‘To receive praise from Lataji, you had to attain perfection’ | Goa News

Panaji: Oscar-winning composer A R Rahman shared heartfelt insights during the Lata Mangeshkar Memorial Talk: ‘Musical Theatre in India’, at the 55th Iffi on Wednesday. He discussed the legendary singer’s influence on his career and the evolving nature of music. He grew up listening to Mangeshkar’s timeless voice.
“My revelation of Lataji came in the 1990s when I heard the songs of ‘Mughal-e-Azam’,” Rahman recalled. He further said that the first time they met was during the recording of ‘Jiya Jale’ in Chennai. Rahman fondly remembers the high standards Mangeshkar set, which made receiving praise from her an extraordinary occurrence. “Getting praise from her was very difficult because you had to attain that level of perfection,” he said.
The turning point in Rahman’s musical journey came when Mangeshkar invited him and his team to perform in Hyderabad. During a rehearsal break, Rahman was about to take a nap, only to hear Mangeshkar practising in her room for an hour and a half. “After that, I started taking riyaaz (practice) seriously,” Rahman said.
He also reflected upon the current state of the music industry, where there’s a growing divide between two extremes — artists dedicated to rigorous practice to master their craft and those who prioritise creating quick songs for immediate release. “There are many ways to art, and that’s how it should be because if everyone sounds like Lataji, it will be boring,” Rahman said.