A.R.Rahman and Vairamuthu's biggest disagreement

The composer and the lyricist for music are like the man and wife in a family, they say. Complementing each other well is the most important requirement in both the cases. While doing so, there is always room for arguments and slight differences of opinions. How do composer AR Rahman and lyricist Vairamuthu face those differences?

“Arguments are healthy as long as they are productive,” feels the National Award winning poet. He recalls, “While we both were working on Ratchagan, he wasn’t very happy with the lyrics of ‘Chandiranai Thottadhu Yaar, Armstrong’a’. He felt the word Armstrong was too strong and that it didn’t suit the tune. I felt differently. That was probably our biggest disagreement. We finally decided to leave it to Hariharan (singer). He did beautifully to blend the lyric to the tune.”

He added, “But when Rahman came up with Ooh La La La tune for Minsara Kanavu, I didn’t like it. I told him and Rajiv Menon I wouldn’t write for the song. They forced me into doing it and I did, halfheartedly. Ultimately, the song went on to win a National Award.”

So, how does the duo fix the differences? “Basically, after an argument, I go straight to Rahman’s house, sit on the swing and have a cup of tea. He would then mockingly enquire, “Kavignar tea saapudaraara?” With that all our differences vanish,” clarifies Vairamuthu.