antara format. The song from Bombay, kehna hi kya -- there is no mukhda-antara format. Gulzar sa’ab wastelling me that he is so flexible with words that if the word is not fitting, hedoes dhum dhadhaka dhum and the writer can either get a word or it can go justlike that.

But apart from all this, what is more important is to understand Rahman just revolutionized the way music score is done in India. There wasa typical music score sound of India. He completely changed that. He’d play just a simple chord, a simplenote, very stylized. Earlier, the ageold system was that if there was a dialogue, it was understood that the musicwould be lessened but he brought a big symphony underneath the dialogues. Thelogic being that if you reduce the music, the volume of the music should not goduring the mixing.

Listen to kehna hi kya in whichhe used the legendary Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and he used him for just two linesin the interlude. Now if you are getting a singer of that stature, you wouldactually give him more lines but that is the clarity of Rahman. There is adivinity in him. I truly believe that music is spiritual and you see this inhim. If you were to attempt what Rahman has done, you’d be clobbered to deathbecause it’s bold, it’s completely out of the ordinary. But he has almost aDNA recording system which no one can attempt, only Rahman.

He is also open to new voices. I knowPrasoon introduced him to Mohit Chauhan. Rahman used him beautifully. People wantto tell him about new voices because he’s looking for them so his exposure tothem is much more. Also he is not in a position where he has to get a voice approved. Theproducer/director feels, my God, if Rahman is recommending him, hemust be good.

As for lyricists, he has influenced themtoo. Gulzar saab tells me, "Rahman eggs me on to do new things-- with his sounds,with his creativity. Any artiste loves challenges. Imagine you are doing amukhdawith 12 lines and there is no antara. You have to rethink the structure andthat's always challenging. Take Chhaiyyan Chaiyyan -- see how many ways he’s usedthe words in it. If the lyricist feels I’ve used the words too many times, let mechange it, then he hears how different it sounds each time-- how new. He is constantly challenging the lyricist in making him think or not think onstructures, on words.

In any Oscar award, I don’t thinkthere is such a big age difference between the composer and the lyricist. It isincredible how young Gulzar saab is.

Favourite Rahman composition? Kehnahi kya from Bombay.

Rahman has given us some amazingvoices. Sukhwinder was already singing, but he has been given to us by Rahman.Hariharan sings completely differently for Rahman. Kavita Paudwal withRahman is wonderful. You feel you know a singer but when s/he sings for Rahman, it’s somethingelse.

There’s definitely divinity involvedhere. I think it'sfantastic that in my lifetime we have a Tedulkar and a Rahman. When I first heldRoja, the Tamil version, in my hands, I knew it was something phenomenal.

As told to Lata Khubchandani