I Just Want To Be Left Alone: Rahman Suffering From Performance Anxiety

By Subhash K Jha

Tired of   the   relentless attention during  the last few months A R Rahman has a sincere request for all  those who want  a piece of his action.

Please  let him  be. He needs to catch his  breath.

Alas, earlier commitments  have forced  Rahman to return to Chennai from Bangalore where  he was holed  up last month.

Says a  source  very close to Rahman, “The workload  is getting  heavier. Rahman is  inundated  with  work  from both  home and abroad. He has taken on one new Bollywood project Abbas Tyrewala’s   1-800-Love , and he  needs to finish Tony D’Souza’s  Blue  whose background   score and  the  Kylie  Minogue  item  are yet to  be completed. On  top of that Rahman has to deal with  false stories about  his  global conquests. Like the one that said he had replaced  David Beckham in a cellphone  ad  for a  staggering free.”

Such stories are making  Rahman extremely wary  of  the  future. Friends feel he’s being put under tremendous performance anxiety  and this may reflect on  the  quality of his work.”

Says  the friend,  “Rahman has  decided to stay completely away from the public glare  for some time. He  is currently  spending time on the music of  Abbas  Tyrewala’s film. Then he has called  Tony D’Souza to  Chennai  to  complete  the  music of Blue. After that he will quietly leave  for   London and the US. Under no circumstance will he allow himself  to be  put  under the mircroscope.”

When contacted Rahman had  only one thing to say, “I’d just like to retreat  in  my  cave for a while.

- SAMPURN