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AR Rahman on Fahadh’s Malayankunju: I could’ve become a radio mechanic too and so could relate to the film

The Oscar-winning composer is making his comeback to Malayalam cinema after a gap of almost 30 years with the Fahadh Faasil’s survival thriller

AR Rahman on Fahadh’s Malayankunju: I could’ve become a radio mechanic too and so could relate to the film
AR Rahman and (right) Fahadh in a still from Malayankunju

Last Updated: 10.11 AM, Jul 21, 2022

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Fahadh Faasil’s Malayankunju, which went on floors last year, has taken its time to find its way to the theatres. One of the reasons was that AR Rahman had taken close to six months to find time to score for the film. The wait, however, might well be worth it.

In a recent promo video, the Oscar-winning music director talked about taking up the Malayalam film, which marks his comeback to the industry after a gap of almost 30 years. Rahman had said that Fahadh had sent him an email while he was in Dubai for Expo 2020 and the former had asked the actor to fly down to the UAE to discuss the film.

“Fahadh is a natural actor, but I didn’t have any time to do this film. I asked him why don't we do the next movie,” he said. However, the actor, who met Rahman with the movie’s writer and cinematographer Mahesh Narayanan, said that it was better if they worked on Malayankunju instead.

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“I have never worked on a movie like this where the protagonist was a radio mechanic, which I could have become if my mom (didn’t introduce me to) music,” said the composer. “So, I could relate to his character and what goes through his brain – because he is into electronics and he lives in a village; so it’s a paradox.”

Rahman said for showcasing the protagonist’s mental zone, they could use programming, but a lot of organic instruments can come in for the other sequences. They had sampled the music with the film’s trailer that was received well and that’s how they found a sound for the film. Rahman said that though he was busy with Mani Ratnam’s Ponniyin Selvan, the Dubai Expo 2020 and other projects, he found time to finish work on Malayankunju, which had “a passionate team”.

In an exclusive interview with OTTplay, Fahadh told us that it was also AR Rahman’s idea to include songs in the movie as it had a lot of emotions. Though he had initially approached the music director through Arvind Swami for the background score, Rahman ended up composing four tracks for the film, which is set to release in theatres on July 22.

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