The secret of being relevant through the ages is to keep evolving with the ever-changing music scene

Over the direction of having AR Rahman to pose for an image, we came upon a hitherto unknown streak of self-importance that hides at the back of his calm, shy, virtually Buddah-like zen external. In reality, it kind of feels like the Mozart of Madras is just like any middle-aged superstar who goes to great lengths to cover his double chin and protruding waistline from the sector. Or at least that's what his retinue of PR army made apparent. "No low angle shots, they reveal his double chin and tummy," hissed a member of the composer's PR entourage, as he ushered us in, a just right two hours after the scheduled time for the shoot. Finally, AR Rahman entered the room, and try as we might, it used to be onerous to ignore the truth that he used to be preserving his tummy firmly tucked in. It didn't end there even though. ARR plonked himself on a couch to strike a pose, struggling the entire whilst to hold his tummy in and chin up and taut, as the shutterbugs clicked away. Sigh! Guess, he's human after all and should be allowed his vanities.
It used to be identical drama on the interview too, which also came about 53 mins later than scheduled. "Remember, you have only seven minutes for the interview," the PRO advised us, for what appeared like 100th time. Why seven, we puzzled, as we entered the room, to see the the Mozart of Madras seated, having a look just like the person what we now have at all times thought of him to be — calm, composed, shy —the very best gentleman. He greets us with a cushy "Hello", absolutely in personality, sitting on a white couch, with out a air of secrecy of pompousness and grandiosity, in complete distinction to his PR staff. The moment we took out the phone, the PR people jumped in again, "No selfies please", "Phones are not allowed". "We're just recording the interview," we retorted, settling in for the chat.
Excerpts from the seriously-brief seven-minute chat, forward of ARR's much-touted live display.

I've great memories of operating with the greats of Telugu cinema
He could be the person who received two Grammy and Oscars, for Telugu other people he's still the person who composed the timeless Chinni Chinni Asha... "Of course! Chinni Chinni Asha is my first Telugu song. MinMini sang the Telugu track and we decided to stick to her for the Tamil and Hindi versions as well," he says including, "I have fond memories working with all the greats of Telugu cinema — Shashtri garu, C Narayan Reddy, Ramanaidu, Raj and Koti, Mani Sharma."

Mani Ratnam is my mentor
Rahman is the midas of tune. Whatever he composes is straightforward on ears. But for many tune lovers, Mani Ratnam and AR Rahman is a jodi made in heaven. Roja, Bombay, Guru or O Kadhal Kanmani — they spell magic in combination. The reality that he's composing for ace director's subsequent has got the 'Rahmaniacs' thrilled! Decoding their magic, the tune maverick stated, "When two people who have immense mutual respect, work together with a sense of competition, striving to do better than before, the outcome has to be good. In a way Mani Ratnam is my mentor. I have worked with Shankar, Imtiaz; each one has his own flavour. But Maniji is a visionary and his choice of tunes is peculiar."

I'm a listener. That's the easiest way to judge your work

Ask him how he managed to stay relevant to everyone from Eight-year-olds to 80-year-olds, for decades, he laughed and stated, "I didn't know that. But yes, I am a listener. That's the best way you can judge your work. Sometimes you get into art, and you feel that you have composed something good. But when you come out of it, nobody is smiling at you. They are like, what on earth is this stuff! (laughs) I always feel that if I buy a CD or a download on the Internet with my name, what is compelling about it? Is it because of respect for the musician or because it's good. This is a question which I keep asking my team, will you download this, guys? If they say yes, I further ask why (laughing). Moreover the music scene is ever evolving; I keep learning new things while retaining whatever I have learnt till now. It's like keeping the base of what you are inside — the humanity — while the dressing up changes according to what's happening in the music scene."

There are such a lot of gifted singers to make a choice from at the present time

As we began to invite what qualities he seems to be for in younger singers, the PR man butted in signalling "2 minutes more." Even as we nodded, "Personality," stated Rahman promptly and added, "It is very important to be themselves and to be extraordinary. Life is short, but it gives us a lot of opportunities to refine ourselves if we are not good at certain things — be it pronunciation, tuning, harkat etc. There are great singers who are slow learners, sometimes fast learners don't have personality. So the challenge is to pick up the one who has it all. Few years ago it was difficult as we had so few choices available, but now its amazing — every TV channel has got one talent hunt show and there are so many talented singers out there."

The PR individual has started sending out 'your time's up; end it now' sign at the same time as Rahman endured speaking animatedly: "Also singers evolve as well. There are many great singers who were not good enough before. And sometimes they are same — not improved at all (chuckling). I like people who evolve, who refine, who remain amazing and relevant over years."

But when we got here out of the room and checked the recording, the length learn: 6 mins — 60 seconds less than the allotted time.

— Inputs via Mallikarjun.Tatikonda@timesgroup.com