Wow... so thirilled to hear the initial day experiences of Vijay. Yeah, its really Almighty's grace that you got ARR as your friend.
Vithur, thanks much for sharing this. Cheers, Siraj On 7/23/08, Vithur <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Dear Rahmaniacs, > > VIJAY IYER ( our co-owner and moderator of Yahoogroups) was in air today , > sharing his experiences with Raihanaji on Aaha FM 91.9. A brief of what he > discussed with Raihanaji is as follows :- > > " Hi. This is Vijay. I am from Mumbai, just moved to Chennai. I was a big > fan of AR, then became a friend of him, and its my good fortune that I work > for him now. I am based in Chennai now. Rahman has announced his new music > label, which is called KM Music. Its a music company. I manage the Label. I > also do other things like managing the content of his website , lot of > creative stuff etc . > > Km Music has been Rahman 's dream, and he has mentioned this in a lot of > his interviews. The Kind of music he likes... Nowadays, if you see, all sort > of music is commercialised. and music sales is not that much. Basically, a > film which has 4 or 5 Kutthu songs are become the pick of the day ( This was > told by Raihannaji), and thats what sells ( told by Vijay) . There needs to > be a market for true Music Lovers, and Rahman shares that feeling, and this > label of his will give an opportunity for him as well as other musicians to > explore what is not within commercial parameters. > > Almost from the time, Roja got released, I have been a fan. Actually, I > dont know, if I could take you through that journey, I used to tour Chennai > , in my vacation during my school days. That time Roja cassette had > released, and my uncle had bought me the same. On the return journey to > Bombay, I didnt listen to the Roja cassette. My sister was listening to it > in her walkman. And then she used to say, " Its verynice; very nice ". But I > nevr heard it. Then , I was surfing Tv Channels. Then I heard, " Netru > Illadha Maatram ". Then I went back to Roja, and thats how the journey began > > Then in 1994, when I came to Chennai, I saw this movie " Duet". The song " > Anjali Anjali" with awesome interludes and awesome song. In fact, right > after the movie, I made up my mind, that I want to meet Rahman. I dont know > if you would remember or not, when I called up the studio, ( the house ) , > you answered the phone, and it was you who guided me to the place. So, > Anjali Anjali is a very good song. I also love the song, " Lukka Chuppi" and > want to dedicate to my mother. Rahman 's duet with Lataji. For the past some > years , you listen only to Love duets, and this is first of its kind, where > a mother and her son talk to each other in this manner, and its really nice. > > > *Experiences as a FAN * > > At that time, there were only cassettes, because the Cds were expensive. > That too, I was in Bombay. Very rarely, do you get Tamil cassettes there. > There used to be a store called, " Giri Stores", where we used to get Tamil > cassettes. and I was little far off from this place. At those times, we > never used to know , when Rahman is releasing a track, as the internet was > not that prevalent. I used to call the Giri stores almost daily, to find if > any new release of Rahman had got released. For getting a cassette worth Rs > 50 /-, a lot of phone calls used to be made, and the shop keeper used to > reply, " No Sir. nothing has come ". But, I used to make it sure, that > whenever the cassette got released in Bombay, I used to go 45 minutes by > train, and get the cassette. In fact, right from Pudiya Mugam to > Sakkarakatti, I still remember, how and when I have gone to buy the > cassette. That was fantastic. > > Towards 2000, when the Internet became popular, we formed a Fan Club on the > Internet. It was Gopal ( he is based in Bangalore ), who started this Fan > Club . And world over members started joining, and the activities kind of > increased. Before, all this, we used to feel that it was we who are big fans > , and after coming into the community, we could realise, that there are much > more crazy fans than us. Every Interview of Rahman, Photos of rahman ( My > cupboard.. I used to paste photos ) , Cassettes, Cassette covers, Rare > songs, Ad Jingles, were there with everyone. This community was a good > forum, for rare information exchange. > > Vijay sings a song, " Tere Bina ". ( Very nice singing from Vijay... :-)) > > *Transformation into a Friend of Rahman * > ** > Its an interesting story. In 1994, when I came to Chennai, through you, I > met Rahman. After that, I wasnt been able to be in touch with him, as I was > in Bombay, and he was in Chennai. There were no cell phones or emails at > that time. After my studies, I took up a job. I was lucky enough, as in one > of my jobs, I used to frequently travel abroad. That was the time, in > 2000-01, when Rahman was doing Bombay Dreams in London. so, one day, when I > was travelling to London. I saw Sir in Bombay Airport. I ran towards him, > and asked him, if he remembered me, when I had met him up in 94, and he > told, " NO.". So, i thought that this was the opportunity, as no one would > disturb him, in the plane. No Directors, nor producers. For the full 8 hrs, > I spoke with him, in the similar manner as I am speaking with you now. I > told him abt how I bought his cassettes, Internet Community etc . Next day, > in London airport, I told him, I was free the entire day. If you dont mind, > can I come with you. He just saw me and he thought that this is a crazy > fan, but was really convinced, that I was really genuine. I had the fear > that many like me, would have gone to him, seeking his autograph, photos > etc. But I think, there is some connection. It can be said as Destiny. He > agreed, and he took me with him to the place where he stayed in London. he > was happy, by seeing the Internet community, and he himself gave his email > id, and his phone number and said, " Keep in touch". and then, we were in > touch regularly. Whenever he used to come to Mumbai,. I was lucky enough to > drive him to the studios, been there for recordings etc > > We became close friends. This is really Blessings of the Almighty. There > are millions of people waiting for a chance like this. I dont know, how I > got a chance like this. Right from the beginning, the fascination to be with > him, and do anything for him has been there in my heart. At that time, he > was planning to open a new studios in Chennai by name A.M. studios. He was > looking for someone to manage the studios. So, he asked me to come to > Chennai, have a look at it. But that didnt work out. After that, we did a > lot of write ups, and convinced him on making a website. I used to keep > telling him, " Sir. I want to do something for you, with you. ". Its a > passion, thats why. > > One day, he called me and said, " Meet me at 5 in the morning". I went at 5 > in the morning. He said, " I am planning to start a new music label , and I > think you can do it. You come to Chennai". So, I came to Chennai..... > > First of all, thanks to Aahaa Fm, and you, Its an honour. Chennai listeners > are lucky, as they are in the same place where Rahman is. In the coming > days, there are a lot of opportunities, coming up in KM Music Conservatory, > and utilise it . All the best. > > > Vijay.... Have I missed anything... This was an awesome interview. Heart > touching. Thanks for being in the show. Hopefully, we would get to hear > Gopal next time with Raihanaji... > > Gopal... Pls .. > > > > -- > regards, > Vithur > > ARR -- The Sweet Cube always > > >
