'Lagaan': How AR Rahman created timeless melody 'Ghanan Ghanan'
What's the story
Lagaan, released 25 years ago, is a landmark film in Indian cinema. The film's core creative team recently reunited to discuss the making of its music. They included composer AR Rahman, director Ashutosh Gowariker, lyricist Javed Akhtar, and actor-producer Aamir Khan. In a chat with Spotify India, Rahman spoke about his busy schedule during Lagaan's production and how he managed to create Ghanan Ghanan amid chaos.
Song creation
Rahman on juggling multiple projects during 'Lagaan'
Rahman revealed, "I was doing like 12 movies that year. I was doing Padayappa, I was doing...so many movies across languages. And then he (Ashutosh) was so accommodative." 'So...how can you put all these voices together and still make it sound like one song? The chant is what actually unifies the whole thing. When everything is spread out, you need something that ties it all together. So we literally constructed the song stage by stage, piece by piece."
Composer's praise
Writing coherent song on Rahman's tune is tough challenge: Akhtar
Akhtar praised Rahman's distinct approach to composing music, saying, "I believe that if you can write a coherent song on Mr. Rahman's tune, then you can do anything in life." Khan shared insights into Rahman's working style, revealing he would record whatever came to him over two or three hours and hand it over to Gowariker for feedback.
Unique practices
Khan and Akhtar shared their memories with Rahman
Khan also shared how different Rahman's process was from traditional music sessions. Further, Akhtar recalled a moment when he asked Rahman why he lights a candle in the studio. Rahman explained it was to have "something that isn't mechanical, something bright, gentle, and real." Gowariker remembered the first time he heard Akhtar's lyrics for Ghanan Ghanan and how Rahman surprised him by creating the sound of clouds at 4:00am by looping Shankar Mahadevan's vocals.
Composer's humility
Rahman flattered by the praise
When praised for his genius, Rahman remained humble. He said, "When you have a collaborator like you, Ashutosh, an inspiration like Aamir, a genius like Javed saab, my role is just to float along with it." "I don't make fixed decisions like 'this is it' because he (Ashutosh) understands the story better. And I'm from South India, so I need to assume, interpret, and sense where things are going."