LISTEN: Academy Award Winner AR Rahman On His Musical Journey Part-2

In February 2009 I spoke to AR Rahman or AR as he prefers to be called about his musical journey and how it all started in his hometown of Chennai in Tamil Nadu. We spoke on the eve of his big Academy Award night for Danny Boyle’s “Slumdog Millionaire.” AR won 2 Oscars, and the film won the best picture award.

An intensely private person AR prefers to sit huddled in his music studio rather than talk to the media.  But, with the sudden and unexpected success of Boyle’s “Slumdog Millionaire” AR found himself in the media spotlight, especially international media.

In Part-2 of our conversation AR talks about this musical journey that began when he was in high school. It all started in Kodambakkam, the epicenter of Chennai, (then Madras) of South Indian film industry. His mother played a pivotal role in shaping his career.

Kareema Begum, his mother, was a strong believer in AR’s musical talent. She went to extraordinary lengths to nurture and nourish it and turn him into a successful musician. In this candid interview he talks how his mother worked with him as his business partner and helped set up his first music studio. AR also talks about the loss of his close friend and colleague Sridhar, his senior audio and sound engineer, who worked with him right from their first film “Roja” to “Slumdog Milliionaire” and “Delhi 6.”

Tune it to to Part-2 of our conversation to find out what AR has to say about his musical journey and the people that helped him along the way and how Sufism has changed his life.

In case you missed, you may want to listen to Part-1 of the interview.

Both Part-1 and Part-2 of the interview originally ran in Feb 2009 on NDTV.com