Mumbai: Music maestro A R Rahman, who’s making his debut as a producer and co-writer with movie ’99 Songs’, on Saturday stated it was his frequent collaborator, filmmaker Mani Ratnam, who inspired him to discover his inventive facet as a storyteller.
The musical drama film is a narrative about artwork and self-discovery of a struggling singer who desires to be a profitable music composer. Directed by debutant Vishwesh Krishnamoorthy, “99 Songs” stars newcomers Ehan Bhat, Edilsy Varghese and Tenzin Dalha, an Indian actor of Tibetan origin, in lead roles.
Rahman, who has additionally co-written the film, recalled the time when Ratnam informed him how telling a movie’s story and singing have a standard course of.
“Mani Ratnam once said to me that when you know how to make a movie, it’s like how you make a song. You’ve the introduction, the theme of the song, the tune and then you do the background music. Then comes the antara and you’ve a journey that eventually comes to an end beautifully,” the music director stated in a press release.
“He said that the process is like a story and it just struck me how nice it is to speak in your own language about another art such as story writing. That inspired me,” he added.
The Oscar-winner has scored music for a number of movies of Ratnam, together with “Roja”, “Bombay”, “Dil Se”, “O Kadhal Kanmani”, “Guru” and “Thiruda Thiruda”.
“99 Songs” additionally options actors Lisa Ray, Manisha Koirala, Aditya Seal, composer-drummer Ranjit Barot and Indian Ocean’s Rahul Ram in supporting roles.
Rahman has additionally created the music for the film, which he has produced by way of his banner YM Movies alongside Ideal Entertainment.?
Presented by Jio Studios, the movie will arrive in theatres on April 16.Â
