AR Rahman says he only travels, works at night; visits dargah early morning: ‘I get up at 2:30 am, go to sleep at 7 am’ | Bollywood News

Music composer AR Rahman is popular for his nocturnal work schedule. He has often opened up about being able to focus better in night’s silence as compared to the hustle during daytime. In a recent conversation with Mashable India, Rahman revealed that he finds the ‘mundane’ schedule of sleeping at night and waking up in the morning ‘boring’ and prefers to follow the opposite.
When asked about tackling Mumbai’s heavy traffic, he replied, “I never travel during the day. I am night owl because in the night there is no traffic, I can go anywhere. I sometimes go to the dargah early morning, and then before the traffic comes, I go and sleep off. From the time of Taal, it has been the same thing.”
Rahman further added that he finds it mundane and boring to sleep at night and wake up in the morning. “I am sleeping at night nowadays. It is very boring to sleep in the night and wake up in the morning, for my lifestyle, I am not saying it’s a bad thing. Normally, I get up at 2:30 am and go to sleep at 7 am in the morning.”
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In the same interview, AR Rahman also spoke about how he learned the importance of riyaz (practice) from late Lata Mangeshkar. He said, “We did a concert in 2006 with Lata Ji’s foundation in Hyderabad. Before the concert, I hear someone practicing. Lata ji was inside, practicing with a harmony. I thought, ‘Why does she have to practice? She is Lata Mangeshkar.’ I said to myself, ‘Oh, is that how people do things? when I started riyazing. I do it for around 30-40 minutes now.”
Taal director Subhash Ghai had recalled how Rahman works late at night. “Rahman normally records from 9 pm to 6 am. We spent 70 nights to compose the music of Taal. I remember when Kavita ji came for the recording. She was supposed to sing an antara and a mukhda. We thought it will be completed in maximum 45 minutes to 1 hour. There I realised one thing about Rahman’s technique and way of working. He kept on recording and told her ‘You carry on. Once more.’ Eventually, he told her, ‘You carry on singing till you feel fed up.’ He played the rhythm on loop and she kept singing for hours.”