The competition is a thing of the past. Jaane Tu is the winner, but more importantly Rahman has proven himself that he can do peppy numbers too, and not just “sulky” class movies.

Starting with Roja, Rahman revolutionised Indian music, gave them new sounds and novel dimensions. Though mainly localised in Kollywood in the early nineties, Rangeela established him as a new event in the music industry, and then came his era - Bombay, Love Birds, Hum Se Hein Mukabla...

This early period till Lagaan can be considered his early period. The focus then was on fusion and “worldisation” (from “world music”) of Bollywood. However, Lagaan marked a twist of his musical career when he was no more “world” but more “Indian”. He began to symbolize India and the East for the western audience. Period films are the markers of this phase - The Legend of Bhagat Singh, Zubeida, Water, Bose, the Hero. Another marker is the increasing Sufi element of this time, beginning with Vandemataram. This continues with the sole song in Fiza, and then comes Meenaxi, and the predominant Sufi feel of Guru. What can be considered as belonging to the early phase of this period are Yuva and Tehzeeb, both of them as much Tamil as it is Hindi.

With Jaane Tu Rahman is embarking on a new phase. To follow are Yuvraaj, Gajini, Dilli 6, etc.

Ada, of course, is a musical journey through the phases.