The Score Magazine - Archive April 2009 issue! | Page 12

Of course, Jatin and Lalit parted ways a few years
back and not much has been heard about them
but their niece Shradha Pandit recently sang for
Rahman on the Delhi 6 soundtrack.
Online fan communities, ever so eager to stir up
a hornet’s nest, constantly fish for controversies
prompting even Rahman to appeal to his fans to
treat everyone (musicians and their fans) with
respect. The so-called Ilayaraja vs AR Rahman
controversy again invented by over zealous fans
was put to rest when Ilayaraja and Rahman came
on a common platform post the Oscars and both
acknowledged the high regard that they had for
each other’s work.
Rahman says that others’ criticism of his work
inspires him to raise the bar higher and deliver
even better stuff. While one constant criticism
has been that he sounds repetitive, Rahman has
probably experimented with more genres of mu-
sic than anybody else has. Indian classical, west-
ern classical, ghazals, thumris, Tamil folk, hip-
hop, R & B, drum n bass, lounge, trance, opera,
rock…the list is endless.
People who work with him swear by his fantastic
sense of humour as much as they dread his pen-
chant for perfection which makes them toil for
hours together in the quest for the perfect note,
pitch and sound.
But there’s one thing that’s always guaranteed
when you meet the man himself. He’s ever so
unassuming, modest and simple at heart with
his feet firmly on the ground. He likes the same
things that you and me like albeit with a differ-
ence…you like driving, so does he except that
he drives a BMW. You like gadgets, so does he
except that his gadgets are all Apple makes. You
like drive-in restaurants, so does he except that
he has to keep the windows rolled-up. You like
watching movies, so does he except that he has
a state-of the art home theatre at home and yes,
you like music, so does he except he also creates
amazing music!
Rahman’s generosity whether monetary or
otherwise is legendary. He has initiated the AR
Rahman foundation and donated Rs 25 lakh last
year to the South Musicians Association for help-
ing those who were without work and in need.
There are countless instances of him interacting
with fans and taking them completely by surprise
whether at airport lounges, hotel lobbies etc. In
a country where people are used to idol worship-
ping their icons, even a photo-op with them is
considered a privilege and to think that Rahman
chats up with his fans about everything under the
sun is simply unthinkable. Can one ever imagine
a Sachin or a Shahrukh doing that?
But for the Grammy and the Nobel Peace Prize,
Rahman has won every possible award under
the sun. No wonder then that a section of his
well-wishers think that whether it’s an Oscar or
a Filmfare, the letters AR are inscribed on them.
Would it be fair to label him the greatest super-
star this country has ever produced? To borrow
from Danny Boyle’s film, IT IS WRITTEN.