AR Rahman on composing for Ramayana, working with Hans Zimmer and why he is a nervous performer
12 min readNew DelhiNov 1, 2026 07:00 AM IST First published on: Nov 1, 2026 at 07:00 AM IST
About 25 years ago, Academy Award-winning composer AR Rahman gave an austere musical expression to faith, an idea that has since become increasingly fraught in India’s public discourse.
In O paalanhaare, a Krishna bhajan in Ashutosh Gowariker’s Lagaan (2001), penned by Javed Akhtar and sung by Lata Mangeshkar, Rahman delivered a melody with rare tenderness. One that emerges at a moment of absolute despair, when the villagers pray for a solution. Looming over them is the idea of defeat in a cricket match with the British, which could force a community to pay three times the land tax. There is nothing dramatic in Rahman’s composition. The profundity is hidden in its simplicity.
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