/> Tired of the relentless attention during the last few months A R Rahman has a sincere request for all those who want a piece of his action.

Please let him be. He needs to catch his breath.

Alas, earlier commitments have forced Rahman to return to Chennai from Bangalore where he was holed up last month.

Says a source very close to Rahman, "The workload is getting heavier.

Rahman is inundated with work from both home and abroad. He has taken on one new Bollywood project Abbas Tyrewala's 1-800-Love, and he needs to finish Tony D'Souza's Blue whose background score and the Kylie Minogue item are yet to be completed.

On top of that Rahman has to deal with false stories about his global conquests. Like the one that said he had replaced David Beckham in a cellphone ad for a staggering free."

Such stories are making Rahman extremely wary of the future. Friends feel he's being put under tremendous performance anxiety and this may reflect on the quality of his work."

Says the friend, "Rahman has decided to stay completely away from the public glare for some time. He is currently spending time on the music of Abbas Tyrewala's film.

Then he has called Tony D'Souza to Chennai to complete the music of Blue. After that he will quietly leave for London and the US. Under no circumstance will he allow himself to be put under the mircroscope."

When contacted Rahman had only one thing to say, "I'd just like to retreat in my cave for a while."