New Delhi: As Yash Chopra’s timeless romantic ‘Jab Tak Hain Jaan,’ completed eight years on Friday, musician AR Rahman reminisced his experience of creating the soul-stirring music for the Shah Rukh Khan and Katrina Kaif-starrer.
Being a prolific musician, every song and album that Rahman has ever created holds a special place in his heart. The maestro revealed that ‘Heer’ is his favourite song from ‘Jab Tak Hai Jaan.’
“I think my favourite from the film is ‘Heer Heer’. Because that’s one song with which they gave me a lot of freedom. They just gave me the lyrics and said, ‘This is a filler song. We just need 30 seconds of it.’ And once we recorded it, Yash ji asked me, ‘You’re not Punjabi. How come you got all the Punjabi nuances?’ I said, ‘Music doesn’t need… you don’t have to live in Punjab to compose a Punjabi song,” the Oscar-winning musician said.
“Because in India, we’re all interconnected, you know? Our traditions are interconnected and we value each other; we respect each other’s cultures.’ So, that actually turns into an influence too. It has a vibe but it’s still not the typical one,” he added.
Rahman also remembered fondly working with late legendary filmmaker Yash Chopra for the first time in ‘Jab Tak Hain Jaan.’
“I think it was a great honour working with such a stalwart. You know, you expect certain things from such an experienced person, but then he always picks the most innovative idea; he had that extra quality in him to pick new things and yet ground it in tradition,” Rahman said.
On the film’s 8th anniversary, he further opened up about the creative process that he shared with Chopra while producing the music of the film.
“The subject was one of my favourites and so, I went with the flow. The process of making music in Mumbai, in my studios and their studios, was… we just kept shuttling,” he said.
“I know that he (Yash Chopra) never went to other studios but he was kind enough to come and hang out with Gulzar saab; [it was] all three of us. The music-making process was very memorable,” he added.
The 53-year-old musician then opened up about the vision that legendary lyricist and poet Gulzar had for the film as he wrote its songs.
“Whenever you work with Mr. Gulzar… he works a certain poetry himself, you know? In the way he gestures and the way he talks; his eyes are filled with love and wisdom,” he said.
“So, it was interesting to work with both of them. Sometimes, we would work and break the Ramadan fast together, all three of us. So, it was really cool that way,” the ‘Patakha Guddi,’ musician added. (ANI)
