AR Rahman on impact of 'Taal': I was no longer called a 'South Indian, doing only Tamil music

AR Rahman. Pic/Instagram

Celebrated musician AR Rahman says it was his work on Subhash Ghai's musical romance drama "Taal" that led him to compose for Andrew Lloyd Webber's Bollywood-themed musical "Bombay Dreams", which catapulted him to international recognition. The multiple award winning-composer said filmmaker Shekhar Kapur, who served as an executive producer on Webber's 2002 musical "Bombay Dreams", played the English impresario of musical theatre the soundtrack of "Taal" which clocked 25 years in August.

Rahman, who had already made a name for himself across India with Tamil movies such as "Roja" and "Bombay", said Ghai's film helped him reach out to a whole new section of audience. 'It was the soundtrack of 'Taal', which Mr Kapur played to Andrew Lloyd Webber, and hearing the songs of 'Taal', he wanted me to work on 'Bombay Dreams'. I was no longer called a 'South Indian, doing only Tamil music' and all that stuff.

"Even though 'Roja', and 'Bombay' had crossed that stuff. I also felt that there was a little more space to go into it, and 'Taal' perfectly filled the void. If you look at 'Amar Singh Chamkila', it is pure Punjabi (music). The confidence comes from working on all these movies,' Rahman told PTI in an interview here. He was speaking on the sidelines of a special screening of 'Taal', organised by Radio Nasha.

The composer later ventured into the international music scene, transcending geographical boundaries and captivating global audiences with his compositions in prominent productions such as Kapur's 'Elizabeth - The Golden Age', 'Couples Retreat', 'Slumdog Millionaire', which made him the first Indian to win two Oscars, '127 Hours', 'People Like Us', 'Warriors of Heaven & Earth', and 'Million Dollar Arm', among others.

Rahman shared another anecdote about how he went on to become a part of 1999's "Taal", which will be re-released in select theatres across India on September 27. During the 1990s, the 57-year-old said everyone he met would tell him to do a Hindi film with Ghai. Rahman's first Hindi film was 1995's "Rangeela", directed by Ram Gopal Varma. 'And then boom, when this fax came. I was like 'Wow, the man himself sent the fax'. He invited me to Mumbai and we hung out.

"He talked about various aspects of my music and what I should do to learn more Hindi. We did a movie called 'Shikhar', which he launched but it didn't happen (release). And then we did 'Taal',' the composer said. 'Taal', starring Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Akshaye Khanna, and Anil Kapoor, continues to be widely loved for its soulful melodies like "Taal Se Taal Mila" and "Ishq Bina", the meditative "Nahin Saamne Tu" to the electrifying dance number "Ramta Jogi".

Creating its soundtrack didn't take much time, said Rahman, adding the film provided him a platform to explore new dimensions in music. 'He (Ghai) would say, 'I want a symphony and then I would go and do some stuff or I want this to be a mountain folk song'. So, I was like, 'My sensibilities are also expanding'. Coming from the South, I was always open to what else is there to do (in terms of music).

"For instance, in 'Roja', I had used Hindustani ragas and not Carnatic ragas. I wanted it (music) to have a different feel. So, I became a fan of Darbari, Bhairavi, and Des ragas, which was not common in the south of India. So, that ('Roja') was more on the classical side, this ('Taal') is more on the folk and Punjabi side,' he added.

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