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AR Rahman recently detailed his meeting with Michael Jackson before his death in 2009. In a video by Free Malaysia Today, he can be seen talking to fans at a meet and greet held in Malaysia on Monday, the music composer revealed that the King of Pop almost sang for Shankar’s Rajinikanth, Aishwarya Rai-starrer Enthiran. (Also Read: AR Rahman says his mother thought his Oscar statuettes were made of gold: She ‘wrapped it in a towel’)
‘I said I’ll meet Michael when I win the Oscar’
Rahman was in Los Angeles, USA, in early 2009 when he was introduced to someone who managed Michael. “I asked if I could meet him. An email was sent out but there was no response for a week. Then, I got nominated for the Oscars (for Jai Ho from Slumdog Millionaire). Michael’s team said he wanted to meet me. I said, I don’t want to meet him now. I’ll meet him when I’ve won an Oscar,” said Rahman.
And when he did win the Oscar, he explained the feeling as ‘top of the world’. “I met him at a home in LA the day after I won it. He was very kind, we spoke about music and world peace. He said, why don’t we do the next We Are The World, introduced me to his kids. He even showed me how he dances from the heart,” Rahman explained.
Once he got back to India, he told Shankar all about his meeting with Michel. The director wondered if he would be on board Enthiran. “Shankar sir asked me if he would sing for the film. I said, wow, will he sing a Tamil song? I asked. He said, whatever you say, we’ll do together.” Unfortunately, it wasn’t meant to be because Michael died in June that year. “He was sick at that time,” said Rahman.
While the OST of Enthiran featured no international singers, it went on to be a massive success. A sequel to the film, titled 2.0, also featuring music by Rahman, released in 2018. The film featured Rajinikanth, Akshay Kumar and Amy Jackson.
Shankar on Rahman’s absence in Indian 2
Shankar and Rahman worked in numerous hit films, including the 1996 Kamal Haasan-starrer Indian. The sequel, Indian 2, features music by Anirudh Ravichander. When asked about it at a recent press meet, Shankar said that he approached Anirudh because Rahman was busy.
“When we started work on Indian 2, AR Rahman was already working on the BGM of 2.0 and I needed the songs soon. I didn’t want to overburden him with Indian 2 and I also liked Anirudh’s music. His music was really popular and I thought why not sign him on,” explained Shankar at the press meet.
Upcoming work
Rahman has numerous films lined up in multiple languages. In Tamil, he has Raayan, Thug Life, Genie, Kadhalikka Neramillai and Moon Walk. In Hindi, he has Chhava, Lahore 1947, Tere Ishk Mein and Ramayana. In Telugu, he has Ram Charan’s next with Buchi Babu Sana. He’s even composing music for an Arabic film called Baab.
