Rahman's trust in my work boost my confidence: Clinton Cerejo

Clinton Cerejo, who did music arrangements for A.R. Rahman back in the 1990s and is now a popular singer-composer himself, says the Oscar-winning music maestro always had a great level of trust in his work. That, in turn, gave Cerejo confidence to do a lot more work.

On the 49th birthday of Rahman on Wednesday, Cerejo, who sang his compositions like "Phoolon jaisi ladki" and "Dil ka rishta", recalled his experience of working with him.

"We had an amazing equation. There was a great level of trust when it came to Rahman sir and me. There would be times when I had to work on his songs without him being around. But there was always a great level of trust that he had in me and my work. That gave me confidence to do a lot more," he told IANS.

Nakash Aziz, who grew up listening to Rahman's music and considers him to be his guru, hopes to have the "same kind of energy at his age".

"He has been in the industry for over 20 years. Today also when I see him, I hope I have the same kind of energy at his age and even after achieving so much... it's just crazy, the kind of commitment he has. It's great," said the singer, who worked with Rahman in the Hollywood venture "The Hundred-Foot Journey".