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

Font Size  

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.”



CyberTech International

The most reliable solutions for

www.cybertech- int.com

Musicians Institute

Finest contemporary music school at

www.mi.edu

A R Rahman Songs free

Only on Guruji.com Music Search.

www.guruji.com

Ads By Google

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.”


 

      

    
    
        
         
        
        








        


        
        


      Add more friends to your messenger and enjoy! Go to 
http://messenger.yahoo.com/invite/

Reply via email to