{"id":247654,"date":"2025-12-19T14:41:49","date_gmt":"2025-12-19T14:41:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/?p=247654"},"modified":"2026-01-05T17:49:36","modified_gmt":"2026-01-05T17:49:36","slug":"you-need-to-leave-your-safeguards-and-walk-into-the-fire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/you-need-to-leave-your-safeguards-and-walk-into-the-fire\/","title":{"rendered":"‘You need to leave your safeguards and walk into the fire.’"},"content":{"rendered":"

MBW\u2019s World\u2019s Greatest Songwriters series celebrates the composers behind the globe\u2019s biggest hits. Here we talk to A.R. Rahman, a giant in the world of film soundtracks, with a hefty collection of Grammys, Oscars, Golden Globes, and Indian National Film Awards on his shelves. World\u2019s Greatest Songwriters is supported by AMRA<\/a> \u2013 the global digital music collection society, which strives to maximize value for songwriters and publishers in the digital age.<\/p>\n

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Some Oscar winners cry. Some holler deliriously about how their countrymen are coming to take over Hollywood. Some even slap the host.<\/p>\n

But in 2009, when A.R. Rahman picked up his Academy Award for Original Score for Slumdog Millionaire<\/em>, he was coolness and calmness personified.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a dialog from a Hindi film, ‘Mere paas ma hai,‘”<\/em>\u00a0he said, dressed all in black. \u201cWhich means, \u2018I have nothing but I have a mother\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sixteen years later, Rahman has garnered many more accolades and achievements (including two Grammys, a BAFTA and a Golden Globe) but, as he talks to MBW<\/em> during a break from the immersive spectacle that is his The Wonderment world tour \u2013 which has been packing them in from Abu Dhabi to Los Angeles \u2013 it\u2019s clear he still retains that sense of perspective.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was in a very Zen mood,\u201d he laughs, of that Oscars speech. \u201cThree months before, I had a very important spiritual experience, which was overwhelming for me, and I was not able to come out of it. So, everything seemed to be smaller than what I had experienced\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

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That mindset helped him cope with the massive interest, both at home in India and abroad, that followed his global breakthrough. For many, a double Oscar win (he also picked up Best Original Song for Slumdog\u2019s Jai Ho<\/em> at the 2009 ceremony) might have been the pinnacle, but Rahman was just getting started.<\/p>\n

Already an established name in Indian cinema and classical music, he has since become one of western cinema\u2019s favorite composers, working on the likes of Couples Retreat<\/em>, 127 Hours<\/em>, The Hundred-Foot Journey<\/em>, Million Dollar Arm<\/em>, Pel\u00e9: Birth Of A Legend<\/em> and Inside Man<\/em>, alongside countless projects in Indian cinema and elsewhere.<\/p>\n

He played for President Barack Obama at a White House state dinner, worked on the 2012 Olympics opening ceremony and has moved into the worlds of musical theater and pop, planning his own musical and collaborating with everyone from Mick Jagger to U2 and Diane Warren to Pharrell.<\/p>\n

Hollywood is a long way from Rahman\u2019s roots in Madras, India. Rahman\u2019s father introduced him to the world of music \u2013 as a child, A.R. would deliver his father\u2019s lunch and watch him conduct the orchestra at theater showings \u2013 and A.R. was playing piano from the age of four. His father passed away when AR was nine, and the young prodigy left school soon after to help support his family.<\/p>\n

After working as a session musician and some early experiments with rock music, he started making jingles for adverts, only moving on when he realized his work featured on every single advert in a show he was watching.<\/p>\n

He shifted into film music, making his debut with Tamil movie Roja<\/em> and winning a National Film Award for Best Music Director. He became the go-to composer for Indian cinema and set up his own studio and label before heading for Hollywood.<\/p>\n

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Now, he shuttles between Mumbai and LA and now, having transcended classical music, can seemingly turn his hand to almost anything, fizzing with enthusiasm over future projects such as his avatar band Secret Mountain; his mentorship of classical music\/dance ensemble Jhalaa; his work with Hans Zimmer on the forthcoming epic Ramayana<\/em> movie score; his numerous music education projects; and his April date at London\u2019s Royal Albert Hall with classical composer Rushil Ranjan.<\/p>\n

Rahman, however, remains supremely grounded \u2013 sharing many of his fellow musicians\u2019 concerns over streaming and the studios\u2019 approach to film music. Much of his catalog was recorded as a work-for-hire, a practise particularly common in Indian cinema, meaning he does not participate fully in its streaming success, despite having over 40 million monthly listeners on Spotify (\u201cAnd we get peanuts from that!\u201d).<\/p>\n

That partly explains his recent enthusiasm for playing live, with his The Wonderment tour taking music from all stages of his career to a huge, mainstream audience; a bit like his own version of Taylor Swift\u2019s Eras Tour \u2013 although he professes to know little about that particular cultural juggernaut. He is similarly bemused\/amused to learn that Jai Ho<\/em> has become the soundtrack to a popular college sports team drinking game, where people have to chug their beer between utterances of the song title.<\/p>\n

But, before he heads for the stage, it\u2019s time for the legendary composer to sit down with MBW<\/em> and talk Hollywood, Bollywood and how he got involved with the Pussycat Dolls\u2026<\/p>\n

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ARE YOU FINDING THERE IS MORE INTEREST IN INDIAN MUSIC FROM INTERNATIONAL AUDIENCES THESE DAYS?<\/strong><\/h6>\n

There is, but not as much as K-pop I believe! [Laughs]<\/em><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve told this to my team, after Jai Ho<\/em> \u2013 which became a whole world rage \u2013 I should have been a little more aggressive and done more concerts, more entrepreneurial stuff in other countries, but I just chilled out. I was like, \u2018Ah, I\u2019ve arrived, let me chill out for five or six years\u2019 \u2013 but it\u2019s never too late!<\/p>\n

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