A.R. Rahman Talks ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ Music

We’ve already raved about “Slumdog Millionaire” and covered one of the year’s best films extensively, but thus far very little information has been made available about the film’s soundtrack. Acclaimed Indian Composer A.R. Rahman recently sat down with NY Magazine to shed some more light on the vibrant, unique sounds of “Slumdog”.

Rahman, considering his enormous popularity in South Asia, is still a largely unknown commodity in the States. He’s reportedly sold over 100 million records in India and is just now breaking in to Hollywood with “Elizabeth: The Golden Age” and now “Slumdog”. With Rahman booked on an absurd amount of Bollywood films (check his IMDB), Danny Boyle reached out with the idea and was able to sell him on “Millionaire”.

“I literally had to leave another film to do this. When Danny met me, he said, “I’ve heard a lot of your stuff’ and he talked about it. That’s about the first time I’ve heard a compliment from a Western director, apart from Andrew Webber. He’s a good human being.”

Like most of Boyle’s work, the film relies heavily on music to compliment the narrative and bring the story to life in another way. Aerial shots of dilapidated neighborhoods and jarring, handheld chase sequences are accented by resonant music that makes authentic India come alive in a way Wes Anderson was never able to achieve. Rahman brings his distinctly original style to the film, drawing inspiration from multiple places.

“I had to do stuff from modern India, eighties Hindi film soundtracks, mixing modern India and the old India. He wanted something very pulse-y. He said he hated sentiment, hated cello. No cellos! He said, “Never put a cello in my film” — he was funny. I worked fast, like him. It took two months of planning, two weeks of completing. Usually it takes six months with the musical films I’m doing in India.

Another selling point for American audiences is the involvement of M.I.A, who blew up here about a year late. She worked with Rahman on an original song for the film called “O… Saya”.

“We met before but never worked before. M.I.A., she’s a real powerhouse. Somebody played me her CD and I thought, Who’s this girl? She came here and knew all my work, had followed my work for ages. I said “Cut the crap,” this “my idol” crap. You have to teach me. We started working in India, then we e-mailed the track back and forth. She did the vocals in England. I did the rest in India.”

Peep the full interview for more on Rahman’s experience in Bollywood and interpretation on the universal storytelling aspects of “Slumdog.” Opening in limited release this week, do yourself a favor and see this film.