AR Rahman on Collaborating with Hans Zimmer for ‘Ramayana’: 'It Is Terrifying'

Academy Award-winning composers AR Rahman and Hans Zimmer have come together to create the sound behind Nitesh Tiwari’s two-part epic Ramayana, one of the most anticipated films in recent years. Fans got a glimpse of their creative partnership in a teaser that was released last year. But what is it like for the two legends to collaborate on the epic?

"It’s terrifying for both of us, scoring something so iconic and so important in the world,” Rahman tells The Hollywood Reporter India. Starring Ranbir Kapoor as Rama, Yash as Ravana, Sai Pallavi as Sita, Sunny Deol as Hanuman, and Ravie Dubey as Lakshman, Ramayana: Part One will open in cinemas this Diwali, followed by the sequel in 2027.

When asked how the two of them create, Rahman explained, "In the teaser, he had a soundscape, then I took that and added the Sanskrit verse and everything. What is complicated is that we’re taking something so epic, something that every Indian knows, and we’re giving them something new, from India to the world,” he adds.

As he continues to build the score alongside Zimmer, Rahman says that there was much he had to unlearn, casting aside conventional ideas of what Ramayana means, to create something unique. "While also absorbing a certain timeless quality that's there in the culture. That's our process, we are having fun."

It is precisely this constant drive for evolution that has buoyed the composer through his decades-long career, boasting a rich and diverse discography. He is always looking to “jump into new territories," he says, never resting on his laurels, remaining in pursuit of the next creative challenge.

It is no wonder, then, that Rahman would take on the invitation to score for Gandhi Talks, a silent film starring Aditi Rao Hydari, Vijay Sethupathi, and Siddharth Jadhav. “I wanted to create something people would remember,” he says about his work for the upcoming Kishor Pandurang Belekar directorial, scheduled to hit cinemas on January 30.

Sethupathi, who was also part of the conversation, lauded Rahman's work in the film and added, "The music speaks better than us."

Watch the full conversation dropping soon on The Hollywood Reporter India's YouTube channel.