AR Rahman Says He Doesn't 'Chill' With Imtiaz Ali As 'I Don't Drink, Smoke': 'That Never Happens'

Imtiaz Ali and AR Rahman worked together for the first time in Rockstar in 2011. They went on to collaborate on many other projects, including Highway (2014), Tamasha (2015) and Amar Singh Chamkila (2024). Imtiaz and Rahman frequently collaborate with lyricist Irshad Kamil to weave cinematic magic. While Rahman is in Cannes to unveil the documentary, Headhunting to Beatboxing, he was asked about how the trio spend time together when they’re not making films.

Sucharita Tyagi asked Rahman if he brainstorms or has jamming sessions with Imtiaz Ali and Irshad Kamil when they’re not collaborating on a film. Rahman said, “That never happens.” He added, “I think there’s no chilling out because I don’t drink, I don’t smoke, so there’s no chilling. Clubbing for me is music.”

When asked what he does in his free time, Rahman quipped, “I go to Cannes.” He added, “I’m not making any music. I’m just doing other things, so that’s in a way actually chilling out.”

In a round table chat with Rahman, Mohit Chauhan and Irshad Kamil earlier this year, Imtiaz said he was not happy nor nervous about meeting Rahman for the first time for Rockstar. Instead, he went to meet him like it was a responsibility.

“I was not happy, I don’t think I was nervous either. But it wasn’t as though, ‘Oh, I’m happy that I am going to meet AR Rahman. It was just like a responsibility,” Imtiaz said, in a video released by Netflix India. “The producer, I believe, told him, ‘Get him!’” AR Rahman recalled.

“So the producers at UTV said that we will take you to Chennai, we’ll put you in a room with him, you can tell him the story of Rockstar. In one way or the other, catch him because he doesn’t say yes or no. You have to get a yes from him. And then he comes in and said, ‘Yeah, what is your story.’ I started telling the story. I went on and on. I knew when I was looking at him and talking to him, I had a sense that it was going all over. It wasn’t registering in his head,” Imtiaz said.

“Then I stopped and again started but this time, I said in the beginning, there is a dark screen, we hear some sort of the music and then we hear these lines (Nadaan Parinde lyrics),” Imtiaz added. He narrated the lines, “Kaga Re Kaga Mori Itni Araz Tose Chun Chun Khaiyo Maas, Re Jiya Re Khaiyon Na Tu Naina Mor, Piya Ke Milan Ki Aas.” Imtiaz said Rahman asked him the meaning of the lyrics. As soon as it was translated, Imtiaz felt a shift in Rahman’s interest in the film. “At that point in time, I got a sense that we are on and maybe he will do it,” he said.

Imtiaz and Rahman recently collaborated on Amar Singh Chamkila. The film was released on Netflix and stars Diljit Dosanjh and Parineeti Chopra in lead roles.