Entertainment

Shekhar Kapur: AR Rahman’s faith plays an important role in his music

Kapur is presently busy with his next directorial venture, Masoom: The Next Generation.

(Photo credit: GettyImages)

By: Mohnish Singh

Praising AR Rahman, filmmaker Shekhar Kapur said that the Oscar-winning composer is a “genius” with a remarkable level of humility.

Opening up about working with Rahman on his Broadway musical Bombay Dreams, Shekhar said during a podcast, “AR Rahman had a name in the industry by the time I met him. The only mentoring that I gave him was that I told him about technology and I took him out of India.”

The filmmaker continued, “I produced the Bollywood-themed musical Bombay Dreams. I worked with composer Andrew Lloyd Webber. Andrew was very upset when I was bringing Rahman because he has done many musicals in the West like Phantom Of The Opera and more. I convinced him to bring Rahman. Rahman was scared too. He wasn’t sure if they would accept him but I told him that if they accepted me, they would accept you too. I knew that Rahman was a genius and had a lot of humility.”

The filmmaker also said that Rahman’s faith plays an important role in his ability to create soulful music.

“When I was working with him, he made me sit and went upstairs,” Kapur said. “Then he came back and he started playing the tune. I think he reads namaz when he asks to excuse himself. In that prayer, he listens to everything and gives everything to the faith. He gets the tune through his faith. He gets one hint and he makes the whole tune. I saw this humility in him, he has no arrogance.”

On the work front, Shekhar Kapur is presently busy with his next directorial venture, Masoom: The Next Generation. The film is a sequel to his 1983 classic Masoom. Veteran actress Shabana Azmi is onboard to play an important character in the film.