We need to look at music as a profession, says A R Rahman

Through his tour, composer wants to bring forth music as a serious profession.

MUMBAI:

Oscar-winning music composer and singer A R Rahman, says that despite India being a musical nation, music is yet to be taken as a serious profession in the country. This is exactly the message he wants to propagate through his city tour called RahmanIshq, scheduled to take place in October, this year.

“We are a great musical nation, but we need to look at music as a profession. This tour will spearhead a nationwide movement to build the right kind of momentum in the live act and music industry domain,” said Rahman in an interview. “It will bring to light how as a nation we are very well-equipped to promote homegrown talent on local soils.”

The tour will include cities like Kolkata, Visakhapatnam, Jaipur and Ahemdabad. With a wide variety of hit numbers to his credit, including Chaiyya Chaiyya, Taal Se Taal Mila and Jai Ho, the concerts will offer something for every age group.

“It’s more like a mash-up. We are packaging my hits from the past 20 years and putting it together into a three-hour long capsule show for an audience that will range from teenagers to senior citizens,” he said.

Rahman adds that he had been wanting to do something like this for a while now. “I have been desirous of executing something of this magnitude since a while now but with my hands full, I was unable to do so. I believe in giving my 100 percent to every project I implement. Each tour brings forth new experiments and catharsis,” he said.

He recently gave a very well-received soundtrack for the Sonam Kapoor and Dhanush starrer Raanjhnaa, which was banned in Pakistan. 

Published in The Express Tribune, August 29^th, 2013.

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