Has India’s favourite music composer moved on to a bigger, global platform?

Chandrima Pal (MUMBAI MIRROR; September 05, 2010)

From Internet blogs to the denizens of Delhi’s South Block, everyone is splitting hair over his compositions. But the man behind it all is ensconced in his Chennai studio, unfazed by the furore around him. Like the proverbial eye of the storm.

For A R Rahman, these are the best of times, the worst of times. His art is at its most eclectic, garnering international acclaim heralding him as one of the world’s best. In his own country detractors are declaring that he has lost his touch. He is buying a five-acre plot in Los Angeles to set up his production facility with sound engineer Resul Pookutty. He is also being accused of being indifferent, aloof to his Bollywood projects, delaying them and churning out music that often stumps listeners. With every milestone in the West, Rahman seems to move a step away from home.

His fiercest critics are ironically in the industry that has given him his biggest successes — until of course Slumdog. The Hindi film fraternity has always had an uneasy relationship with Rahman, who is still god down south. Many in Bollywood find it hard to accept his artistic ways — he remains in Chennai, works mostly at night, has his own creative yardsticks for choosing projects and delivers only when he is ready.  Some feel his best is behind him, others feel he is constantly breaking new More >