Mumbai: Recently, Alka Yagnik, the popular playback singer in the Bollywood dubbing industry explained why she declined to work with presently legendary composer and singer AR Rahman’s in the early days of his career. These thoughts bring light on the impediments that talented artists face before they are hailed as geniuses.
A.R. Rahman’s Early Struggles
Today, A.R. Rahman is an internationally acclaimed Indian music composer and singer who is celebrated among the most influential musicians in the world. However, like many other great artists, his journey to the top had been rocky. At this time in his career, Rahman found it difficult as several prominent Bollywood singers including Alka Yagnik declined to sing for him. Despite his immense talents, Rahman was a beginner in the Hindi film music world; thus some artists were skeptical about working with him since he was not familiar.
Incident Recalls: Alka Yagnik’s Regret
In her interview last week, Alka Yagnik recollected one incident from that period when she explained why she turned down an opportunity to team up with Rahman saying “I got a call from Chennai while I was in Mumbai.” “The caller told me that there was this new composer by the name of A.R. Rehman who wanted me and Kumar Sanu to sing for one of his films.” It occurred at a time when Yagnik was already engaged by several old composers in Mumbai and her schedule was full because she had pre-dates booked for her.
Yagnik thought it would be wrong to disregard her earlier commitments for someone whom she didn’t know well especially since he was just another budding composer at that time. She mentioned, “Because of my commitment towards veteran composers I had no choice but to refuse an offer from A.R.Rehman.” This seemed logical then giving rise to their decision owing to limited popularity which Rahman had not achieved till now.
Kumar Sanu’s Similar Response
It is interesting to note that Yagnik was not alone in her decision. After getting a no, Rahman approached Kumar Sanu who also rejected his request. It has been reported that Sanu said, “Why should we work with this new composer? I don’t know him.” The refusal by these two top industry performers shows the difficulty that emerging talents having super qualities face when they try to penetrate an old industry like music.
Regret and Realization
Alka Yagnik later realized the importance of what she missed after listening to Rehman’s music at last. She accepted that she had profound regrets saying ‘Kumar Sanu and I said no because A.R.Rehman was small time. But, after listening to his music, I felt sorry for my decision as A.R.’s songs were so beautiful. Knowing how talented he was made it even more painful.
A Painful Memory
The singer revealed that she would sometimes feel like banging her head against the wall whenever she thought about how she missed out on working with Rahman. Sharing this fact, “When I first met A.R.Rahman’s he told me that you refused to sing for me,” I felt embarrassed and angry with myself after hearing this.”
An Everlasting Impression
Despite her subsequent extensive collaboration with A.R. Rahman and her participation in many successful ventures, the initial rejection stands out as a blot on Alka Yagnik’s career. She admitted, “That first refusal from me will prick my heart forever.”
Triumph of A.R. Rahman
In music today, A.R. Rahman’s is a giant by all standards. Having won the National Award for Music seven times, he holds the record for the most wins by any music director in India. This milestone further attests to his significance in industry and the world at large.
