Is A R Rehman repeatitive?

In an old interview by ARR in 2002, ARR confessed that he has become repeatitive, probably this is the reaon why we have seen him doing period movies like Lagaan, Mangal Pandey, Rang De Basanti.
An interesting Q is : Why & When does a composer sound repititive, do you think ARR is repititive? A genuine debate please. I Shall chip in with comments.

A R Rehman

A R Rehman, who strides as a colossus in the world of film music after his debut in roja, takes time off his hectic schedule to speak at length about his new Album with Michael Jackson, his career, appreciation that he has been getting for his music in lagaan and his future plans.

At the outset, is it true that you have worked with Michael Jackson on a single titled Ekam Satyam ?
Yes. I have worked with Michael Jackson on a single. Titled "Satyam", the track composed by me is part English and part Sanskrit. The Sanskrit portions written by A R Parthasarathy have been rendered by me while the English Lyrics written by Kanika Myer Bharat have been rendered by Michael Jackson. It will be released sometime during the end of this year, as a single, though I am given to understand that Jackson is considering including it in his forthcoming album 'Invincible.'

How did the song happen in the first place ?
To tell the truth, initially it was penned especially for 'The MJ and friends concert, which was held in Munich in June 1999. However, since it became immensely popular among Jackson fans in the west, I am told it has been decided to release the song - the duet sung by Jackson and myself - as a single.

Did you expect that the music scored by you for lagaan Would click in such a big way?
To tell you the truth, the music of lagaan was a real Surprise for me. I'd not hesitate to say that lagaan is a path-breaking movie, which does not stick to one genre of filmmaking. I'd give the whole credit for the success of the music of lagaan to Aamir Khan who was simply fabulous as a producer. He knew what exactly he wanted and had the courage of conviction. I kept in mind the script of lagaan when I composed the music for the film. I am getting a good feedback from people for my music in lagaan.

Would you admit that your music had started sounding stereotyped some time ago?
To some extent I plead guilty to the charge that you have mentioned. My first film Roja was very futuristic. After Roja I tended to be very repetitive and stereotyped as a music director because most of my films had numbers which were Dance-oriented. In the past three years, I was very keen on Working on period music. I could get that opportunity with Lagaan. You see it is difficult to set your mind to Chennai audience and Mumbai audience. I do confess that I was struggling to come out of the rut in which i started finding myself. It was very difficult to come out of the rut in which I had placed myself.

Why do you insist on working in only your studio in Chennai?
Chennai is my home. It is much more peaceful to work on one project there in Chennai than take up ten projects in Mumbai and not concentrate on them. A creative person should crave for more and never be satisfied. If he is satisfied then it will only mean the end for him.

Do you insist on singing in your voice in every film for which you compose music?
I sang for the first time in my career in Roja. I had actually sung as a dummy voice. However, the first time I sang as a playback singer was for the film Bombay.

Is it true that you had a complex about singing?
Yes. That's only because I think singing requires a totally different energy. I am more interested in composing for films than singing. I used to have a complex about my voice and never even dared to sing for any film of mine till I happened to hear the late Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. I felt that if he could create wonders with his voice, I could also definitely try my hand at singing at least once in a way. Singing actually needs a lot of practice on your part. It is not easy.

Do you prefer to compose when you get the lyrics or do you ask your lyricists to write according to the tune you have?
Most of the times I have a tune ready with me when I set out to compose for a film. Sometimes I tell the director about a particular idea of mine. Sometimes they too come up with fresh and innovative ideas.

Don't you feel it is risky as a music director to dare to give breaks to raw new singers?
To tell you the truth, initially I was so bored with the routine. I respect all the senior singers whether here in Mumbai or in Chennai but at the same time I also feel that they were actually blocking all the new singers as far as opportunities are concerned. Ninety per cent of the time it has worked when I have dared to introduce a new voice in the industry.

Why have you recorded very few songs with Lata Mangeshkar like in Dil se?
Believe it or not, Lata Mangeshkar is such a senior an artiste that I am actually very scared to go near her as a composer and ask her to sing a song.

The songs which you have composed for Nayak, the real Hero seem to be rehashes of your earlier compositions. Why?
Out of the five songs that I have composed for Nayak, the Real hero, three are based on my own songs from the Tamil original called Mudhalvan. Shankar, who directed Nayak, the Real Hero, had also directed the original Tamil version Mudhalvan. He felt that since the original score had become the rage down south, we ought to use the same tunes when we decided to make the film in Hindi.

Do you think music can even affect society?
Why not? A song like 'Choli Ke Peechay' in Khalnayak affected everybody. A popular song can definitely affect the society.

What are your future plans?
Asoka, which is being directed by Santosh Sivan for producer Shahrukh Khan, will be released soon. You will get to hear different music from me in Asoka too. In some of my other forthcoming movies, I am contemplating upon composing even ghazals.

What is your motto in life?
Search is more important than destination.

How has your music shaped in Nayak, the real hero?
My music will definitely compliment the film. Five songs of mine have been picturised on the hero and the heroine in Nayak, the real hero, while one single song has been picturised as a background song.

To what extent do you believe in god?
To a large extent. I am of the opinion that you do not gain anything by putting pressure on yourself. It is God's Will and God takes all your pressures off your mind as and when he wants to do so.

Sinhaji – In my opinion there are 3 types of Music Composers in the bollywood playback industry - Timeless, Contemporary or Time Catcher and well Crap or Copy Cats.

I place only 3 people in the 1st category – Salil Chowdury, RD Burman and AR Rahman.

It's a characteristic property of a genius that they are never satisfied – they are perfectionist. I believe that's the reason for AR's comment. Also a set of good playback songs need a good movie too. These 'dance numbers' really get to my nerves sometimes. Where the songs are not one of the characters of the movie then better not have one.

AR – you are the best living MD. Salute to you.

Thanks Sinhaji for starting this thread.

Absolutely, ARR is becoming repetitive, and he has the insight and honesty to admit it...

How does inspiration run out?? I don't know if I can answer that question... Sinha-ji aap musician hain naa? aap ko kyaa lagta hai iske baare mein...

Dear soulsoup

Always a pleasure, thanks.
Actually there is a thin line between maintaining a hallmark over songs and being repititive.
There are certian modes of sounds, chords sequence & use of miscell. effects of guitar , ARR is very pleased with, they often appear in his songs.
ARR is actually a composer who pays a lot of attention to the instrumental details, yet I came across a no. of his compositions where he has hardly used 3-4 instruments: Like you listen to the song Ye hasi waadiya:Roja, note how few instruments have been used, yet the song is mindblowing, there are many other songs where he has used the same effects, this is the reason why he sound s repititive at times, though it is debatable whether it is his hallmark/signature or repeatation.

Originally posted by: sangeetaa

Absolutely, ARR is becoming repetitive, and he has the insight and honesty to admit it...

How does inspiration run out?? I don't know if I can answer that question... Sinha-ji aap musician hain naa? aap ko kyaa lagta hai iske baare mein...

Im nothing more than a humble listener like all of you. Certainly not a musician.

One effect I would mention:
He is very fond of slapsticking the bass guitar, remember Nihira's Rangeela...? It was full of it, he has used this effect in many of his songs.

Dear soulsoup

Both Salilda & Pancham are my fav. composers, gustakhi maaf.... please tell me how do you find Salilda & ARR similar.

Unfortunately – bollywood didn't get enough of Salilda as we Bongs did. Same way not all of the great songs of ARR is Hindi. Right now coming to my mind – 'Kannathil Muthamittal' – one of Maniratnam's classic – both the movie and the songs mesmerized me.

Why I put Salilda & in same platform? Sinha ji – I am not a music expert – I play little bit of Spanish Guiter and that's it. So this is an not expert comment – both of them make me feel like painting a big picture, a bigger context with their compositions. One can do that only with high emotional and cultural maturity. Also, apart from composition a composer got another role to play – choosing the right singer for the right song – I think both of them are masters in that aspect.

Great going folks – keep the ball rolling.

Originally posted by: N Sinha

Dear soulsoup

Both Salilda & Pancham are my fav. composers, gustakhi maaf.... please tell me how do you find Salilda & ARR similar.

Yes Salilda has run Kavya geeti almost single handedly.
I personally rate Salilda as the best composer our industry ever had. Though I will always maintian a bias for Pancham, like every insrtumentalist does ( including you).
See, Salilda was quite a maverick composer, all expt. which you hear today by ARR like notes out of octaves, harmonic progression, already have been done by Salilda long back.
There is hardly any composer who can compose so difficult songs yet maintain a melody, my goodness...!
Who can forget songs of Maya like Tasveer teri dil me...
phew it takes guts to play it on Piano, what to say of attempting it live....!

I do not feel ARR is getiing repetitive at all.

I really feel when you get to ARR's calibre, you become your own biggest critic. From Lagaan, Taal,Pukar to Saathiya he has given marvellous numbers. I find he has a great ear for Beat or Taal which Ghai saheb explored very well in Taal. I know he records his songs in sections and then does a marvellous job during mixing. He has one habit of never listeneing to the Producers or Directors involved which again is expected from the Maestro himself.
I feel ARR is getting over critical of himself - he is by far my favorite - hands down - I find him very refreshing and his beat magnificent.