Brothers in Music: The AR Rahman Edition

1999 (Part 1)

1999 is a turning point year for A. R. Rahman—not just in output, but in sound, ambition, and the scale of collaboration. In this episode of Brothers in Music: The A. R. Rahman Edition, we dive deep into four albums that capture Rahman at his most expansive and experimental: Takshak, Mudhalvan, Kadhalar Dhinam, and Sangamam. Joining us is Arvind Murali—jazz bassist, music arranger, podcast host, and someone who encountered Rahman and his close collaborators professionally in the late 1990s. That lived proximity gives this conversation a different texture: part listener’s deep dive, part practitioner’s reflection, part oral history. Across a long, free-flowing conversation, we move well beyond album rankings. We talk about: * how arrangements were conceived and layered in the 90s * the changing role of musicians, arrangers, and technology in Indian film music * Rahman’s working style and studio culture during this period * what has changed—and what hasn’t—as music production shifts toward software-driven and AI-assisted workflows The result is an episode that sits at the intersection of music listening, music making, and music history—using Rahman’s 1999 catalogue as a lens to think about craft, collaboration, and change. As always, this one drops straight into conversation. No preamble. Just three people in a room, listening closely.  The episode was edited by the remarkable Nihar Mamidipudi. Podcast Insta: @brothers.in.music Swaroop: @tnagartornado on X and Instagram. Sharan: @sharanidli on X; M R Sharan on LinkedIn.

1998 (Part 2: 1947 Earth)

We’re still in 1998. But this time, we turn to 1947 Earth. If Dil Se was all motion and intensity, this album does the opposite. It slows us down. It asks us to sit with history, with fracture, and with the quiet that follows violence. 1947 Earth is one of Rahman’s most deliberate soundtracks: a truly complete album. Every song belongs to the same emotional world. Nothing spills over. The music doesn’t decorate the film; it carries it. Through restraint, repetition, and silence, Rahman builds a soundscape that mirrors the film’s central concern: how politics enters everyday life and tears it apart. We’re joined once again by the writer Samanth Subramanian, and together we talk about the album, the film, and Rahman’s distinct sound. We look closely at the connection between Ishwar Allah and Raghupati Raghava: two songs built on the same melodic spine, moving in parallel, yet landing very differently. This episode was edited and mastered by Nihar Mamidipudi. Podcast Instagram: @brothers.in.music Swaroop: @tnagartornado on X and Instagram Sharan: @sharanidli on X; M R Sharan on LinkedIn Podcast Insta: @brothers.in.music Swaroop: @tnagartornado on X and Instagram. Sharan: @sharanidli on X; M R Sharan on LinkedIn.

1998 (Part 1: Dil Se)

Welcome back to Brothers in Music: The A. R. Rahman Edition.  We’re in 1998 — the year Dil Se burst into our lives, our cassette players, and our television screens. The image is still impossible to forget: Shah Rukh Khan dancing atop a moving train to Chaiyya Chaiyya, while Rahman’s music thundered across the country. For many, Dil Se isn’t just another Rahman album — it’s the Rahman album. Every track is a classic, every song remembered and reinterpreted even twenty-seven years later. It’s an album that captures the intensity of youth, love, and longing, wrapped in sounds that feel at once global and deeply Indian. Joining us for this episode is the writer Samanth Subramanian. Together, we dive into the jokes, the analysis, and the nostalgia that Dil Se evokes. You’ll hear Swaroop’s story of being stranded in Mangalore, a hundred kilometres from home, with nothing but a Dil Se cassette for company; Samanth’s memory of discovering boy-meets-school-bench Chaiyya Chaiyya; and us unpacking how a single note — just one change — can turn a theme of doomed love into a song of grand romance. We go deep into the album’s musical architecture too — from the haunting strains of Raag Jog to Rahman’s playful departures from classical form. The way he leaves out a note, bends another, and in doing so, creates something that feels ineffably emotional: part sorrow, part transcendence. So tune in, as we remember, argue, laugh, play the flute and some piano, and maybe hum along. Because this is Dil Se, and this is Rahman at his most incandescent. This episode was edited and mastered by Nihar Mamidipudi. Podcast Insta: @brothers.in.music Swaroop: @tnagartornado on X and Instagram. Sharan: @sharanidli on X; M R Sharan on LinkedIn.

1997: Vande Mataram

In 1997, as India marked fifty years of independence, A. R. Rahman released Vande Mataram—an album unlike anything before or since. Fresh, fearless, and unforgettable, it was a cultural moment as much as a musical one. The sound was new, the concept bold, the music nothing short of phenomenal. It wasn’t just an album; it was an event that captured the imagination of a generation. In this episode, we revisit Vande Mataram. We break down the songs the way we always do—listening closely to Rahman’s craft, the layers of sound, the unexpected turns, the sheer emotional power. We explore the anthemic title track that has endured as a modern classic, his haunting reinterpretations of the original Vande Mataram through ragas, and the hidden gems that sit alongside them: the playfulness of Tauba Tauba, the yearning of Only You, and more. But we also zoom out. We ask what it meant to encounter this album in 1997, when India was reflecting on fifty years of freedom yet grappling with its fractures. We look at how Rahman, through this work, became more than a composer—how he came to embody a syncretic, pan-Indian, and pan-global sensibility. In Vande Mataram, we hear not just great music, but an India imagined at its most plural, open, and diverse. An India still worth striving for, still worth fighting for. Podcast Insta: @brothers.in.music Swaroop: @tnagartornado on X and Instagram. Sharan: @sharanidli on X; M R Sharan on LinkedIn.

1997 (Part 2)

Welcome back to Brothers in Music: The A R Rahman Edition. We’re still in 1997, and in this episode, we continue to be joined by Sowmiya Ashok (@sowmiyashok on Twitter/@sowmiyashok.writes on Insta).  We’re taking on two albums that couldn’t be more different—Iruvar and Ratchagan. Iruvar is, in many ways, a masterpiece. Arguably Mani Ratnam’s greatest film, and one of Rahman’s most elegant, classically rooted soundtracks. It’s an album of restraint and richness, where each song feels like a tribute to an era, a genre, a mood. It’s not just music: it’s memory, it’s cinema. Then there’s Ratchagan. A completely different beast. This one split the room, but not the Brothers. Swaroop and Sharan are Team Ratchagan. Our guest Sowmiya Ashok, however, wasn’t quite convinced. Still, we make the case: behind the flashy production and dramatic arrangements lies some truly underrated Rahman magic. If you haven’t revisited this album in a while, trust us, it’s worth it. So join us as we argue, remember, and occasionally burst into laughter (if not song). Because this is 1997, and Rahman is just getting started. This episode was edited by the inimitable Nihar Mamidipudi. Podcast Insta: @brothers.in.music Swaroop: @tnagartornado on X and Instagram. Sharan: @sharanidli on X; M R Sharan on LinkedIn.