In a conversation that is now available on the YouTube account of the former, Academy Award winner AR Rahman and music legend L Subramaniam discuss a variety of topics, including both of their careers. During the course of the discussion, Rahman discussed the factors that led to him approaching music in a distinctive manner.
When asked by Subramaniam how he changed the traditional method of composing music with a large number of performers and the entire orchestra, Rahman answered that it was due to advancements in technology. Subramaniam questioned how Rahman changed the method. “At that time, a film could only have up to eight tracks, but because I came from a background in jingles, I had sixteen tracks, and I was able to do a lot with them.” It’s just that nobody had considered doing that before. Everyone desired more complexity, but because the orchestra was so expensive, all of the large instruments were shrunk down. Therefore, I arrived in the midst of a moment of transitional technological change. It provided me with a lot of leisure to try new things and get them wrong. Because everything took place within the studio, nobody saw any of my failures, but they did see all of my successes. We continued to repeat this action over and over. The flexibility that I was able to achieve as a result of having a home workshop was,” the composer explained.
He continued by saying, “That allowed me the flexibility to experiment a great deal… Of course, acquiring financial stability is essential for everyone, but beyond that, I was driven by enthusiasm. I mean, if people in the West are doing it, then there’s no reason why we can’t. If we listen to their music, then they should be able to listen to our music as well. I continued to ask that question, and the answer to that “why” became “better production, better quality, better distribution, and mastering… that still drives me.”
Rahman continued by saying, “Sometimes I see that our pictures go all the way to the Oscars, but they don’t win. The Academy Awards are being submitted by the wrong films. And I am just like DON’T. We need to put ourselves in the position of the other individual. To understand what is going on here, I have to put myself in the perspective of a Westerner. To understand what they are doing, I have to put myself in their position.
The conversation was conducted on January 6 of this year, which is a significant amount of time before the Oscar nominations were announced. Towards the conclusion of the conversation, L Subramaniam can be heard wishing AR Rahman a happy birthday.
In the meantime, India has won two Oscar Awards – Best Original Song (Naatu Naatu) and Best Documentary Short (The Elephant Whisperers).
