‘I believe if you don’t have a clean and calm mind it is impossible to churn out great music... It boosts my confidence, instills humility and detaches me from everything else’

On Jan. 11, as Kareema Begum watched her son, the prolific Allah Rakha Rahman, walk up to the stage inside The Beverly Hilton Hotel, California, and accept his first-ever Golden Globe for Best Original Score for a motion picture, tears streamed down her face. The rest of Rahman’s family, including sister A.R. Rehana, who caught the live telecast at his Chennai residence, tried to calm her but she couldn’t stop. “My son looked so tall, holding his award among all those foreigners,” says Kareema.

If a Golden Globe win had this effect, imagine the impact of an Oscar victory for her son. It now seems a real possibility after he snagged three Academy Award nominations for Slumdog Millionaire on Jan. 22.

Besides receiving a nomination for the Best Original Score, he has been nominated in the Best Original Song category for Saaya and Jai Ho. Even as the accolades started pouring in, the man at the centre of it all was typically self-effacing. “It was really unexpected and we all are very surprised,” Rahman said in an interview to CNN-IBN. “I have received so many SMSes from all over the country. Thank you so much for your love and prayers.”

Before the international recognition, Rahman has long enjoyed a reputation as a quiet musical genius among contemporaries and critics in India. Since he burst onto the mainstream with the soundtrack to Mani Ratnam’s Tamil film Roja in 1993, Rahman has composed for nearly 110 films including southern hits like Bombay, Thiruda Thiruda, Gentleman, Rakshasudu, Kannathil Muthumittal, Minsara Kanavu, Kandukondain Kandukondain, Sivaji and Hindi blockbusters like Rangeela, Taal, Dil Se, Lagaan, Jodhaa Akbar and Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na. In 2002, Rahman collaborated with British producer Andrew Lloyd Webber for the West End musical Bombay Dreams, announcing his presence on the international scene. Combining diverse genres and arrangements, Rahman is the consummate artist constantly experimenting with new sounds and challenging the boundaries of music with his creations. As filmmaker Subhash Ghai, who worked with Rahman on Taal, Kisna and Yuvvraaj, describes him: “Rahman has been restlessly in search of excellence since the time he started making music.”

The philosophy that underlines his quest is simple — a good human being makes a good musician. In an interview to People at his Chennai residence-cum-studio (the ground floor houses his studio, the Panchathan Record Inn) after his Golden Globe win, Rahman repeatedly emphasises this. “Being a film music composer is not just about scoring good music. It is also about having ethics, commitment, passion and friendship,” he says.

It was his father, Malayali music composer, late RK Shekhar, who showed him the way. Rahman remembers how he was a man who always valued musicians as “human beings first”.

“My father was a hard worker and never judged musicians by their compositions. He had great respect for them as people and I learnt the same. He was always ready to help those who were in need.”

In the 1980s, Rahman work as a keyboard player with legendary south Indian composer Ilayaraaja, which turned out to be his other learning ground. “Ilayaraaja taught me great discipline,” says Rahman.

“With other musicians, I always saw that there were people, who would drink and smoke. With Ilayaraaja, things were always systematic and disciplined. He was dedicated towards work and, once again, respected every musician.”

Those who know Rahman well observe that the musician strives to live by the same tenets. Suhasini Mani Ratnam, wife of director Mani Ratnam, a good friend of Rahman, sees in him a child-like innocence. “I have seen A.R. Rahman showering lot of sympathy on children and people in need,” says the actress. “His family has a very positive influence on him and I guess that makes his music more sensitive.”

When sound engineer S. Siva Kumar first joined Rahman’s studio, Panchathan Record Inn Studio in Chennai, he did not know much about computers. Rahman, ever technologically savvy, helped him get acquainted. “He is more like a friend,” says Kumar, whose association with Rahman began with the 1993 Tamil film, Gentleman. “He introduces us to new technology and patiently waits for us to get accustomed to it. He always takes care of his team and I feel fortunate for having known him so long,” says Kumar.

Rahman is a devoted student of the very latest in music, especially its technical aspects. He acknowledges that people initially had difficulty understanding what he was attempting with technology. “With technology, I don’t have to be present physically at each recording. I can do things efficiently with fewer people. Technology has improved my output and made me more objective,” he says.

While composing the music for the Oscar-nominated 2001 film Lagaan, director Ashutosh Gowariker wanted Rahman to create a musical sound indicating thunder, as a prelude to the rain song Kale Megha. “I was clear I didn’t want to use the usual sound effect for thunder,” says Gowariker. For nearly a week, Rahman toyed with different instruments and various sounds like drumrolls. “Ultimately, he picked up the words Ghanan Ghanan, looped it and gave it a repetitive effect,” he says. “It became a brilliant sound indicating clouds arriving on the horizon.”

According to Subhash Ghai, Rahman possesses the most amazing stock of sound templates and he creates them all on his own. “He is a musician, singer, composer, technician, recorder and mixing man — all rolled into one. He is able to focus because he is also a divine person.” In fact, “divine” is a word that often crops up in conversations about A.R. Rahman. The music director, who was born A.S. Dilip Kumar, converted to Islam when he was nine and has been known to possess a mystical side. “Even his dance tunes, it has a spiritual streak,” says Gowariker.

Every recording in the Rahman studio begins with a prayer. A devout follower of the teachings of his Sufi saints Kareemullah Shakhadiri and Mohammed Hasan Khadiri Rahman, Rahman often pays his respects at Moosa Shakhadiri Dargah on Mount Road in Chennai and Ameen Peer Dargah, in Kadapa, Andhra Pradesh. Spirituality fuels Rahman’s creativity. “I believe if you don’t have a clean and calm mind it is impossible to churn out great music,” he says. “It boosts my confidence, instills humility and detaches me from everything else.”

Famously media-shy early on, Rahman has come around to living under the spotlight. “Sometimes I think silence is best. That’s why I am often disconnected from the outside world,” he says.

Rajiv Menon, director of Minsara Kanavu, has known Rahman from his days as a jingle composer for advertisements. In all these years, Menon says, Rahman has remained unchanged — “down-to-earth, humble, and willing to help others”. The only difference is that “he has become more articulate now”.

Of late, Rahman has also dabbled in multiple projects including releasing two private albums, judging a reality show and endorsing big brands. “In any profession, you develop relationships and have good friends, who can handle things efficiently for you,” says Rahman about managing these responsibilities.

Last year, when he turned 42, Rahman announced his plans to establish the K.M. Music Conservatory and Audio Media Education in Chennai,

which will train budding musicians. He has also established the A.R. Rahman Foundation, which has an even loftier goal — eradicating global poverty. Perhaps recognising the sheer magnitude of the prospect, Rahman says: “I realise that it is not something that can be achieved in one lifetime. But winning international acclaim is a starting point. I hope that I can give my best to society by collaborating with many kind-hearted people.”

The golden glow

What attracted Rahman to Slumdog Millionaire was the story’s innate humanity. “To be part of the project itself is a great honour and I am happy with the recognition it has received,” he says. Director Danny Boyle was an encouraging presence. Rahman believes he really made the soundtrack possible. “He was extremely friendly and admired my work.”

In his opinion, the criticism that the film presents India’s seamy underbelly is unfair. “The film is all about the human spirit. It is about how there is redemption at the end of any struggle,” says Rahman.

While the musician has enjoyed global popularity for a few years now, Hollywood was largely unaware of his stature. When Rahman collaborated with British-Sri Lankan rapper M.I.A on Saaya, all that changed. “At the Toronto Film Festival premiere, audiences really loved the song. Soon they were listening to other songs from the film.” His Globe victory has triggered some debate if Slumdog Millionaire is Rahman’s best work yet. The musician refuses to judge. “For me it is important to see how my scores embellish and complement the film.”

At the Golden Globes ceremony, Rahman hobnobbed with top western composers, who were admiring of his work. “All of us became good friends,” he says. Now Rahman plans to forge ahead with an international career. “My win is a win for Indian music. And I want to bring India more and more recognition in the field of music.”