AR Rahman calls out remix culture: Who are you to re-imagine?

Many iconic songs have been recreated in the past few years and on most occasions it was disappointing those who loved the original version. AR Rahman also expresses his displeasure with the remix culture.

According to the Hindustan Times, AR Rahman also said he is not fond of the remix culture, and is himself very careful about using someone else’s work.

When asked about his views on other musicians remixing his tunes, Rahman told India Today, “The more I see, the more it is distorted. The intention of the composer gets distorted. People say, ‘I am reimagining.’ Who are you to re-imagine? I am also very careful of taking someone else’s work. You have to be respectful and I think it is a grey area, we need to sort it out.”

The musician was also asked how he deals with requests from producers and directors to remix his own tunes and give them modern-day touch. He replied, “The other day, we had the Telugu music launch and the producers said, every song that you two (Mani Ratnam and AR Rahman) make sounds fresh now because it is all done in digital mastering. It already has that quality and everyone appreciates it. So, if I need to do that, I need to recreate it. Of course, people take permission, but you cannot take something recent and remake it again. It feels weird.”

New songs composed by the musician will be heard in Mani Ratnam’s Ponniyin Selvan Part 1, marking his reunion with the filmmaker after 30 years. Rahman shared that he and Mani Ratnam have received compliments for the freshness of their songs.