It’s been 20 years of collaborative work between the two legends. After performing the gospel blues song, Adiye from the film – with Rahman in his element, tapping feet and fingers flying flying across piano keys – Kollywood’s god of music and god of cinema greeted each other like old friends. “Don’t tell me I haven’t finished the BGM,” joked ARR as the two shook hands. He added quickly, “When you work for someone this long, you get to understand how they think.” Mani Ratnam, a tad more serious went on to ask about the music composer’s process of composing tracks for the film. “How do you come up with these songs?” he asked. “Like Adiye, I wasn’t even there when you recorded it...” Apparently, the song was intended to be played to the director as a surprise and when he heard it the first time, he was speechless. “I remember you didn’t say anything the first time you heard it...” laughed Rahman, who explained that his creative process usually draws a parallel between the storyline and the culture of the film. Thus, Christian fisherman led to a gospel feel. “I didn’t say anything, “ responded Ratnam, “because I was so stunned.” Clearly, with this director, a loss of words, is a good thing.