“The year was 1992 and I was returning to Chennai from a trip abroad. I remember everyone was talking about a film titled Roja. At that time, I would casually mention to people that the hero (Arvind Swamy) was my classmate. Girls would just swoon when they heard that! A few years later, when Aruna and I got engaged, we met Arvind and she was very impressed that we go back a long way.
1992 was also the year when I first heard the Kaadhal Rojave song which would go on to be one of my favourites. I am a huge fan of older Tamil film music, having grown up listening to the works of MSV and Ilaiyaraaja. But Kaadhal Rojave and Tamizha Tamizha... both those songs had a new kind of sound. Those tunes stayed in my head for many days after I first heard them.
The songs marked a new era in Tamil movies and signalled the start of the rise of composer AR Rahman. Even today, when I hear these songs, it takes me back instantly to the Nineties.”
(As told to )