In 1997, AR Rahman was 30. After five years of composing film music that had made him one of India’s most beloved composers, he was brimming with freshness and an eagerness to create something beyond music for cinema. The timing was perfect – India was celebrating 50 years of its independence and Sony Music was entering the subcontinent. Maa Tujhe Salaam: Vande Mataram flowed out of his recording studio and into the hearts and minds of a new generation, making it a sort of young anthem, celebrating India.
