AR Rahman reveals the secret behind 'SuperHeavy'

MUMBAI: Two-time academy award winner and music connoisseur AR Rahman, is one man who has crossed the east-west divide and has bought world-wide fame and recognition to Indian music. Rahman, who has become a name to reckon with in Hollywood has recently formed a band ‘SuperHeavy’ with international legends Mick Jagger, Dave Stewart, Joss Stone and Damian Marley.
“‘SuperHeavy’ is a band of different influences and each one of us have a distinct style. All five of us have together bought very different influences to the table,” says Rahman.
The group has released two singles ‘Miracle Worker’ and ‘Satyameva Jayathe’ which have been huge hits, and the much awaited album of the band is slated to release world-wide on 19 September. Rolling Stones legend Jagger along with the group has crooned in Sanskrit verses for second single ‘Satyameva Jayathe’. “It was a great experience. The idea had been in my head for a while now – since a few years! Then when Mick said that they wanted to incorporate something Indian, I played it and instantly everybody connected to it. It didn’t take long to put it together – some 15 minutes and the album had a Sanskrit song in it,” beams Rahman.
The name of the band ‘SuperHeavy’, sounds very historic and iconic as it comprises of five international legends. Rahman asserts, “When we were jamming together for the SuperHeavy track, suddenly I saw an interview where Dave said that the word SuperHeavy was inspired by Mohammed Ali. In the beginning it sounded a bit over the top and pompous, but when we actually composed the song SuperHeavy we realised that the word was very spontaneous and so we decided to name the band after it. Now we are habitual to the name ‘SuperHeavy’ and I feel good about it".
Rahman's earlier international collaborations include The Pussycat Dolls, Akon and a star-studed second version of Michael Jackson's 'We Are the World'. The world raises a toast to this sheer musical genius as he has played a very crucial role in representing Indian music on the world map. “I think the world is going through a great change of connecting cultures not only through the electronics medium, internet but also music. Indian music is definitely being recognized at a global level,” quips the musical maverick.
 

Hands of Musical King

Smiling A.R. Rahman :)

ROCKSTAR

A.R. Rahman with Ex. Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu :)

Some things in life are not planned: AR Rahman

"At the end of 2008, a lot of dark things happened in my life. I lost my sound engineer and we had floods in Chennai. I was going through a lot of stress in my work. At that point of time, I got a call from Dave Stewart asking, ‘AR, would you be interested in collaborating with Mick and me?’ So I thought, ‘Anything to get out of here at this point,’ Some things in life aren’t planned,” says Indian music legend AR Rahman, who’s teamed up with musicians Mick Jagger, Stewart, Joss Stone and Damien Marley to form the music group, SuperHeavy.

But even before Jagger announced the formation of the band in May this year, recordings were well underway in LA, having originally started in 2009. “The time we had in the studio was full of excitement, enjoyment, innovativeness — so different from how it generally works for me. Usually, I just lock myself in a room, make my music and only when I think it’s ready, do I show it to a second person. But here, it was a different situation altogether. In one zone, there would be beautiful smells, scented candles and a piano in an almost angelic atmosphere, and on the other side, you’d smell marijuana.”

Just before India’s Independence Day, SuperHeavy released its second single Satyameva Jayate... Adds Rahman, “A long-standing dream of mine was to take one of the morals of Indian culture, which is Satyameva Jayate (truth alone triumphs) and make it into a song. I thought it would be historic if Mick, Joss, Damien, Dave and I could come together for a song like this, which is iconic in a way. When we started working on the song, I didn’t have any lyrics other than Satyameva Jayate. Later, we filled in the lyrics, and we added the choir to make it more epic.”

SuperHeavy’s first album hits store shelves on September 19, and Rahman has managed to add one more song to the album with an India reference: “Apart from Satyameva Jayate… there is also a romantic number called Mahia…”

The Grammy winner is currently working on Alex Kurtzman’s Welcome to People and a DreamWorks Studio animated movie, tentatively titled Monkeys of Mumbai. His upcoming Indian projects include Imtiaz Ali’s Rockstar and Rajinikanth’s Rana.

Kyun Ki – Radha Roy

RADHA ROY, a wheelchair user, the other singer to perform with AR Rahman at the Awards, greeted me with a shy smile. She was clearly overwhelmed by the fact that she was going to share the stage with Mr. Rahman and was breathless with excitement! As she sang a song from the movie “Kyun Ki” I was captivated by her beautiful voice. No wonder Mr. Rahman had a special word of praise for Radha. Here’s my tête-à-tête with her.

How do you feel about singing with Mr. AR Rahman?
When I heard that Mr. AR Rahman had liked my voice and that I was selected, I was spellbound. It is a thrilling, exciting, dream come true experience for me. Mr. Rahman is one of the top music directors and when he asked me about performing with him in Chennai, I was literally jumping for joy! I had only three days to practice and I have been practising for almost 8 –10 hrs each day. I feel privileged and obliged for getting this opportunity.

How and why did you take up singing as a profession?
I was born and brought up in Kolkata. I finished my BA in Political Science (Honours) at the Loreto House College. I realised my potential for singing when I was selected to perform at a musical concert in school. My voice was appreciated by one and all and I started learning music. I have been training in light classical music from Ustad Sarfaraz Ahmed Khan, son of Padmashree Ustad Fayyaz Ahmed Khan of the Kirana Gharana. When I went to Mumbai for treatment (I have Insulin Resistance syndrome that resulted in Secondary Muscular Degeneration), I happened to meet Salman Khan through a friend. That was the turning point in my career. Salman Khan introduced me to music director Himesh Reshmmiya and “Kyon Ki” happened. I got an opportunity to sing the title track for this Hindi movie along with Udit Narayan.

Do you see this opportunity as a big step forward in your singing career?
To be a good playback singer is my desire and ambition and I am hoping that this association with Mr. Rahman will be a significant milestone in shaping my career. Tell us about your family. My parents have been my pillars of strength and my mother is the guiding light in my life. She insisted that I complete my education and she was also the one who didn’t bat an eyelid when we had to take the decision to move to Mumbai from Kolkata for pursuing my career in singing. Loreto House College, where I did my graduation, is one of the most prestigious and disabled-friendly colleges in Kolkata. My college understood my disability and provided me with a lot of help. Teachers would come home to help me catch up with my studies and the principal was also very cooperative. I was also awarded a Certificate of Merit for commendable effort and personal courage by the University of Calcutta. My being a wheelchair user has never been a barrier for me to achieve what I have always dreamt of. With Mr. Rahman playing the grand piano, Radha sang “Tu Hi Re” from the movie “Bombay” and “Jiya Jale” from the movie “Dil Se” during the Awards celebration. She surely won the audience’s heart by singing a few verses in Tamil as well. I quickly caught up with her as she was leaving the stage. Still overwhelmed by the experience, perhaps, but Radha stopped to answer my question…