AR Rahman recalls the time when a drunk guitarist's comment on his music left a mark on him

AR Rahman recently made it to the news when he revealed that there was an incident that left a mark on him. It all happened with a drunk guitarist who made a comment that got AR Rahman thinking.

Here is what the ace musician said.

AR Rahman interacted with an entertainment portal where he shared about the incident. He recalled a phase in his life when he was working with several composers and started getting influenced by them. He was just 19 when a drunk guitarist from his band questioned his music and his comment left a mark on him. He said, "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. 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. 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.”

AR Rahman further added that though the guitarist didn't say anything bad to him, but his comment left an imprint in his heart, so much so, that it became a positive influence for him to move away from his own influence too.

About AR Rahman

Allah Rakha Rahman also known by the initialism ARR is an Indian music composer, record producer, singer, songwriter, musician, multi-instrumentalist, and philanthropist known for his works in Indian cinema; predominantly in Tamil and Hindi films, with occasional forays in international cinema.


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