This is a 5 year old article from behindwoods.com and was posted in Maniratnam's fan group. I'm sure many would have read through it before and all of us would have known the contents by heart. Nevertheless, it's a pleasant read and a good way to reminisce ARR's relationship with Maniratnam.
Source:www.behindwoods.com The first three-day audio sales crosses 1 lakh"-The Hindu "Aayitha Ezhuthu audio sales is phenomenal"-The New Indian Express "People going crazy about Aayitha Ezhuthu"-Sify These are the reviews of "Aayitha Ezhuthu" in the media. The duo of Mani Ratnam and A.R.Rahman has done it again and they have done it in style. But how did it begin. Where did it start. 1991, among the glitter and glamour of an award function for excellence in the field of advertising, very few would have imagined that two individuals present there would soon start rewriting the way movies and music made in India were looked at. One was Allah Rakka Rahman, a 23 years old music whiz kid receiving the award for the best ad jingle he had composed and the other was Mani Rathnam, an invitee at the function. All of us would well remember Arvind Swamy's Leo coffee ad directed by Rajeev Menon. This was the ad which won the award and led to the introduction of the musical genius to the ace director. Six months later, Mani Rathnam showed up at the Panchathan Record Inn, a small studio which Rahman had set up in 1989 in the courtyard of his house in Kodambakam. This studio went on to become one of India's most equipped and advanced recording studios. Bharat Bala, Rahman's school friend who later directed the path breaking "Vandematharam" album had pushed Rahman to compose a tune on the Cauvery issue which deeply affected both of them. This tune which Rahman played to Mani later became the rage of the nation, "Thamizha Thamizha" in the film Roja. A.R.Rahman arrived with a bang. One now is reminded of things happening for the good. It was because of a small rift between Mani Rathnam and Illayaraja that the former started looking for a new composer. Mani Rathnam would have well patched up with Illayaraja whose earlier combination gave Tamil industry one of the biggest audio successes, "Thalapathi", starring Superstars Rajini Kanth and Mamooty. But Mani had the courage and confidence to break the tie up with the lone ruler of the Tamil music industry and go in for a novice. It will be interesting to note that Illayaraja as a seventeen year old played the combo organ during re-recording sessions of R K Sekhar, father of Rahman. Later, eleven year old Rahman joined Illayaraja's troupe as a keyboard player. 15th August 1992, Roja was released in Tamilnadu amidst sky-high expectations and curiosity. It was a Mani Rathnam film without Illayaraja. The film pundits doubted the ability of a 25-year old debutant. The entire film world and filmgoers were in for a pleasant surprise. Rahman delivered and Roja became a runaway super hit, redefining Indian music and films. This is what A.R.Rahman had to say about Roja, "I wasn't sure myself why I accepted Roja. I was offered Rs.25,000 for it, a sum that I could make in three days composing ad jingles. I think it was the prospect of working with Mani that enticed me. Mani is not the usual kind of director who uses songs as fillers. He takes great pains over the music of his films. I love his picturisations, he can elevate a routine song by 400 percent; give it a new dimension." Mani Rathnam had these to say about Rahman, "I was trying to do a film; I wanted good music and I was searching for a music director. I found in Rahman someone ready to break a lot of conventions that were there in terms of music and recording at that point of time." Rahman adds, "I was blessed to be picked by a director like him. He encouraged me a lot. It was as if I studied in Mani's own university of music. He is like a brother to me." The magic continued; "Thiruda Thiruda", "Bombay", "Eruvar", "Dilse", "Alaipayuthey", " Kannathil Muthamital" and the latest "Aayitha Ezhuthu". All their movies were an excellent combination of visuals and sound. All were trend setting in their own right. Mani Rathnam and A.R.Rahman have come a long way. They have broken all barriers and taken Tamil movies outside Tamilnadu, South India, India and Asia. One of my Chinese friends comes to me and copies all Rahman songs into a compact disc. An American comes to my friend and enquires about the shy musician from Kodambakam. That's the reach Tamil music and movies have had these days. This is something remarkable and something which Rahman and Mani must be credited to. Rahman's "Bombay Dreams" broke all sales record in UK and Mani Rathnam's movies are being studied by students in the film making department of University of Illinois, Chicago. These are things which make every Indian proud. Rahman has this to say "I hate the discrimination between South, North, Tamil, Hindi. If I represent India that is good enough for me. But we should cross all these barriers. I wanted to go beyond the restrictions of language, religion and caste, and music is really the only thing that allows you to do that." He surely has. "Our films have already crossed territorial limits. That is no mean achievement." the director sums it up. "Roja" which was dubbed in five Indian languages and ran in 22 states for 18 months was released to International audience in 2002. It was well received and appreciated. The film opened to wide critical and popular acclaim for its depiction of human love and patriotism. It was also hailed as the first mainstream Indian film to take a close look at the insurgency in the border state, then just three years old. A.R.Rahman has already composed music for a Chinese film, "Warriors of Heaven and Earth". The lines from a Chinese tabloid read "The Indian composer has given nothing short of a spectacle". The official website of the movie has this published "Put simply, A R Rahman is a phenomenon". Having successfully staked his claim as India's greatest ambassador in the world of music, Rahman has now sold well in excess of 100 million albums worldwide. To put that in perspective, that's as many albums as Madonna and Britney Spears put together and it places him firmly in Michael Jackson territory, an artist, incidentally, that Rahman has composed and performed with: Jackson was recently photographed wearing a t-shirt emblazoned with a picture of Rahman and the message `Salute To You'." The movie has been nominated for the Oscars. Kaleidoscope Entertainment Pvt. Ltd. has signed Mani Rathnam to direct an International movie called "Dragon fire". The movie is based on the story of a renegade Indo-Tibetan border police colonel who kidnaps a Tibetan political prisoner from a prison in Lhasa. But there isn't much news about the film after its official announcement. With more International offers coming their way it wouldn't be long before the two most talented men in the Indian film industry start conquering the world of cinema. The story is just to begin!!
