Musician AR Rahman prefers lip-sync over songs in background

Mumbai: Composer AR Rahman doesn't favour the trend of using songs in the background because he feels it affects its popularity.

In the 1970s filmmakers Basu Chatterjee would often force his songs into the background and some of the current directors like Shoojit Sircar and Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra feel the same and avoid lip-sync songs in their films.

But Rahman begs to differ.

"A lot of my very good songs in films like 'Rang De Basanti' and 'Delhi 6' were used as soundtracks in the background. They were not used as lip-sync. So the reach of those songs was just 30 or 40 percent of what it was meant to be," said Rahman.

"Songs that are sung by major stars on screen get played in clubs and on radio. They make a psychological impact on the audiences' mind," he added

The Oscar winning composer is looking for a more prominent outlet for his creativity.

"One reason why I want to do music in young stories is because these films allow their actors to sing on screen," he said.