AR Rahman Reveals How A Drunk Guitarist’s Comment On His Music Affected Him – News18

Last Updated:December 27, 2024, 15:47 IST

AR Rahman opened up about the time a drunk guitarist made a condescending comment about his music skills.

Oscar-winner AR Rahman might be at the pinnacle of his music career but it all didn’t come easy. He faced a number of hardships in his path to fame. The musician started working at a very young age to support his family. However, in a recent conversation, he revealed how a condescending comment about his music skills deeply affected him.

In a recent interview, AR Rahman recalled the time he was working with several companies and was getting influenced by them. At that initial phase of his career, a drunk guitarist questioned his music skills. He made a very condescending comment on Rahman’s skills, leaving a deep impact on him. “I went through a phase where I was playing for a couple of composers, and I was in a band. This one time, when I was young, the guitarist in the band was drunk, and he turned to me and said, ‘What are you playing? You are playing film music.’ He made a very condescending comment about my playing. This was in 1985 or 86, I think,” Rahman told O2 India.

Rahman also explained that he realised the remark’s deep meaning after days. But fortunately, with a turn of events, the comment worked as an eye-opener for the musician. He said, “At the moment, I didn’t realise what he meant, but weeks later, it hit me, and I realised that whatever he said was right. When I thought deeply about his remark about me, I realised that I was getting influenced by the composers I was playing for,” adding how he gradually began to realise his style. “After this, I consciously began to move away from it. And my mental journey of identifying ‘what will be my style’ began. It took me about seven years, and I completely moved away from the influences.”

In the same conversation, Rahman also mentioned how he took it as a positive influence and started working on the same. He admitted that although the guitarist didn’t say anything bad to him, he moved away from it after seven years. Rahman’s decision to take his career in the right direction, despite such remarks leaving a long-lasting imprint on him, proves his determination to do good work.

Rahman will next compose music for Hansal Mehta’s upcoming series Gandhi. Additionally, he has compositions for Ram Charan and Buchi Babu’s upcoming movie, RC16, in his pipeline.