AR Rahman says working on Rajinikanth movies back in the day was ‘hell’

Composer AR Rahman revealed in a new interview why working on Rajinikanth movies back in the day wasn't the most pleasant of experiences. "I started hating the festivals," the composer said.

AR Rahman is now busy composing the score for Mani Ratnam's Ponniyin Selvan. (Photo: PR handout)

Oscar-winning composer AR Rahman looked back at making music for Rajinikanth films back in the day, and recalled how it wasn’t always the most pleasant experience. In a new interview on the Our Stupid Reactions YouTube channel, Rahman said that working on those films was ‘hell’ because of the tight deadlines and immense pressure.

Rahman admitted that like every other artist, he also experiences creative blocks, but he said the bigger problem is the pressure. “At least now it’s better, but before it used to be, we start in March, when I used to do Rajinikanth movies… This movie will have to release by Diwali, they will say. And then, I will have to do the songs, I will have to do the background, and the electricity used to be very funky at my place. We used to have two generators stationed. It was hell.”

He said that he’d invariably have to prioritise the Rajinikanth films, which would annoy the other directors he was working with, because Rahman used to work on multiple projects simultaneously. He added, “I used to do three movies, so the other directors would say, ‘My stuff is coming on Diwali too, AR’. It was hell. I used to hate all these festivals, because they used to give me hell, whether it was Diwali or New Year or Pongal, because I never used to enjoy. Now, there’s much more leisure.”

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Also read | AR Rahman: Rajinikanth is my favourite hero, inspired by his way of life

Rahman has composed the music for several Rajinikanth films such as Muthu, Sivaji: The Boss, Enthiran, and most recently, 2.0. At the film’s trailer launch event in 2018, Rahman said, “Superstar is my favourite hero. It is because of the consistency in his career. I am inspired by his way of life. I’m drawn by his spirituality too.”

Rahman has won six National Film Awards, two Academy Awards, two Grammy Awards, a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe Award, fifteen Filmfare Awards and seventeen Filmfare Awards South.

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