A.R.Rahman is without doubt a great popular musician. But he is NOT a classical musician. The MMA is an institution whose main mission is to preserve and promote classical Carnatic music .
A.R. Rahman’s skill or depth in Carnatic music has no third-party independent endorsement.
No doubt he has notably incorporated many elements of Carnatic music into film compositions, but that doesn’t make him an authentic Carnatic music vidwan.
Rahman’s Compositions with traces of Carnatic Music elements
Rahman’s soundtrack for Sangamam features Carnatic-style or imitative “fusion” tracks like “Mazhai Thulli” and “Sowkiyama Kannae,” blending traditional vocals with modern elements. Songs such as “Munbe Vaa” (raga Darbari Kanada), “Marghazi Thingal Allava” (Sindhu Bhairavi), and “En Veetu Thotaththil” showcase only his dalliance not true prowess with Carnatic music foundation.
Also often Rahman resorts to fusing ragas with Hindustani and Western styles… that kind of fusion is said to be creative but then it also pollutes classical standards and values. He takes liberties at will with ragas even in live concerts, in the name of “educating audiences” on Carnatic and Hindustani nuances or genres. This comes across to genuine “Rasikas” as travesty not tribute to Carnatic music traditions.
Rahman Foundation’s Contributions
The A.R. Rahman Foundation has been reported to have provided funds for projects that ostensibly revive Tamil music heritage, including research on Karunamirtha Sagaram by Abraham Pandithar. No one knows for sure what links they really have with Tamil traditions to Carnatic music. Rahman’s so-called Carnatic music forays only end up documenting Christian Carnatic hymns. These efforts are however hailed by populist politically biased media and fan clubs as though they genuinely preserve “underrepresented aspects” (whatever that means!) of Carnatic history. Such collaborations involve Rahman’s own daughter Khatija Rahman. Is there participation by any other cross-sections of society ? Not to my knowledge.
Rahman addressed challenges in attracting youth to classical music at the Music Academy’s 99th conference. The moot question is “What has he done about it that can be called useful if not impactful?” How many young Carnatic musicians — boys and girls — has he helped to make careers ? How many institutions devoted to research and development of the art has he supported in the years since he himself achieved international celebrity status? To the best of my knowledge, zilch.
MMA is simply corporatising Carnatic music for its own business interests. And anything in the world that gets corporatised must inevitably suffer some degree of decay and corruption. The MMA catalyses that process very subtly.
Sudarshan Madabushi