Top 35 A. R. Rahman Quotes

Comedy is a universal language. I grew up watching Nagesh, Surilirajan, Thenga Srinivasan and S.V. Shekhar’s comedies. And, of course, Charlie Chaplin! These artists are so blessed: they can make other people happy.

The institution of marriage works better when there’s a spiritual connection. If you’re marrying just for the sake of the woman, then you may lose interest in each other very soon. When we marry in the interest of the Holy Spirit with the intention of serving God and humanity, then it gives a much larger perspective.

While my mother wanted me to be a musician, I wanted to become an electronic engineer.

So long as you do it truthfully, music is not to be judged.

The idea of music is to liberate the listener and lead him to a frame where he feels he is elevated.

I love great lyrics, and I love the way it could shape a tune into a very unpredictable one, and I also like taking a great melody and putting lyrics into it.

I am the kind of person who does not like to carry baggage. In fact, I don’t go back and listen to my own music. I believe in closing chapters and moving forward. That’s what gives me peace.

I was famous from the age of 13, and after a while you become immune to it – in a good way. You look at positives and what you can do with it.

I think I can get away, sometimes, with walking in the streets and not getting noticed. I like that. I want my work to get noticed, not me. And it’s slowly getting there, which is good.

I feel blessed and humbled that people have loved my music. Nothing would be possible without their acceptance.

If you respect a language and culture, it shows in your work.

It’s like driving your car. If you drive too fast on the highway, you will topple, so you better maintain your speed. Life is similar to that, and that’s the way you have to control your head.

I don’t want to expose my personal life. It’s best that people know me for my work. My family doesn’t want to be surrounded by cameras. We want to live like any other family.

When you do something with a lot of honesty, appetite and commitment, the input reflects in the output.

After a point of time, when you get success and fame, money and everything, the purpose of life has to be redefined. For me, I think that purpose is to build bridges. Artists can do that very easily, more than politicians.

Sometimes, a remix is good because it reaches a whole new generation. But when it gets too much, it’s irritating. Also, the original composer needs to be credited properly.

I have too many responsibilities and principles. There’s no time for ‘guilty’ pleasures.

Music is the only passion I shamelessly indulge in. However, for recreation I enjoy watching movies. ‘Wizard of Oz’ was the first film I ever saw, followed by the ‘Bond’ movies. I also watch a lot of World cinema through DVDs mostly brought by one of my best friends who’s now based in Toronto.

My kids miss me when I’m away, but I don’t mind living out of a suitcase. The U.K., U.S., France, Germany, Iraq… it’s such a thrill meeting people of different cultures, learning about and from them. It’s changed my perception about life, humanity and spirituality.

I basically love classical music. I love a lot of musicians playing together and the whole culture of that, whether it’s Indian or it’s Western.

I compose music for films, and by the grace of God, I’ve got a few awards. That’s it.

Success comes to those who dedicate everything to their passion in life. To be successful, it is also very important to be humble and never let fame or money travel to your head.

Each one of us has our own evolution of life, and each one of us goes through different tests which are unique and challenging. But certain things are common. And we do learn things from each other’s experience. On a spiritual journey, we all have the same destination.

It’s true that I love to connect with my fans on the social networking sites, but I try not to go overboard, ever. I just give people a peek into my mind space, but never bombard them with my tweets.

Beautiful film music can be made relevant to any period.

I believe that whatever comes at a particular time is a blessing from God.

I am a friend when I need to be a friend, a father when I need to be a father, a musician when music calls. I switch roles accordingly.

Bollywood music is definitely a big part of Indian music and can be a great way to introduce people to the sound. But I hope to continue to incorporate other types of Indian music into my work.

Some things are very low profile, but if they excite me creatively, I accept them. Sometimes there are high-profile projects, and you have to do it. We all have human limitations. It is a painful decision to turn things down. Even accepting ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ was a decision that I had to sacrifice another project.

I like to see a film and then start scoring it in my mind while doing something unrelated. You just grasp a film and start working, and something unpredictable comes out from a third element. The mind, the more active it is, the more productive it is.

A musician is a professional, whether he or she is successful or not. The profession itself must be regarded as a stable job.

My music is mostly for the music. And it gives the liberty to do anything which I want. And nobody limits me to one genre of music. But I learn from life and I try to give back to life, in a way, whether it’s the thought of the song or whether it’s the approach to the arrangement or anything.

Every time I sit for a song, I feel I am finished. It’s like a beggar sitting waiting for God to fill your bowl with the right thought. In every song, I ask help from Him. Everybody around is so good, so to create music that will connect with so many people is not humanly possible without inspiration.

I divide criticism into two categories – one coming from those who understand music, who are worthy of being critical because they are knowledgeable about what they are saying; and then there is another category of people who would criticise you anyway, whether your work is good or bad.

For me, there is no day or night for music. I often work through the night – without phone calls disturbing me.