AR Rahman Says He Doesn't Need To Prove Himself: "I Won An Oscar, But Now, Who Cares?"

AR Rahman made his musical debut with the song Chinna Chinna Aasai in the 1992 Tamil film Roja. Since then, the composer has delivered original scores and songs for more than 100 films across multiple languages. After winning two Academy Awards for his music, AR Rahman revealed that he no longer feels the need to prove himself. The musician said that he is now prioritising projects that bring him joy. He is selecting “big-budget films” and large-scale non-film projects to satisfy his creative and entrepreneurial instincts. “I won the Oscars a long time ago, but now, who cares? I am doing work that is close to me and will inspire future generations,” AR Rahman said in an interview with The Week. 

AR Rahman also talked about the things that seem to annoy him now. The composer said, “With age, my tolerance has actually gone down. Two things annoy me: a selfie request with a timer and directors who lead me astray. They will add crazy lyrics, and I ask myself: ‘Would I want to perform this on stage?’ If the answer is no, I turn it down.”

AR Rahman recently won his seventh National Award in the Best Music (Background Score) category for the film Ponniyin Selvan I. Earlier this month, the musician attended the ceremony in Delhi and was presented with the award by President Droupadi Murmu. Acknowledging the honour, AR Rahman said on the red carpet, “This one seems like coming a full circle. I received my first award for Roja, which was with them. This award is also for Mani Ratnam’s film. I feel very proud. He’s also here.”

On the work front, AR Rahman has a ton of Telugu, Tamil, and Hindi projects in the pipeline. He is making a comeback to Telugu cinema with Buchi Babu Sana’s next film, featuring Ram Charan and Janhvi Kapoor. He is also composing for Tamil films like Thug Life, Genie, Kadhalikka Neramillai and Moon Walk. In the Hindi film industry, AR Rahman will be working on projects like Kamal Aur Meena, Ramayana, Tere Ishk Mein, Lahore 1947 and Chhaava.