AR Rahman made a rare revelation about Michael Jackson. He recalled meeting him in 2009, post which, they were in talks to collaborate on a Tamil song together. Sadly, Jackson died in 2009. Apart from this, Rahman also said that he had initially refused to meet the international singer-dancer.
AR Rahman met Michael Jackson after winning big at the Oscars in 2009 for 'Slumdog Millionaire'. In a video shared by Free Malaysia Today on YouTube, Rahman recalled the incident and said, “At the beginning of 2009, I was in LA with my agent. He introduced me to another person, his friend, who managed Michael Jackson. I tested my waters. I said, ‘Can I meet Michael Jackson?’ And he said, ‘Sure, I’ll send out an email’. There was no response in the first week. I was just quiet, and I said, ‘It’s fine’.”
The composer-singer continued, “And then the nominations happened, and I got nominated for the Oscars. Then, the email came in, and it said, ‘Michael wants to meet you’. But I said, ‘I don’t want to meet him now’.” The audience roared. Rahman added, “I said, ‘I don’t want to meet him. If I win an Oscar, I’ll meet him, otherwise I won’t’. I was sure I was going to win. I won, and the next day, I went to meet him at his house in LA. It was almost 6:30 pm, and the sun was going down. And then, somebody opened the door with gloves on.”
Rahman later recounted his conversation with Jackson during their meeting. He mentioned that Jackson talked about 'world peace' and his iconic dance moves. Jackson also expressed his admiration for Rahman's music in 'Slumdog Millionaire' and asked him some technical questions. “He introduced me to his kids, but I was jet-lagged because I’d been working day and night. I was waiting to return to India. It was unforgettable,” he said.
Rahman said that upon returning to India, he began working on Rajinikanth's 'Enthiran'. Which is when, director Shankar asked why he hadn’t collaborated with Jackson on a song. “I said, ‘Wow, will he do a Tamil song?’ And I called him, and we spoke that week. He said, ‘Whatever you say, we will do it together’. We met again, but unfortunately, he passed away in 2009. He was sick at the time.”
AR Rahman won two Oscars for 'Slumdog Millionaire' in 2009.
