‘Bollywood run by businessmen, no good music coming from there': Bombay musician on working with AR Rahman and Mani Ratnam, calls Tamil cinema ‘more professional'

Indian Express

17-07-2025

Drummer and composer Ranjit Barot, who has worked extensively with AR Rahman, recently spoke about the Hindi film industry and how it is ruled by businessmen who don't respect musicians. He also reflected on his first collaboration with Rahman for Mani Ratnam's cult film Bombay.
Speaking to O2India, Ranjit shared that he and Rahman were 'friends before becoming colleagues', and during their first collaboration for the song 'Humma Humma' from Bombay, the two simply talked for hours. He said, 'Rahman played the track and I knew the potential the song had. Then we went on discussing life and how he converted to Islam and embraced the faith. He told me about his childhood. We became friends before we became colleagues, and I think we still maintain that.' Ranjit admitted that despite Rahman's introverted nature, they became close friends.
Ranjit shared that while many filmmakers want to control musicians and how they work, Mani Ratnam was the exact opposite. He recalled Mani Ratnam catching him and Rahman just talking during the first day of Humma Humma, but the filmmaker didn't interfere and left them to their own devices. He said, 'So Mani Ratnam ji came, he saw that we were busy chatting with each other on the first day and it was only the second day when I started working on this song.' When asked if Mani Ratnam was upset to see them chatting, he said, 'Mani ji has a supreme mind. He knows happy people make happy music. He was very sweet. He just left us alone and went home.'
Ranjit, who has worked with legendary composers like RD Burman and Laxmikant-Pyarelal in the early days of his career, admitted that he no longer works with the Hindi film industry. Sharing his reasons, he said, 'Chennai is far more professional than Mumbai. The respect for musicians is a lot more in Chennai. Mumbai film industry is run by businessmen, who have no respect for musicians. I had worked with Laxmikant Pyarelal and RD Burman; producers in the 80s would be very respectful. Today, the producers feel like if they give you money, they own you. I don't have any.'
Ranjit also blamed producers' attitudes for music having no shelf life in the Hindi film industry. He said, 'Music now only makes sense for the film and the star in it. I don't remember any good music coming from Mumbai. It's also producer and directors meddling with composers.' He added, 'The output is one big Punjabi wedding. That's what we have here in Bombay. All songs are one big dance number.'