One of India’s most renowned music composers and record producers, AR Rahman, was a highlighted guest at this year’s lively Bharat India Pavillion in the Marché. The pavillion’s friendly open-door policy and stream of informal events made it one of the festival’s favorite meeting points for the international film community.
Rahman, who has composed over 2,000 songs as well as stage musicals and film scores which include Slumdog Millionaire and Shakur Kapoor’s Elizabeth: The Golden Age, was in town as the producer of a new documentary directed by Rohit Gupta. Headhunting to Beatboxing: A Musical Renaissance is set in the state of Nagaland in the far northeast of India, where tribal music has been little explored on film. “It is musical anthropology,” the composer told The Film Verdict, “filmed in a really magical place. I felt good about being there.”
The musical documentary tells the story of a tribe living in Nagaland, a dream heaven above the floating clouds and cascading mountains, but until recently the site of violence and bloody wars in which warriors killed their enemies and proudly took home their heads. Now the tribe resurrects itself though music and its healing power.
“Music is transformation,” believes Rahman, an artist who finds musical inspiration in his spirituality. “The world is a cruel place, but when you make music, you don’t have time to fight. The deeper you go, the more there is to unearth.”
Also known as a record producer, Rahman notes that “producing a movie is a financial gamble, but less so since we have post-production facilities of our own to use.” He continues to perform before audiences, too. “Live performances have become so interactive. The whole genre is changing.” There is real warmth and enthusiasm in his voice at the thought.
Headhunting to Beatboxing is 62 minutes long and has not been screened yet. It can be reached through Hema Upadhyaya and Sanjay Ram at Mediasmiths (festquery@gmail.com).
