AR Rahman meets The Lord Of The Rings: How the acclaimed Indian composer brought Middle-earth to life

“It was a cool process. Because the Lord Of The Rings goes to a very, very dark stage, unbearably dark stage,” he said laughing.

“So while writing and recording, it was a bit too much. But I think we did it.” 

For Rahman, his music has never been just about sound. It’s about crafting an experience. He approaches his work like a director, considering everything from poster design to font choices, ensuring that every detail aligns with his creative vision.

“We are what our choices are, our work is our choice of listening or writing,” he said.

“Lately, I’ve been kind of controlling that. So that my real feel of what I want the people to see of myself, my evolution comes through better.

“So people don’t think that some third person is doing it… when we do like musical theatre or anything produced from India, it’ll have a certain kind of quality which will be very unique,” he added.

For the musical, Rahman turned to an eclectic mix of instruments such as the nyckelharpa (a Swedish string instrument), violin, brass, flutes and even voices. For the vocals he collaborated with a Bosnian singer, Alma Ferovic.

The collaboration blossomed into a long-standing friendship and Ferovic later worked with him on the Bollywood hit film Rockstar.

With the musical being reimagined for a new era, Rahman believes it’s the perfect time for the production to take the spotlight once again.

“The musical is being reinvented,” he shared. “I think right now the adaptation is very cool, it’s very immersive and it can still contain the whole story.”