Apart from the fact that A.R.Rahman creates amazing music, the other fact, which everyone will agree on, the striking aspect about him is his down to earth nature. I have been surprised by his humility every single time I have met him and interacted with him. We have heard many people speak about both of these, but here I present a few instances from my interactions, where he floored me with his humility.


The first time was in 2002 at a small Bharat Kalachar function in PSBB’s primary school auditorium. It was a day before my semester exams, but something like that was not going to deprive me of this great opportunity of meeting the maestro. The news that he was going to be present for the event was not publicized, barring a small note in the ‘Engagements’ section in The Hindu, which I fortunately spotted. There was not much crowd, and even those who had come there had not come for meeting Rahman.

There I was, all excited to meet the man. He walked in without much fanfare. Everyone on stage praised him for the success of Bombay Dreams, and congratulated him for making the west take notice of Indian music. As the praises kept coming, I could notice him getting uncomfortable, cringing on the chair. I have later read celebrities write in magazines about how uncomfortable he gets when people praise him in his presence, but I had witnessed it all then.


Post the event, he got down of the stage, and unusually, he was not mobbed. I walked up to him, shook hands and spoke to him for a couple of minutes – with no interruptions! Thank God, the event was not publicized!


The next time I met him was at the Bangalore Concert in October 2005, where I was part of the team handling hospitality and backstage. I was at the venue for 2 days – the concert day and the day before that. It was great being near him for such a long duration. However, I could not interact with him much on the first day, until the rehearsals got over. The rehearsals started at around 4 p.m and continued until way past midnight. As he stepped down from the stage, Blaaze informed him that we were waiting to meet him (We had met Blaaze and he chatted with us for a long time, and he said he would arrange for a meeting with ARR).


There were about 30 fans there, including me. In their excitement to meet him, everyone rushed in and a small commotion started. He calmly said he would leave only after everyone gets a chance to click a photo with him, and he was in no hurry! He talked to each one of us personally, in such a friendly manner, asking us our name, about profession, family etc. What was interesting is that it was the holy month of Ramzan and he had not broken his fast, as he was too engrossed in the rehearsals. We could not believe it. Seriously… Which world famous celebrity would do that?


After this, I met him with my mom and a few fans at his house, in 2008 on his Birthday – more than 2 years after my last meeting. And just like the last time, he was interested in knowing about us. The introductions began. As my turn came, he stumped me – he asked if I had come all the way from Bangalore to meet him on his birthday! I could not believe that he remembered me from our short interaction in 2005! The next birthday was even more special as I had made him a gift. I gave it to him, and he collected it with such a sweet smile. But, he didn’t open the gift-wrap. He was in such a hurry as he was rushing for his flight to the US – that was the time when he was busy collecting awards for Slumdog Millionaire. I gently asked him, if he would open it before he left. And he obliged. He was happy to see the Tamil kavidhai (poem) I had written and framed for him with a picture of him as a background. He read the first few lines, and apologized saying he would read the rest later as he was getting late. Yeah! He APOLOGISED to me for not having enough time to read the poem!


What more can I say, other than quote Suahasini Maniratnam – “He doesn’t know what a few words mean – Arrogance, ego, garvam (pride) , kozhuppu (headiness). I think he deserves one Oscar specially for this!”