SHIVAMANI - RAHMAN

Arindam: - Hello, viewers! You are watching ‘WINE WITH ARINDAM’. Today is World Music Day. That’s why, in our studio, we have invited A.R.Rahman and Shivamani. Mr. Rahman, you have won Academy Award and 2 Grammy Awards. How are you feeling about it?

Rahman: - Oh! What can I comment on that! God is just great. He is sane. I was overjoyed to hear that I am also going to get the Grammy Awards. For a musical person, Grammy award has more weightage than the Oscar award.

Arindam: - Mr. Shivamani, your drum beats have become the heart beats of Tamil people. For you, some of the A.R.Rahman’s music got some spicy masala in it.

Shivamani: - Yeah, it is true that the amount of love and respect that I have got from the Tamil people till now, I will never get anywhere. They are my motivators.

Arindam: - How you create such terrific drum beats? I am neither a Tamil nor I understand Tamil language, but there are some Tamil songs, where your drum beats just rock. Those drum beats will make anyone dance on the streets. What is the secret behind your drum beats?

Shivamani: - It is positive energy within your mind. I am not saying that before playing the drums, you need to consume any energy drink. What you need is a refreshing mind with a blank brain. Your mind should say, ‘I am going to rock by beating these sticks on the drums and will make everyone rock with my drum beats.’

Arindam: - Ha ha ha…Rahman saab, what is your opinion about Shivamani?

Rahman: - Oh! He is just fabulous. He catches the rhythm of my music very soon and plays the drum in accordance to it. In any live performance, it is due to Shivamani that you can hardly catch any mistakes committed by other music players. His drum beats get customized in such an efficient manner that hardly you can find any error in any musical tone. That’s what makes Shivamani a classic drummer.

Arindam: - Mr. Shivamani, do you have anything to say about A.R. Rahman?

Shivamani: - do you really need to say anything about A.R.Rahman? He is just a magical music composer.

Arindam: - Even A.R. Rahman is a good singer too. The song of ‘Maa Tujhe Salaam’, ‘Dil se’ and ‘Jai ho’ are the best examples of it. But, Rahman saab, why you always try to sing with a low pitched voice?

Rahman: - Sometimes, a singer need to synchronize his voice with the tune of the music. If I would have sang ‘Maa Tujhe Salaam’ in Sudesh Bhosle’s voice, then that song would have been a super flop song.

Shivamani: - Ha ha ha...Well said. Another thing, I must appreciate about A.R. Rahman is that he creates almost natural music with his synthesizer which is really tough. There is some music, where you will feel as if these are natural sounds, but actually those are also created by using synthesizers. If you listen to the songs of A.R.Rahman very carefully, you can make out, what actually I am trying to say.

Arindam: - Yeah, I got your point. Accha, Rahman saab, I have heard that you took birth as a Hindu. Then how you became a Muslim? Has someone forced you to get yourself converted to a Muslim person?

Rahman: - ha ha ha…no, no, nothing like that. In my childhood, I fell seriously ill. No one was able to cure my fever except a Muslim Pir baba. After that incident, I felt as if Allah has saved me and I got influenced towards Islam and after that I became ‘Allah Rakha Rahman’.

Arindam: - after taking any assignment, do you follow any strategy?

Rahman: - I just ask the Film Director about the theme of the film and its characters and then I make the music according to that theme.

Arindam: - Hmm…that’s why; people are of the opinion that the music of A.R. Rahman always has a great impact on that film’s storyline. Mr. Rahman, we have one request. You should compose a superb song for ICC World Cup 2011, which should rock the whole world. Hope you will keep that request. Anyway, we are running out of time. It was nice talking to you and Shivamani. We will end our show here.