Ananya Birla and A.R. Rahman collaborated on the song ‘Hindustani Way’ which is India’s official cheer anthem for the Olympics 2021.
The track was released on the 14th of July and the two artists spoke exclusively with Instant Bollywood about their journey.
When asked about the making of ‘Hindustani Way’, A.R. Rahman says, “I feel there is always a ‘male’ sung sports song and for India, when Ananya approached, I felt it would be a great idea to do a female lead song. That’s why it’s so exciting and encouraging.”
“The Olympics is at an International stage and to do something from India, we had to make a lot of choices. So should we have had Indian instruments to keep it International or not. Some people said, why couldn’t you use ragas or something Indian but when we’re there, we need to find a common code. Our ‘Indian-ness’ comes from our face, our language and our attitude. I think India is out there now,” he continued.
Talking about his latest track ‘Param Sundari’ with Shreya Ghoshal, Rahman gives us the significance of such a song. “So I was told this is a beautiful movie and it is female-oriented. We also needed a song for the main character and picture her in a way she is cool, rustic and is also the heroine. It’s not just an item number but it is also about her dreams and there is warmth in it. So we worked towards that.”
The composer then opens up about his equation with Mani Ratnam and their upcoming film – Ponniyin Selvan. “I am always united with him (Mani Ratnam) for the past 30 years. Sometimes you stick with a vibe and it’s beyond the expectations of the people so it’s just like putting a bar for ourselves. When you do something interesting and when you work with people who are passionate, only then life makes sense. Otherwise, it’s just boredom. This is a dream project for Mr Mani Ratnam, he tried doing this 10 years ago. He’s almost finished 70% of the movie and I’m so happy for him. A lot of it rings with South India, all the four states are involved. It was challenging in the beginning and it took almost 4 months to tune into that era, to research on the lyrics, the language and the tone to compliment the movie.”
Rahman also converses about his legacy and his opinion on reaching an influential position in life. “I’m just going by the flow. I’m just adding things on my way. I’m working on something exciting with Dubai Expo and the other movies I’m doing. The students from my music school are shining and a couple of students have won awards already in the 2nd and 3rd place the last month for the piano. I think that is what keeps me going. In life, after you receive, you have to give. By giving, you receive.”
“When I did my first movie, I thought it would be my last one! I thought the world was going to end because someone told me it would. So I had the strangest thought that this would be my last and I wish I had more time to do music. But the world is still going on so it was in a way an ending and a beginning. This is also one of the reasons why I give so much love into every product I do,” Rahman concludes.