Book Review: Notes of a Dream: The Authorized Biography of A.R. Rahman


I bought "Notes of a Dream: The Authorized Biography of A.R. Rahman" by Krishna Trilok despite reading this crisp, accurate & unflattering review by a discerning reader on Amazon -

More a chronicle than a biography!
One of my favourite biographies is 'Snowball' by Alice Shroeder. She worked with a towering personality and yet, held her own and wrote one of the most comprehensive books on a mostly one-dimensionally-thought-of person - Warren Buffett.

This book is the exact opposite of Snowball. All the author does is worship and list down facts and opinions without any real interpretation of his own. The one-dimensional-interpretation of super-gifted Rahman continues.

I longed for a book that talked about his failures and struggles with a bit more depth, making Rahman a bit more identifiable and such. Those chapters are rushed through and voiced through his sister rather than the man himself. The other side never gets looked into. He's as opaque as ever!

Someone should have told the author that he was writing a biography and not history of the man.
As for the "authorised biography" bit - don't get conned by it. Rahman is as closed as ever with already known bits diced out with a newer sauce.
I found the writing fluffy & insipid with unvalidated inferences. Having read the 344 paged authorized biography nevertheless to see if there was any worthwhile information that I didn't already know about,  I can only say it doesn't do complete justice to the musical genius.

The yet to be released movie  99 Songs that Rahman has scripted & scored music for get inordinate coverage without adding much to the narrative possibly because the author's mother is one of the executive producers of the movie & he had more material on that topic.

Rahman's story needs attention and has to be well-told as his life of positivity, creativity & hardwork offers a inspiring template for India's teeming youth as well as the dejected.

Some tidbits & trivia about Rahman & other movie personalities he has worked with -
  • Rahman prefers to fly by Emirates as they serve halal non-vegetarian food. Went off diary products in 2018
  • The Tamil version of "Humma Humma" is the first full song that AR sang all by himself
  • Director, Shekhar Kapur is a Chartered Accountant & the nephew of Dev Anand
  • Mani Ratnam considers Iruvar his best movie. After finishing his MBA, his passion for movies led him to direct Pallavi Anu Pallavi, in Kannada
  • The KM College of Music and Technology building in Arumbakkam, Chennai has been architected by  Shakthisree Gopalan who has sung many popular songs composed by Rahman

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