For better and worse, AR Rahman transformed Indian film music

Perhaps F Scott Fitzgerald didn't know but he could have been very well speaking of AR Rahman when he mused that "the test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function". The brilliance of Rahman lies in his ability to merge worlds, styles, genre, sounds, and just about anything remotely aural and yet manage to remain so sharply unique.

Ever since he began his career with Mani Ratnam's Roja (1992), Rahman has continually pushed the envelope when it comes to what is expected of a film soundtrack and it wouldn't be incorrect to say that he has almost singlehandedly redefined music in Indian cinema. The sheer magnitude of Rahman's impact can be gauged from the fact that the very man who ushered in a new era by infusing sheer brilliance in the mundane ended up pushing it to a level where synthesised exuberance came to be mistaken for melody.  

The former jingle genius, Rahman caught Mani Ratnam's fancy when the latter heard a few ad jingles at an awards function where the former was adjudged the best jingle composer. Their maiden collaboration Roja is considered an all-time great not only in India but also globally with Richard Corliss hailing it as one of the 10 best soundtracks of all time in Time magazine.

What made the music of Roja further stand apart were the arrangement that made the soundtrack a far cry from the standard fare and the manner in which the Tamil version sold like hot cakes in non-Tamil speaking regions across India. For the Hindi version, Rahman got the flavour-of-the-month singers like Baba Sehgal and Shweta Shetty to sing alongside the more traditional playback singers such as SP Balasubramanium, KS Chithra, and Hariharan.

The album made it amply clear that unlike the traditional approach towards film songs in Hindi, or Tamil cinema, Rahman placed a song's aural mood above everything. Take for instance the song "Chinna Chinna Aasai" or "Chhoti Si Asha" as it's known in Hindi, his choice to use a voice such as Minmini, which when compared to the other female singers of the time wasn't as polished and, therefore, sounded more natural keeping the character in mind.

One of the first composers to superiorly infuse technological advancement of the day into the way his songs were created, Rahman preferred the rawness of an unpolished voice as opposed to the traditional prowess of regular playback singers. So, using Shweta Shetty in a song like "Mangta Hai Kya" in Rangeela (1995) or getting Udit Narayan to croon Kadhalikum Pennin in Tamil in Kadhalan (1994) or a Suresh Peters, who was the singer in Rahman's band Nemesis Avenue, for songs like Kadhalan's "Pettai rap", "Urvasi Urvasi" and Gentleman's "Chikku Bukku Rayile" added that extra zing. 

AR Rahman would be to film music in India what Quentin Tarantino was to cinema the world over. A huge chunk of Tarantino's oeuvre is inspired by the cinema he grew up on and although there have been instances when he has ostensibly transfused situations or sequences from other films and his narrative, Tarantino is still considered an "original". While the genesis of some of Rahman's songs, too, might be stimulated by masters such as Dave Grusin (Memphis Stomp becomes Iruvar's Hello Mr Ethirkatchi) or Peter Gabriel (The Last Temptation's Of These, Hope fuels Rangeela's "Mangta Hai Kya"), it's the influence that he had on others which become more relevant.

Like Tarantino's stamp can be seen on most filmmakers who came after him when they execute a stylised action sequence or quick-fire repartee, the Rahman effect on most music composers post the late-1990s can be hardly mistaken.

The Oscar and the Grammy (Slumdog Millionaire), the global success as well as recognition notwithstanding, Rahman's transformed the way music is approached in Hindi cinema but at the same time, he perhaps might also be the biggest reason why film music is in the state that it's in. 

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The passage of time has seen Rahman placing interesting timbre over everything else. Therefore, it barely mattered to him that a Naresh Iyer, who was spotted by Rahman during a TV singing contest, couldn't hit the right pitch in portions of "Roobaroo" in Rang De Basanti (2006) because he could simply supply the chorus line himself. At times, he could even use Sonu Nigam to hum in the opening portions of a song - "Guzarish" in Ghajini (2009) - as long as things fell into place. What could be a bigger testimony of this than the songs that Rahman opts to sing himself - some portions of "Tere Bina" from Guru (2007) or "Mangta Hai Kya" from Rangeela are, to put it mildly, simply indecipherable.

Unfortunately, Rahman lowered the bar for playback singing to such a level that Himesh Reshammiya and Farhan Akhtar are considered regular singers and yes, Rahman had unsuccessfully approached the two to sing for him as well! Not just him but most music directors are fine using other music composers to moonlight as singers - Vishal Dadlani for Vishal Bhardwaj, Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy, Pritam, Ram Sampath and Amit Trivedi to name some. 

As there is hardly any doubt about the virtuosity of the Mozart of Madras, there can no questions about the adverse effect that Rahman's music has had on the state of film music in India. For this writer, it's difficult to imagine a transformation in the tonality of popular Hindi cinema soundtrack when Rahman more than enamors the young guns such as an Amit Trivedi, who has it within him to rejig the scenario and like AR Rahman also regularly employs himself as a playback singer on his scores.

Like everyone who emulates Tarantino falls short when it comes to the real McCoy, Rahman, too, can beat everyone who apes him for like Tarantino he, too, is the best at what he does. 

Some might argue that there's nothing wrong in composers doubling up as singers and of course, there isn't but imagine SD Burman singing more of his songs or RD Burman opting for himself over a Kishore Kumar or Mohammad Rafi?

Rahman's backing vocals on the first song that revealed him to the world, "Chhoti Si Asha" or his intro growl on "Mukkabla" on Kadhalan or Humse Hai Muqabala in Hindi or even him singing the Tamil original of "Humma Humma" in Bombay (1995) takes the songs to a different level but him singing "Tere Bina" in Guru is a different thing.  

In the past few years, AR Rahman's music hasn't enjoyed the all-round success which was almost a given when it came to him till the mid-2006. Perhaps this might have to do with the infamous Oscar curse where, upon winning the statuette career trajectories plummet as soon as winners finish their acceptance speech. But, if there's anyone who could break that myth it's Rahman.

Here's wishing that this birthday marks the return of vintage ARR. 

AR Rahman turns 49 on January 6.