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AR Rahman says father thrown on streets by family, worked himself to death: ‘I saw trauma everyday’
Composer/singer A R Rahman talks about losing his father at a very young age and how his mother raised him and his sisters through all the pain and trauma.
A R Rahman shared anecdotes from his tough and challenging childhood. (Photo: Instagram/A R Rahman)
One of the most recognisable scenes from Imitaz Ali’s Rockstar is when Jordan, played by Ranbir Kapoor, gets to know that an artist needs to feel pain in order to create good music. The album for the film was composed by A R Rahman, and the composer has gone through a lot of pain and challenges right from his childhood. In a recent interview, Rahman talked about how losing his father at an early age impacted his life and the role his mother played in his career.
The Roja composer appeared on Nikhil Kamath’s podcast and was asked about the kind of life he led as a child growing up in Chennai. He replied, “Yes, I have spent most of my life in Chennai. I was born there, and my father used to work in the studios. We used to live in the belly of the beast, near Kodambakkam, where all the studios used to exist.” He continued talking about his father, R K Shekhar, and how his hard work took a lot of toll on his health, leading to his untimely demise.
“My father and mother were thrown onto the street by his family members. He started living in a rented house and worked day and night to get us that house. Working three jobs at the same time, and then because of that, his health went berserk. That’s the dark side of my childhood, and it took a lot of time to get over that trauma,” said Rahman.
The composer then got to his mother and lauded her for successfully raising four children without the help of a husband. He said, “I think when I was growing up, I went through a lot of things, like my father’s and grandmother’s deaths. I was just nine years old when this happened, and I was seeing trauma every day. My mother was a single mother, and she was a very confident lady. She took all the pain, and she had to go through so much to protect us. She was an extremely strong woman who withstood all kinds of humiliations and singlehandedly brought us up.”
Rahman revealed that it was actually his mother who pushed him towards music. He also admitted that even though he enjoyed committing completely to music, he missed a lot of regular childhood experiences because of that. He said, “My mother decided for me that I should go into music and encouraged me. In a way I felt that I should be clean in a certain way because I had three sisters. Because me behaving in a certain way would also reflect what’s coming back. My whole childhood was with 40- or 50-year-olds playing music in the studio. I missed all the fun with friends in school, and then there was no college. I missed a lot, but I spent a lot of time with very intelligent people in the studios.”
Since his debut in 1992, the composer has been responsible for some of the most critically acclaimed soundtracks this country has produced. He also has been nominated for 5 Academy Awards, winning two.
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