Imtiaz Ali says he 'surrenders' to A. R. Rahman while working with him; admits it creates 'pressure'

After a four-year hiatus, Imtiaz Ali is making a directorial comeback with his upcoming film "Amar Singh Chamkila," slated for release next month. The movie, a biopic on the late Punjabi musician Amar Singh Chamkila, features Diljit Dosanjh and Parineeti Chopra in the lead roles, while the musical score is crafted by none other than AR Rahman.

Reflecting on his collaboration with the Oscar-winning composer, Ali shared insights into their working relationship, which has spanned across notable films like "Rockstar" (2011), "Highway" (2014), and "Tamasha" (2015), all of which received critical acclaim for their soundtracks.In a recent conversation with Mashable India, Ali expressed, "There have never been creative conflicts between me and AR Rahman. I immediately go into surrender mode when working with him."
“This puts him under even more pressure. The first time we sat together for a discussion, he reminded me that I was the director and said that I have to do my job (and give instructions). That’s when I realized that it’s my job to communicate to them (the cast and crew members) as to what’s in the movie and what feelings are depicted,” he pointed out.
“But Rahman sir has such strong senses that he understands the things that you don’t even tell him. Whenever I listen to his compositions (for my movies) for the first time, I wonder how he understood that these were the very feelings that were going through my mind about this situation,” Ali added.
Imtiaz Ali also shared warm sentiments about his partnership with singer Mohit Chauhan, emphasizing their enduring friendship and mutual respect for each other's talents. He further expressed his close bond with Mohit's wife, Prarthna Gehlot, indicating a strong camaraderie within their circle.
“It took me four to five years to make my debut directorial endeavour Socha Na Tha. Back then too, I had many friends who were musicians, and we used to jam a lot. One night, we were at a hotel, jamming, and that’s when I saw Mohit for the first time. It was soon after his ‘Dooba Dooba’ song had come out. That’s also the night I heard him sing for the first time: his smooth, silky voice. He sang a Pahari tune, and I realized that this man has something really special and precious with which he could provide any song with a mystic quality,” Ali noted.

The director also reminisced about the inception of his collaboration with Chauhan, recalling that their partnership began with the rendition of ‘Tum Se Hi’ from ‘Jab We Met’ (2007), composed by Pritam Chakraborty and penned by Irshad Kamil. From that point forward, Chauhan has contributed his vocals to numerous tracks in nearly every Imtiaz Ali film.
“When doing Rockstar, we wanted all the songs to be sung by the same singer because that’s Jordan’s (Ranbir Kapoor) voice. So, Rahman sir and I started thinking about whom to pick. Since it’s Rahman, I didn’t even give any suggestions since he is a legend in what he does, and any advice I give him would sound stupid. Then he himself suggested Mohit Chauhan’s name. And I was pleased,” Ali said.