Mozart of Madras on CNN Talk Asia

I managed to watch A R Rahman on CNN Talk Asia this afternoon (via). Since the talk show host Lorraine Hahn is based in Hong Kong, I guess this interview would have been recorded when Rahman visited HK for his concert in Feb. The media-shy Rahman talks about LOTR, Bombay Dreams, his Bollywood and Kollywood career in this 30-minute interview. The show is being aired at the following timings:

Airtimes: Indian Standard Times

Saturday, March 18 at 0930am, 2000hrs and 2230hrs

Sunday, March 19 at 0600am, 1700hrs and 2030hrs

Monday, March 20 at 0900am

ARR mentioned that people with Muslim names generally tend to change names just to gain more acceptance (atleast initially) in the film industry (I guess he was referring to Kollywood). People had suggested to Rahman that he should also follow the same path and adopt a different name (eventhough Rahman was a new name he had chosen after embracing Islam).

Educated in both the eastern and western music disciplines, Rahman sees the two schools complementing each other. To nurture the next generation of musicians: “My biggest dream now is to start a classical conservatory in India, or Chennai. I think the discipline of classical music is very important – and then we can ring in the eastern elements into it”.

ARR doesn’t give that many interviews. He lets his work do all the talking. After seeing the interview, you would agree that ARR continues to be as humble as ever and international recognition has not brought about any change in his attitude. For those who are unable to catch it this weekend, I’m sure ARR enthusiasts will record it and upload it on Google Videos / YouTube.