The director is keen to recreate the magic of Rangeela's music with AR Rahman

Close to 16 years after they first collaborated on the chart-busting score of Rangeela, Ram Gopal Varma is keen to work on a sequel with AR Rahman to re-create the magic of his 1995 blockbuster.

Where did that come from, you ask? Varma met AR Rahman at the launch of the music composer's biography last week, and the incident led the director to want to work with Rahman again.

At the launch, Rahman thanked Mani Ratnam, Subhash Ghai, Ashutosh Gowariker, and Varma, for their contribution to his career. But he only took the name of one film -- Rangeela. That's when Varma began to think about a Rangeela sequel.

"When Rahman mentioned Rangeela, I was deeply moved. The fact that he feels it was a significant film in his career is something I agree with. I was flooded with memories of the music of Rangeela, " Varma recalled.

"I was terrified of the music Rahman had created for Rangeela. The songs were so awesome, I felt I wouldn't be able to do visual justice. If we work together again, it has to be on something that would do justice to Rahman's music. Of course I want to work with him again, but I have to come up with a script that won't let him down. "

Varma said a lot of effort had gone into the making of the musical score for Rangeela. "Rahman composed Hai Rama and Tanha Tanha in Goa and the title track Ho Ja Rangeela Re in my apartment in Mumbai. "

"When Rahman came to me with the original tune for Hai Rama, for which my brief to him was to create a sound like Kate Nahin Kat Te from Mr India, it sounded like a bhajan. I told him so and Rahman, who has no arrogance, immediately re-did the tune. His music always comes from his heart. "

Varma has already begun work on the idea of carrying forward the Rangeela music legacy. But he is tight-lipped about the details.