So great to see a article about teh INSIDERS.......
But they left out Sridhar Master.....They could have told many things about
him.....
Regards
Ganesh.V
--- On Sun, 15/3/09, Gopal Srinivasan <catchg...@yahoo.com> wrote:
From: Gopal Srinivasan <catchg...@yahoo.com>
Subject: [arr] THE INSIDERS: Meet the reclusive managers, technicians and
singers who make up Team Rahman
To: arrahmanfans@yahoogroups.com
Date: Sunday, 15 March, 2009, 9:10 AM
THE INSIDERS
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Dipti Nagpaul D’Souza
Posted: Mar 15, 2009 at 1113 hrs IST
http://www.indianex press.com/ news/the- insiders/ 434152/0
Meet the reclusive managers, technicians and singers who make up Team Rahman
T. SELVAKUMAR, 45,
MANAGING DIRECTOR OF
RAHMAN’S MUSIC SCHOOL
In the early 1990s, when Bollywood was just beginning to rave about a
phenomenon, A.R. Rahman
met music programmer T. Selvakumar in Chennai. Both were musicians trained in
the alchemy of
sound, both shared their hopes of setting up their own studios one day. As
Rahman’s stock rose
in filmdom, Selvakumar notched up a reputation in the Indian music industry as
a master
technician. Soon, he got into the business of supplying high-end music
technology equipment.
“That’s when our acquaintance changed to friendship,” says the man who has
helped Rahman set up
his many state-of-the- art studios. To him also goes the credit of setting up
the first and only
Apple-certified music, special effects and film editing technology training
institute in the
country.
Selvakumar was one of the few people who knew about Rahman’s dream of setting
up a music
school. “He wanted to start a school of music technology but I insisted he
couple it with
teaching.” One day in 2007, Rahman decided that the time had come. “And when AR
wants
something, he wants it right away. He asked me if I would manage it for him and
I didn’t see
why I should refuse him,” he says.
A regular day at the school sees Selvakumar taking classes in audio and video
technology and
ironing out numerous administrative hassles. He also continues to deal in Apple
equipment.
Whenever the company launches something new, Rahman is his first client. “AR’s
one of the two
most tech-savvy musicians in India,” he states, proudly. Who’s the other? “You
wouldn’t expect
this: Ilaiyaraaja.”
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NOEL JAMES, 48, MANAGER
Over two decades ago, Noel James was playing the piano as a lounge musician at
a hotel in
Chennai when a certain jingles composer walked in. “Rahman heard me play and
asked if I was
interested in working with him.” James agreed. That was the beginning of a
partnership that has
lasted to this day. James has since grown to become Rahman’s manager and chief
public relations
officer. He occasionally assists the composer in stage shows and handles much
of his
coordination — with musicians, clients, talent and even the media. The road to
Rahman, it could
be said, goes through James.
Born and brought up in Mumbai, James got hooked to music at an early age. After
graduating from
Loyola College, Chennai, he got a degree in violin from the prestigious Trinity
College of
Music, London. “I played in a band called Jumping Jewels, handling the vocals
and guitar. That
was before I went solo,” he says. He worked part-time with Rahman initially but
became a
permanent member of the team, singing the jingles and helping him with
production.
Being Rahman’s manager has meant that James does not get much time for his own
music—except
when he plays at church. He has no regrets though. “God sends messiahs to
earth, whether it is
Jesus Christ or Prophet Mohammed. It has been quite a while since He sent
someone. I believe
A.R. Rahman is such a messiah who works through his music,” says James, for
whom familiarity
has only brought more appreciation towards Rahman, the musician and the man.
DEEPAK GATTANIi, 46, CONCERT MANAGER
Behind every power-packed Rahman concert is Deepak Gattani and his team at
Rapport Global
Events. “We manage his live entertainment business but the relationship isn’t a
client-service
provider one,” he says. Gattani first met Rahman through singer Hariharan,
another client.
Since that meeting, he has handled all of Rahman’s tours and performances, and
more recently,
has been managing Rahman’s endorsement portfolio as well.
Whenever Rahman is in Mumbai, Gattani finds himself seated next to him. “But
being with him
doesn’t mean that he’ll talk anymore than he usually does,” he says with a
laugh. “His concerts
have to be technically high-end, with something different each time. Working
for him means
making no mistakes and planning in advance.” Gattani is dogged by international
clients’
proposals for Rahman concerts after his Oscar win. But, as of now, his
priorities lie with
organising Rahman’s first-ever live concert in Kerala, scheduled for May.
S. SIVAKUMAR, 41, CHIEF SOUND ENGINEER
A novice who had just finished a diploma in sound engineering in 1992, S.
Sivakumar got his
first break when he was appointed assistant audio engineer at a reputed studio
in Chennai. The
designation was deceptive. The actual work assigned to the young man was to
stand and wait in
the machine room and change tapes once each roll was over. Then Rahman
happened. “I had been
working for about six months or so when A.R. Rahman came to the studio to do
the mixing for
Puthiya Mugam. He wanted an assistant and asked my seniors if I was interested.
That was 15
years ago and I have been with him since,” he says. A native of Thanjavur, the
rice bowl of
Tamil Nadu, Sivakumar is now one of the noted names in sound engineering in
India, the main man
behind Rahman’s AM Studio and his chief sound engineer. He has worked in all
Rahman films since
Gentleman in 1993 and was a part of the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical Bombay
Dreams.
According to Sivakumar, Rahman’s contribution goes beyond just transforming
film music in
India. He was also the first composer to include the names of all those who
worked on the
project on the audiotape/CD jackets — an acknowledgement of many backroom
operators like
Sivakumar, who would otherwise be invisible to the world outside studio walls.
K.J. SINGH, 47, SOUND ENGINEER
He doesn’t sound his age and Rahman thinks the sound engineer’s voice bears a
hint of a
European accent. “He keeps teasing me that he’ll soon find me a voice-over
project overseas,”
says Singh with a laugh. But the camaraderie between the two took time to
develop. Singh says
when he first met Rahman five years ago during a concert, the composer would
just stand next to
him without saying a word. “He’s shy and doesn’t waste words. There have been
times when I
would turn to find him standing behind me for 10 minutes! It felt strange, but
later realised
that’s how he is,” says Singh. “But once he gets to know you better, there are
no reservations.
You’re family and he’s open to sharing all his knowledge.”
The technician has done numerous Rahman concerts and films, starting with Rang
De Basanti and
recently Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na and Delhi-6. The two were first introduced by
the latter’s
chief sound engineer, the late H. Sridhar. Rahman noticed the two friends
shared a good
wavelength and often brought them together for his projects. “I think AR
noticed how seamlessly
we both worked. If both Sridhar and I had handled a project, one could not make
out whether a
track was managed by him or me. Rahman made good use of that.” Based in Mumbai
for a decade
now, the sound engineer likes to explore new talent and, at the same time, work
with the old.
His clientele boasts of names like Hariharan, Indian Ocean, Rabbi Shergill and
G.V. Prakash,
Rahman’s nephew. Singh is most looking forward to his trip to Chennai next
week. He is
determined to make the maestro throw a party for each award he has won for
Slumdog Millionaire.
“He can space out the parties but he can’t escape them,” he says with a wink.
SRINIVAS, 49, SINGER
In 1988, a chemical engineer travelled to Chennai from Coimbatore for a day so
that he could
sing for Ilaiyaraaja. It broke Srinivas’s heart that he had to lost the
opportunity to a throat
infection. But another southern genius’s success gave him hope and he
approached Rahman soon
after the success of Roja. Rahman took a liking to Srinivas and asked him to
move to Chennai.
In 1994, Srinivas shifted base and started lending his voice to advertisement
jingles and
devotional albums. It was only in 1996, that he gained recognition with the
song Manna Madurai
from Rahman’s Minsaara Kanavu. Then came En uyire in Mani Ratnam’s Uyire (the
Tamil version of
Dil Se), which was his first big hit.
Now a big name down south, Srinivas has since worked closely with the composer.
“I never knew I
could compose, but watching A.R. inspired me. He’s in a different world
altogether when he
works. And to him, work on a song only begins once he’s composed it. From
there, it evolves
with his many editions and improvisations,” he says. Of late, due to his busy
schedules, Rahman
has entrusted Srinivas with the responsibility of supervising the vocals during
recordings.
“Many would find it strange and menial but it’s an honour to help him out,”
says the singer who
has to take out time from his packed schedule of recordings and reality shows.
“But AR is
always a priority over others.”
RAQEEB ALAM, 38, SINGER AND LYRICIST
His story is straight out of a Bollywood flick: playback singer and lyricist
Raqeeb Alam was
born into a family of teachers in Bihar but books held no charm for him.
Instead, he spent all
his waking hours listening to music or singing. While in college in Chennai, he
became a
part-time singer. It was during a show that he met lyricist P K Mishra, who
liked him and
introduced him to AR in 2002. But when he met the musician, he got so nervous,
he “couldn’t
sing beyond a line.” The two, however, kept in touch.
Once, Rahman was scheduled to meet Deepa Mehta for a session for Water.
Sukhwinder Singh, who
was supposed to write and sing a song for the film, had left for Varanasi
because of an
emergency. Desperate for a replacement, Rahman called Alam. “I wrote 10 mukhdas
of which they
selected one and then I wrote the whole song,” he says. After its recording,
political
controversy delayed Water by four years. “But the patience paid off. The song
got good reviews
when the film released and was later nominated for an Oscar. I didn’t win the
award but had won
AR’s confidence.” Alam has since written and sung many songs for Rahman,
primarily the Hindi
translations of his Tamil albums. His most memorable is Ek mohabbat, which
Rahman sang for the
campaign to include Taj Mahal in the Seven Wonders Of The World project. The
latest feather in
his cap is Ringa Ringa, which he wrote for Slumdog Millionaire.
VIJAY MOHAN IYER, 32, LABEL MANAGER
It requires some amount of prodding to get him talking. Vijay Mohan Iyer, who
manages Rahman’s
K M Musiq label, prefers to remain behind his idol’s shadow. “I’m sure you can
skip writing
about me. Why not write about AR?” he repeats after every question. But here’s
the story: The
Mumbai boy first met Rahman on his 18th birthday in Chennai. “But nothing
worked out in terms
of music. I returned, got back to studies and took up a job. One day, eight
years ago, I found
myself seated next to my idol on an eight-hour flight to London,” he says. They
got chatting
and struck up a friendship. “The desire, of course, was to work with him in
some way or the
other. I guess persistence pays. One day, he just asked me to meet up and
briefed me about a
project he had in mind; and that was the K M Musiq label.” Iyer has held his
dream job for
three years and he didn’t mind uprooting his life from Mumbai to a laidback
Chennai. “I missed
the city but AR’s is a different world.”
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