Not that he sounds bitter. He never can. Not when he’s regarded as one of the most influential Asian musicians since Zubin Mehta. But Rahman is certainly uncertain about his future in Hindi films.

Reason? “Too many period films in Hindi. 1947: Earth, Zubeidaa, Lagaan, The Legend Of Bhagat Singh, Water, Bose: The Forgotten Hero, Kisna... I’ve worked hard on each of the themes. But the end result hasn’t been worth it. The songs were either pushed into the background or not used at all?or worse still, used badly. Yeah, I feel very frustrated by this. But what can I do? Composing tunes is my job. How they are used isn’t up to me.”

Rahman seems unhappy with the way Subhash Ghai used his track, Hum hain iss pal yahan, in Kisna. “Though it was a love ballad it wasn’t sung by the lead pair at all. It was placed in the background. That killed the song’s impact.” But the worst experience was Bose: The Forgotten Hero. “It’s become Bose: The Forgotten Music,” jokes Rahman. “Sahara had promised a grand launch for the music and a grand premiere for the film. None of it happened. I had worked really hard on the music. But it all came to zero finally. But after Zubeidaa and Bose I’m doing another film with Shyam Benegal. It’s a full-on musical. But, please, no more period films for now.”

Having had his fill of a blast from the past Rahman is now looking at a more contemporary kind of musicianship. “All my Hindi assignments at the moment including Rakesh Mehra’s Rang De Basanti and Abbas Tyrewala’s romantic film are contemporary subjects. I’m quite done with period films now. I think Mangal Pandey would be last film of that ilk.”

Rightfully proud of his compositions in the just-released music of Mangal Pandey, Rahman reveals how he had been offered three film about freedom fighters/warriors including Roland Joffe’s The Invaders. “But I finally chose Mangal Pandey. “Yeah, the fact that Aamir Khan was in it did influence my decision. Aamir and I really jelled well during Lagaan. In fact, I’m really proud of my work in Lagaan and 1947-Earth which also starred Aamir.”

Speaking of the second part of Deepa Mehta’s trilogy, the third part Water is ready. It’s the first project where Rahman has done the songs but not the background music. “I moved away because of the controversies surrounding the film. What’s the point of creating music for a project that makes some people unhappy? But I saw Water recently. And it took my breath away.”

Anything in Hindi music that Rahman has liked lately? “Yeah, I like M. M. Kreem’s music. His Jadoo hai nasha hai in Jism was a surprise. And I like a couple of Pakistani songs which have been used in Hindi films like Murder recently.”