Composing for 'The Lord Of The Rings'

Music director A.R. Rahman, who composed the music for a stage adaptation of "The Lord Of The Rings", calls it an amazing experience.

Talking to Lorraine Hahn of CNN, Rahman said: "You have like 18 hydraulics moving on stage...in three and a half hours... it's amazing stuff." The interview will be showcased repeatedly Saturday, Sunday and Monday on CNN's "Talk Asia" show.

Based on the sci-fi bestseller by J.R.R. Tolkien, the musical stage version of the movie "The Lord of the Rings", which has Rahman's music, was produced by Kevin Wallace for Broadway.

With his innovative mixing of technology and traditional Indian songs, Rahman's tunes created a new buzz in the Bollywood music scene. His unique style was visible in hit movies such as "Lagaan" and "Rangeela".

"I was a big fan of electronics... when computer music, computers and all this stuff came - it was fun," said Rahman.

At a very young age, Rahman started working as a professional musician to support his family but after a chance meeting with director Mani Ratnam his life changed. Ratnam gave him the opportunity to compose the music of his box office blockbuster "Roja" and there was no looking back for the melodic genius thereafter.

He has composed music for more than 50 films and has a string of successful albums to his credit. He is called a "Composer Extraordinaire" by the Indian entertainment industry and was honoured with the Padma Shri title (2002), India's highest civilian award, for his contribution to music.

Later, his collaboration with Andrew Lloyd Webber led the maestro on to the stage with the hit musical "Bombay Dreams", acclaimed by London's West End and Broadway alike.

Educated in both the eastern and western music disciplines, Rahman sees the two schools complementing each other.

"My biggest dream now is to start a classical conservatory in India, or Chennai. I think the discipline of classical music is very important - and then we can ring in the Eastern elements into it," said Rahman who wants to nurture the next generation of musicians.