A.R. Rahman and Katrina Kaif at the launch of Rhyme Skool

Rhyme Skool, an audio album of nursery rhymes, has brought together the king of music A.R. Rahman and the queen of Bollywood Katrina Kaif. While Rahman’s students have sung for the album, cool Kat has done the voiceover. A t2 email chat with the maestro.

What was the idea behind Rhyme Skool?

When Saregama approached me, I was very excited, since this is the first commercial project for KM Music Conservatory (KMMC) students. KMMC is my vision to take young Indian talent to an international platform, to provide them with musical learning of international standards.

How many of your students have been a part of the album?

There are 17 students who have worked on Rhyme Skool vol. 1.

Is this the first time you have worked with your students? How special was the experience?

Yes, it is the first commercial project with the students and I am very proud of their work. The day of the launch was a memorable day for them and KMMC.

Tell us about the making of the album…

I wanted to make sure that this was an album of international standards coming from India. I listened to a lot of references to make sure this album was better — listened to the scratch tunes, gave my suggestions on the improvements to be made, and asked the Saregama representatives to play it to little children and see if they liked it. Kidzee was the Academic Partner and had given content appropriate to kids. Kidzee is Asia’s largest pre-school network with over 700 schools all over India.

What was the most challenging part of making the album?

Most of the rhymes were traditional rhymes and so the music was all covers, already heard. So the challenge was to make it sound different. Each rhyme is set to different kinds of music, from Caribbean reggae to West Coast hip-hop!

What was it like working with Katrina?

I appreciate the fact that Katrina agreed to be part of the project so that it would get a large reception.

What brief did you give her?

To be herself. Although references were given to music with another voice, Katrina did it in her own sweet style.

Finally, what kind of response have you got for Raavan’s music?

Interesting. It’s got positive feedback from almost everyone. One must remember that it’s important to keep the spirit of the film and the director’s vision in mind when you compose and this is exactly what the script demanded. It has an edgy, rhythmic, dark feel to it.