I had everything in LA: A R Rahman
...but I felt if I did not come back soon, my kids would start calling me. So, I came back in 2015.
The details of A.R. Rahman’s life are well known. Born Dileep Kumar in Chennai, he was nine when he lost his father R.K. Shekhar, a musician, composer and arranger who worked predominantly in Malayalam cinema. As a result, at an early age, Rahman had to juggle being a student and a breadwinner. Having inherited his father’s passion and talent for music, he assisted composers, played the keyboards, fixed musical equipment and rented out his father’s wide collection of instruments for money. At 16, he chose music over academics and, by his early 20s, was one of the most sought-after composers for commercials.
He was christened Allarakha Rahman after, inspired by saint peer Karimullah Shah, his family embraced Sufi Islam.
Although not inclined towards films, the success of his debut album, Mani Ratnam’s classic Roja (1992), changed the then 25-year-old’s plans. Many projects, performances across the world and awards (including two Oscars and Grammys) later, Rahman continues to hit the high notes.
After gaining global stardom with Slumdog Millionaire in 2009, Rahman moved to Los Angeles. Life in LA was markedly different from the one he was used to in Chennai. There were Academy-hosted screenings, meetings with the who’s who (including filmmakers such as Steven Spielberg and J.J. Abrams) of the industry, parties, and occasional indulgences like driving a Bentley. “Every door was open to you,” he says.
But, by 2012-13 Rahman began feeling the itch to return to the country that brought him his first opportunities and catapulted him to fame. The needs of his family, too, weighed heavily on his mind. “My mom was unwell and the kids were growing up fast. I felt like if I don’t come back, they are going to start calling me ‘uncle’,” he adds. So, in 2015, Rahman returned to India.
Once back, he wanted to broaden his horizons. “I wanted to use my expertise to expand the knowledge of the students of my conservatory [KM College of Music and Technology, Chennai] and tell stories never told before,” he says. “My thing is, why are we always following other people and not creating our own ideas and entities which could change the world?”
Rahman started YM Studios, a film city spread over 99 acres with a state-of-the-art sound stage. He also began producing films under his banner, YM Movies. Rahman’s inspiration was Andrew Lloyd Webber, the composer with whom he collaborated on the West End musical Bombay Dreams. “He produces, writes and understands narratives. I realised that a composer doesn’t just have to make music.” As a storyteller, Rahman doesn’t want to stick to conventional filmmaking steeped in “commercialism”. His two upcoming productions, 99 Songs and Le Musk, exemplify this mindset. “With 99 Songs, we’re being adventurous. It’s a musical which could be adapted by the whole world, and introduces someone completely new,” says Rahman. The film features two newcomers, Ehan Bhat and Edilsy Vargas. Rahman’s directorial debut Le Musk uses virtual reality, haptic technology, 3D, 360° shooting and robotic chess, among other technologies. “There is still a notion of India being a third world country,” says Rahman. With these endeavours, he hopes to continue putting India in the international arena as he has been doing for over two decades.