Born Again

T-Pain is a twice-Grammy winner and is one of the greatest singers in the West. In fact,my friend Akon is his discovery. T-Pain may technically be an Ramp;B and Hip-Hop singer but his vocal timbre reminds me of the sheer allure of Stevie Wonder when he was young. His gaayaki is what impressed me. I am using his voice for my album Sound Of Peace that is being released in the United States by Universal. Many of my private albums have been released there but not in India.

How do you conceive your international collaborations?

Avitesh,my son,encourages me a lot. I have a manager overseas who coordinates with the managers of top artistes there and gets back to me. I am familiar with most of the artistes works and thats how I recorded with Akon and Wyclef John as well as Pamela,a well-known French singer. But again,the important part is that they must like what I offer them. Contrary to popular perception,these performers are hungry to know about classical and pure Indian music. They love the Indian touch to the flute,the hook,my string sections and of course my knowledge of classical music and our raags. I am now going to collaborate with Pitbull,a top rapper.

What is the concept of Sound Of Peace?

It is a 10-track album with five tracks of pop,Hip-Hop and Ramp;B and five classical Indian tracks. Among the latter is Raag Basant,wherein I have used the pure raag without any mishran notes not present in a raag. Ustad Rashid Khan has sung with me on it. Amitji Amitabh Bachchan has recited some verse in the beginning and sung the final lines as well. Sameerji has written the song. He has also written some other tracks like Vande Mataram and my compositions in Raag Darbari and Hamsadhwani. The London Philharmonic Orchestra LPO has played on my album on some tracks.

You must be the first composer from India to work with them.

I am,and you have to take their dates a full year in advance and that is after you have sent them the score and only if they like it. They loved what I sent them. In fact,I was so keen on them that I paid their fees myself,by selling a small property that I had. And I recorded their 65-piece ensemble at Aby Road Studios in London. You heard the track now. What do you think?

It was truly well-done Raag Basant plus the LPO as well as some superb lyrics and Amitabh Bachchan as a bonus. When are we going to hear this album in India?

I have retained the rights with me. I get my royalties regularly and with full transparency from the music labels abroad,so I am happy with that. I will decide about the Indian angle later.

What is your take on Ismail Darbars allegation against A. R. Rahman?

Both Ismail and Rahman are my dear friends and Ismail was among the first to call up during the troubles I faced recently. But I am a forthright person and I must say that his immature statement really angered me,because he does not even know anything about the way the Oscars function. But by the same token I was upset that Rahman had not given Laxmikant-Pyarelal and Choli ke peeche their dues as the inspirational sources for Ringa ringa on the music album inlay of Slumdog Millionaire. Rahman has admitted as much in his interviews,but it was more important that due acknowledgement should have been there on the inlay.

What are your other projects?

It is convention today that the first announcements of new films come from producers,so you will have to wait for three real surprisesfilms with top producers whom I never expected to come to me,and I am grateful that they have done this to help me after what I went through.

There is also my project on Hanuman Chalisa,which also features Amitabh Bachchan along with top singers. That has also been held up by my illness. Even for Sound Of Peace I was to perform a concert for the BBC with the LPO,but we had to drop that.

What was the first hint that something was wrong?

I was on a vacation when I experienced a sudden haziness in my vision. When it happened again a few hours later,I returned to Mumbai. Investigations revealed Multiple Myeloma. I was shattered. Why me? I wanted to know. My wife Vijayeta and I spent nights weeping after the kids had gone to sleep. The doctors,however,told us that the disease was in the earliest stage and could be cured.

At that point,Amitji,who is like family,was extremely concerned and helpful. He arranged a team of doctors and it was suggested that I take treatment in London from an ace bone-marrow transplant specialist,Dr Atul Mehta. My dear late brother Chitresh went there to meet him and was told that I would have to stay there for three months,so a rented apartment was a must. However,Dr Mehta gave me an option of being treated in Mumbai where the percentage rate of success was almost the same the difference being only because of a healthier climate in London. He stated that I would be mentally more comfortable here,which was a fact because I cannot bear to be alone anyway.

What was the line of treatment?

Because of the early phase,I could be completely cured by stem-cell therapy. But it was a long and painful process. There was intense chemotherapy with all its side-effects,like not retaining even water if I drank it. Everything was being given through tubes. The 15-day stay in isolation that was necessary was the worst it felt like as many years! My brother would be sitting outside for almost eight years every day. But I must say that our team of doctors was excellent. Finally,when I was discharged on April 15,my family was told that I was as delicate as a five-month-old baby,and everyone was to wear masks. Today,the medication has stopped and I am on a regimen of Yoga,compulsory exercise and a healthy diet. I have been born again.

But the trauma did not end there. On May 7,I lost my elder brother. I had advised Chitresh to remain based here and start an event management company besides looking after Rahat Fateh Ali Khansaabs affairs only in India,especially after Rahatsaabs problems in Delhi and their repercussions on my brother. But he said that he would discuss that with me after this one tour. He was always very sincere in his work and has a big hand in Rahatsaabs career in India. Few know that he was working for years with Rajesh Roshan till I began independently as composer.

Such terrible times reveal true friends and well-wishers. Would you agree?

Absolutely! The day after I came home April 16 was Akons birthday. He was on a tour of India,but not Mumbai,and he specially drove down from Pune to be with me on his special day for more than two hours to boost my morale. Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Anurag Basu,both of them with whom I have never worked,kept calling. Sonu Niigaam,Shaan,Abhijeet,Alka Yagnik,Juhi Chawla,Sameerji,Javedsaab,Raju Singh,Anu Malik and many more made repeated calls or visits. Amitji was with me the whole day when Chitreshs news came. And Jatin-Lalit are family. Lalits wife was especially very helpful. And then there are the producers who have signed me for three films.

Rajiv Vijayakar