A. R. Rahman Quotes
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I compose music for films, and by the grace of God, I've got a few awards. That's it.
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I believe that whatever comes at a particular time is a blessing from God.
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My mother's belief in spiritual healers grew stronger after our family went through a rough patch following my father's death. Sufi saint Karimullah Shah Kadri changed our lives, and all of us converted to Sufism. But it wasn't an instantaneous decision - it took us 10 years to convert. The change in religion was like washing away the past.
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I think musicians here India get ripped off. Music production houses take good care of artists abroad and though the upfront signing amount is much less than what I get here, the royalty takes care of future returns.
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Success comes to those who dedicate everything to their passion in life. To be successful, it is also very important to be humble and never let fame or money travel to your head.
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Comedy is a universal language. I grew up watching Nagesh, Surilirajan, Thenga Srinivasan and S.V. Shekhar's comedies. And, of course, Charlie Chaplin! These artists are so blessed: they can make other people happy.
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I basically love classical music. I love a lot of musicians playing together and the whole culture of that, whether it's Indian or it's Western.
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The idea of music is to liberate the listener and lead him to a frame where he feels he is elevated.
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Beautiful film music can be made relevant to any period.
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I want young Indian composers to be able to do more than just film music. I want to give them the skills that will enable them to create their own palette of sounds instead of having to write formulaic music. It doesn't matter if they become sound engineers, producers, composers or performers - I want them to be as imaginative as they like.
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While my mother wanted me to be a musician, I wanted to become an electronic engineer.
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When you do something with a lot of honesty, appetite and commitment, the input reflects in the output.
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I was famous from the age of 13, and after a while you become immune to it - in a good way. You look at positives and what you can do with it.
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If there is no criticism, you become lazy. But it should be constructive, and it should be the truth. If it's biased and there's no truth in it, then I don't care about it. If it's true, it helps me grow.
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It's like driving your car. If you drive too fast on the highway, you will topple, so you better maintain your speed. Life is similar to that, and that's the way you have to control your head.
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I feel blessed and humbled that people have loved my music. Nothing would be possible without their acceptance.
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The demand in India is to have a hit, which becomes a promotion for the movie and makes people come to the theater. You have five songs and different promotions based on those. But when I do Western films, the need for originality is greater. Then I become very conscious about the writing.
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I'm always fascinated by the innocence of children and the baggage that we carry as adults which manipulates our decisions.
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I love great lyrics, and I love the way it could shape a tune into a very unpredictable one, and I also like taking a great melody and putting lyrics into it.
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I follow a simple formula when I compose. I ask myself, 'What would the audience want to hear?' and 'Why would they buy my CDs?' And the process of answering these questions through music follows. Sometimes, it works. Sometimes, it backfires.
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I have too many responsibilities and principles. There's no time for 'guilty' pleasures.
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I joined the Madras Christian College but dropped out after three months. Telugu music director Ramesh Naidu asked me to assist him, and I did so for over a year. I did think of rejoining college, but by then, I was discovering the musician in me. I worked with Illaya Raja and Raj Koti and soon shifted to commercials. This led to movie offers.
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When I travel with my kids abroad, I am not myself, but I'm more a father who wants to protect them. Sometimes, I am even aggressive about certain things and get surprised seeing myself like that: for instance, when people want to take pictures of them. I am fine if they want to take my pictures, but they are not public property.
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Compared with other Indian film composers, I only write about six movies a year. Others write up to 60.