The Mozart of Madras, also lovingly known as Isai Puyal in Tamil, A R Rahman turns 49
today. The music maestro has given some of the best musical compositions to Indian music
industry and is the contemporary international face for Indian music.
On his birthday, here is a look at his journey so far.
The Mozart of Madras, also lovingly known as Isai Puyal in Tamil, A R Rahman turns 49 today. The music maestro, who has given some of the best musical compositions to the Indian music industry, had a controversial 2015 and faced a religious backlash after he composed music for the film Muhammad: The Messenger of God.
On his birthday, here is a look at his journey so far.
Allah Rakha Rahman was born as R S Dileep Kumar in Chennai in 1966 to a musically
affluent Tamil family. His father R K Shekhar, was a Chennai based composer and conductor
for Tamil and Malayalam films. Rahman's father died when he was 9 and his family rented
out his father's musical equipments as a source of income.
His musical training began early under Master Dhanraj. At 11, he joined Ilaiyaraaja as a
keyboardist. Ilaiyaraaja was one of many composers who rented Rahman's father's musical
equipment. Rahman went on to accompany Zakir Hussain and L Shankar on world tours. He
also won a scholarship to the Trinity College of Music where he graduated with a degree in
Western classical music.
During his formative years, Rahman served as keyboardist and music arranger in bands
such as Roots, with childhood friend and percussionist Sivamani. He also founded Chennai
based rock band Nemesis Avenue in which he played the keyboard, piano, synthesizer,
harmonium and guitar. He was particularly interested in the synthesizer for it's 'ideal
combination of music and technology'.
Rahman went through a period of religious transformation in which he first became an
atheist and then converted to Islam, his mother's religion. It was at the age of 23 that he
changed his name from R S Dileep Kumar to Allah Rakha Rahman.
He paid tribute to his mother in his Oscar speech saying, "There is a Hindi dialogue 'mere
pass ma hai' which means even if I have got nothing I have my mother here."
A R Rahman is married to Saira Banu and they have three children, Khadijah, Rahima and
Aameen. He has kept his family and private life well out of the media spotlight.
In 1992, Rahman began his own music recording and mixing studio attached to the
backyard of his house called the Panchathan Record Inn, which was developed into India's
most advanced recording studio. He initially composed music jingles for advertisements,
Indian Television channels and music scores in documentaries, among other
projects.
That same year, he landed director Mani Ratnam's Roja and won the Rajat Kamal
Award for Best Music Director at the National Film Awards - the first time ever for a
debutant composer.
In 1992, Rahman began his own music recording and mixing studio attached to the
backyard of his house called the Panchathan Record Inn, which was developed into India's
most advanced recording studio. He initially composed music jingles for advertisements,
Indian Television channels and music scores in documentaries, among other
projects.
That same year, he landed director Mani Ratnam's Roja and won the Rajat Kamal
Award for Best Music Director at the National Film Awards - the first time ever for a
debutant composer.
Rahman has since then went on to win the award three more times, for Minsaara
Kanavu (Tamil, 1997), Lagaan (Hindi, 2002) and Kannathil Muthamittal
(Tamil, 2003): the most ever by any composer.
The collaboration between Mani Ratnam and A R Rahman has given several successful
scores to the Indian film industry such as Bombay, Kadhalan, Thiruda
Thiruda, Iruvar, Dil Se, Saathiya, Yuva, Guru and the
much anticipated Mani Ratnam's latest film Kadal.
Rangeela (1995), directed by Ram Gopal Varma, marked Rahman's debut in
Bollywood.
He partnered with Mani Ratnam again for his Bollywood film Dil Se (1998) giving
us, among other memorable songs, Chaiyya Chaiyya and Jiya Jale.
Hot on Dil Se's heels came the percussive Taal (1999), in which music and
song played as important a role as did it's heroine, Aishwarya Rai.
The same year, Rahman, along with choreographers Shobhana and Prabhu Deva and a Tamil
cinema dancing troupe performed with Michael Jackson in Munich, Germany, for his Michael
Jackson and Friends Concert.
As the millennium rolled by, Rahman continued to make sweet music both in Bollywood
and down South. He composed soul stirring scores for Rang De Basanti and
Swades. On home ground, he worked on Rajiv Menon's Kandukondain
Kandukondain and Alaipayuthey.
In 2002, he composed his maiden stage production Bombay Dreams (2002)
following a commission from musical theatre composer Andrew Lloyd Webber, a success in
London's West End. With Finnish folk music band Varttina, he wrote the music for The
Lord of the Rings theatre production and in 2004, Rahman composed the piece Raga's
Dance for Vanessa-Mae's album Choreography.
Rahman attached and opened a developed extension studio to his Panchathan Record
Inn in 2005 called AM Studios in Kodambakkam, Chennai - considered to be the most
developed, equipped and high tech studio in Asia.
In 2006, Rahman launched his own music label, KM Music. Its first release was his score to
the film Sillunu Oru Kaadhal.
In 2007, Rahman forayed West with Shekhar Kapur's film Elizabeth: The Golden
Age. He co-scored the music with Craig Armstrong.
2008 was a big year for the music maestro as he scored the music for English director
Danny Boyle's Oscar award winning film, Slumdog Millionnaire. The songs Jai
Ho and O…Saya from the soundtrack met with commercial success internationally,
which brought him a slew of awards including Best Original Music Score and Best Original
Song at the Oscars. He also won a BAFTA and a Golden Globe.
. In 2010, Oscar glory eluded AR Rahman's 127 Hours track If I Rise in the Original
score and Original Song category. He lost the Original Score Oscar to Trent Reznor and
Atticus Ross for The Social Network.
Though the BAFTA eluded him too, he bagged the Best Original Song award at the 16th
Critics' Choice Awards for If I Rise.
On March 31, 2010, A R Rahman was awarded the Padma Bhushan for his contribution to
Indian music.
On March 31, 2010, A R Rahman was awarded the Padma Bhushan for his contribution to
Indian music.
The same year, the musician once again put India in the spotlight by adding two songs to
the album of international group SuperHeavy, which boasts of members like Rolling
Stones legend Mick Jagger, English singer-songwriter Joss Stone, English musician Dave
Stewart and Jamaican reggae artist Damian Marley.
In 2012, Rahman scored music for the musical film Ekk Deewana Tha and Yash
Chopra's last directorial film Jab Tak Hai Jaan but both the movies was not able to
create the same impact as his previous films.
Rahman has been involved in several projects besides films. He made an album
Vande Mataram (1997) on India's 50th anniversary of Independence which earned
commercial success. He followed it up with an album for the Bharat Bala-directed video
Jana Gana Mana, a conglomeration of performances by many leading exponents of
Indian classical music.
In December 2012, Rahman unveiled his first solo album in over 15 years, to promote his
message of love and global brotherhood. During the making of the single, titled Infinite
Love, Rahman personally interacted with his fans and tapped into their perspectives on
topics such as creating a borderless world, understanding of karma and the
importance of being human.
Rahman has written jingles for ads and composed several orchestrations for athletic
events, TV and internet media publications, documentaries and short films. He also
composed the official song for the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi in 2010.