This is the time to take up direction: AR Rahman

Having spent over three decades in the world of music, AR Rahman says that he is now raring to direct his first film.
The 50-year-old music composer is all set to make his debut with the world's first virtual reality (VR) multi- sensory episodic feature film, "Le Musk".
Set in Rome, the film revolves around the protagonist Juliet, played by French actress Nora Arnezeder, who has a smell fixation.
"I thought it's the right time to do it (direction). No one was doing this type filmmaking and this type of narrative with VR. Our screenwriters supported me immensely.
The writer, Gurachi Pheonix, said the idea was "bang on", Rahman says.

"He even said he would not let any other person direct the film," the music director-and-singer said in group interview here.

He, however, added that while he may have donned the hat of a filmmaker, music would always be his first love.
"Filmmaking is a tough job. I am simply reinventing the application of music through films. But music will always come first. It's like sitting in the middle of an orchestra and performing instead of watching from the other side," he said.
He added that while making a film often takes up to two years or more, "Le Musk" didn't seem that "exhausting". "I didn't have to give two years of my life," he said.

The Oscar-winning music director, who has also done the music for the film and is one of its screenwriters, adds that he cannot afford to have a "musician's block".
"Every time a review comes out, they (critics) say it (music) is so bad. But I feel it is new every time. It takes some time to absorb," he says.
But, clearly, Rahman is excited about the new venture, which will be distributed by PVR along with YM Movies.