A R Rahman on rediff.com

He had just done a concert in Chennai, the time was midnight and you would think AR Rahman was ready to wind up a hard-driving day. But no -- he was upbeat, obviously in a great frame of mind, when he appeared on Rediff chat.

During his interaction with fans worldwide, there was no sign of impatience, no indication that his mind was on other things -- though he had, after the chat, to complete work on some remixes and catch a flight to London for the music release of Lord Of The Rings.

Rahman put all those preoccupations out of mind, and answered questions with patience and eloquence. For those who missed the event, here is the transcript:

Mahesh Londhe: I feel 1947 Earth is your all time best music. I am not against synthesizer or latest techniques but have a strong opinion that music is nothing but 'feelings' and therefore a song should be recorded in one go without a break as it was done previously. What is your opinion?

A R Rahman says: Thank you very much. I definitely have a lot of freedom when I work with Deepa Mehta, since she doesn't nitpick into every little thing. She just gives the general idea and disappears till we make beautiful music for her and she responds later. Freedom is very important in the process of creating music and songs. There are a lot of issues when we record music together, because even if one person is not right, then the whole recording becomes unusable. Hence, by the use of multi-tracks, we definitely try to simulate the seamlessness in a song. But the practice is still on. The music of Lord of the Rings, the musical, and Golden Age, which I recorded recently were all with a live orchestra in one of the most prestigious studios in London.

Aravind AM: Sir, in most of your songs, there are very minute and very fine sounds, which may hardly be noticeable to a normal listener, but if we actually notice them, we appreciate the sheer brilliance. What motivates you to make all those fine nuances in your songs, though the efforts that you put in for beautifying the song may not reach the audience?

A R Rahman says: There is a story of Michelangelo -- if I am not wrong -- which I heard recently. It seems that he was painting beautiful pictures at the back of the church. People told him you are a fool because you are not painting in the front where people can appreciate your work. The answer was: I do my work for God. I think he can watch it anywhere. I thought it was a brilliant answer because everything doesn't need to have instant appreciation. Even if one of you have appreciated those fine nuances, that is enough for me.

Armstrong S A: I feel that quality and sounds of Roja songs are far better than your recent ones. What is the main reason for that? Are you missing Sridar and other sound engineers?

A R Rahman says: At the time of Roja, the consumer music systems used were of lower qualities and we had to cater to a mono-magnetic tape. Hence we had to exaggerate the high frequencies and use a lot of specialisers. Things have changed in the course of time and we have now taken a universal approach in the sound quality to make our recordings sound warm and friendly to every system. That covers the recording part. The sounds which you say were inspired from the film of Roja, definitely another film soundtrack will come where you will feel the same or maybe better vibe again.

Vineet: Hi Rahman sir. I am a fan of you. I hear that you are coming to Dubai for a concert. Is it true? If yes, is it a public or a private concert? We are very eager to see u here in Dubai.

A R Rahman says: You'll know very soon.

Shani George: Guruji, what is that one special thing you would like to tell your millions of fans?

A R Rahman says: Love makes the heart lighter and makes you see things objectively. Hate darkens you and makes you heavy at heart and uneasy. Make a choice. God bless.

Sathya: Hi Rahman, I am a die hard fan of you and have been listening to your music since Roja. I have read in your interviews that you pray five times a day. Also, it's because you love your job you can avoid burnout. But amid such high pressures, how are you able to do that? Do you get pressurised any time by producers to finish fast, which can cause you lose your coolness and creativity?

A R Rahman says: Like how we find time to eat food and sleep, we need to find time for 'spiritual food' too. If we have our mind balanced and light, all other things are easier to handle.

Chekka Prakash: Why are you not giving music to Telugu movies?

A R Rahman says: I am in the process of doing a Telugu movie directed by S J Suriya, and starring Pavan Kalyan. The music of Jodhaa Akbar will also release in Telugu.

S Somu: Sir, don't neglect my request. Give me some work to do... anything... I will travel my life with you, sir. I don't know more about music but I can do any kind of work. Don't neglect this.

A R Rahman says: I never intentionally neglect people, but due to overwhelming queue in my work, it might seem so. I have all of you in my prayers and love you all.

Amit Iyer: Good Evening Rahmanji. I'm your die hard fan from Mumbai. I love each and every track you have composed, right from Roja to Jodhaa Akbar and have collected CD's and cassettes of each of your compositions. I heard you are going to compose some devotional album soon with your Guru Shri Dakshinamoorthy. When is it about to be released? I just want to meet you at least once. You have come to Mumbai several times but I always missed the opportunity of meeting you. Hope we will meet soon. All the best for your future projects. Warm regards to you and your family.

A R Rahman says: You are right. Mr Dakshinamurthy has composed a beautiful album from the Tamil Sufi text of Gunangudi Mastan based on Carnatic ragas. Though we have done around six songs, we are still finding it difficult to find the time to complete the other songs. But it's a very passionate project. Do wait for it.

Arshitha V: Hi Rahman Sir. How are you? As we all know that technology is having a great impact in the world of music, how are you able to keep yourself abreast with the current technology? Also, do you feel that you need more contributions from the world of science to music? I value your opinion a lot on this.

A R Rahman says: I've not seen any great innovation in instruments recently except for a few, which is the continium fingerboard and a very unique instrument in North India where a person has combined a violin and a Sarangi. Indian music could have a great scientific instrument emulating all the gamakas and ragas with a polyphonic touch. I might have missed something which is already there.

A R Rahman says: I read most of your questions... thought I will just pick and choose the ones I felt like answering due to lack of time. I thank you for taking your time for writing all those beautiful kind words.

Interviewed by Rediff.com