ALLAH RAKHA RAHMAN

ALLAH RAKHA RAHMAN

His Early Life

A.R. Rahman was born in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India to a musically affluent Mudaliar Tamil family.He was born in 6^th August 1966 nd his birth name is A.S. DEELIP KUMAR…. His father R. K. Shekhar, was a film music composer and conductor for Tamil as well as Malayalam films. Rahman used to assist his father during recordings and play keyboard for the songs. Rahman lost his father at the age of 9 and his family had to rent out his father's musical equipment as their source of income. Rahman was raised by his mother Kareema (born Kashturi). During these formative years, Rahman served as a keyboard player and an arranger in bands such as "Roots", with childhood friend and percussionist Sivamani, John Anthony, Suresh Peters, JoJo and Raja. Rahman is the founder of the Chennai-based rock group, "Nemesis Avenue". He mastered various music instruments like Keyboard, Piano, Synthesizer, Harmonium and Guitar. His curiosity in Synthesizer in particular, increased because, he says, it was the "ideal combination of music and technology".

At the age of 11, he started playing musical instruments in the orchestra of Malayalam composer and a close friend of Rahman's father, M. K. Arjunan.Soon he started working with other composers such as M. S. Viswanathan, Ilaiyaraaja, Ramesh Naidu, Raj-Koti and also accompanied Zakir Hussain, Kunnakudi Vaidyanathan and L. Shankar on world tours and obtained a scholarship with Trinity College, London, board of the Trinity College of Music. Studying in Chennai, he graduated with graded examinations and a diploma in Western classical music via the college. He was introduced to Qadiri Islam when his younger sister fell severely ill in 1984. Subsequently, Rahman along with other members of his family converted to Islam in 1989, when he was 23 years old. He changed his name from A. S. Dileep Kumar to Allah Rakha Rahman i.e. A. R. Rahman.

First Film

Rahman would later say, "I wasn't sure myself why I accepted Roja. I was offered Rs.25,000 for it, a sum that I could make in three days composing ad jingles. I think it was the prospect of working with Mani that enticed me. Mani is no the usual kind of director who uses songs as fillers. He takes great pains over the music of his films. I love his picturisations, he can elevate a routine song by 400 percent; give it a new dimension." All the same, as a newcomer Rahman was terrified over his film debut. Expectations were high. What a fall if he failed! "Mani praised everything I did. Later I realised it was to keep me going. He discarded whatever bore the influence of others and picked out tunes that had my individual stamp. ''This is you!" he'd say.''

Rahman's D-Day arrived when 'Roja' was released on August 15th, 1992. It was awaited with curiosity since it was Mani Ratnam's first film without Illaiyaraja. Sceptics doubted the ability of a 25-year old debutant.

The entire film world and filmgoers were in for a pleasant surprise. Rahman delivered the goods and how. To call the music a superhit would be an understatement. Rahman became a household name in Tamil Nadu overnight and the score of 'Roja' was the first step in his changing the face of Indian film music. 'Roja' not only won the heart of millions with its music it also won every conceivable award in music that year. Rahman also got the Rajat Kamal for best music director at the National Film Awards, the first time ever by a debutant.  He was flooded with offers to do more films. He gradually cut down on his work in ads and subsequently moved into film music full time. And there was no looking back for A. R. Rahman. With 'Roja', A. R. Rahman had finally arrived.

Recalling the massive success of his first film, Rahman says, "I was lucky to set a sound in the first film. And I had the right people like Mani Ratnam guiding me to achieve it also and by the grace of god it set and the people know from the moment the song is heard that this is Rahman's." Mani Ratnam, in response says,  "I was not trying to any favours for Rahman. I was trying to do a film, I wanted good music and I was searching for somebody who would and I heard a demonstration tape of his which he had sent across. I thought that in the first note of the piece that he had sent me was really brilliant, really outstanding piece. So I went across to his studio and he played me some more, lots of things which he had done for jingles and a few other musical pieces he has done for somebody else. They were quite amazing and I had no doubts that he would be right for my film. How much he would grow, I was not looking at. I was looking at predominately my film at that point of time. He was ready to break a lot of conventions that were there in terms of music at that point of time, in terms of recording at that point in time. So I was very lucky to find someone who was willing to break away and do something different. To that extent it was absolutely perfect. He is the perfect bridge between today's technology and Indian music. He has the soul of Indian music inside and there is a lot of engineering and recording talent in him. He is able to blend the two together. He is a very talented person."

Awards

AR Rahman at his residence in Chennai after bagging two Academy Awards for his work in Slumdog Millionaire (2009)

Rahman was the 1995 recipient of the Mauritius National Award and the Malaysian Award for contributions to music. He was nominated for a Laurence Olivier Award for his first West-End production. A four-time National Film Award winner and recipient of six Tamil Nadu State Film Awards, fourteen Filmfare Awards and thirteen Filmfare Awards South for his music and scores.He has been conferred Kalaimamani from the Government of Tamil Nadu for excellence in the field of music, special music achievement awards from the Government of Uttar Pradesh and Government of Madhya Pradesh and the Padma Shri from the Government of India. In 2006, he received an honorary award from Stanford University for contributions to global music. In 2007, Rahman was entered into the Limca Book of Records as "Indian of the Year for Contribution to Popular Music", and the Guinness World Records in 2010 as the original composer of "Maa Tujhe Salaam", from the album Vande Mataram - the song performed in the most number of languages worldwide (265). He is the 2008 Lifetime Achievement Award recipient from the Rotary Club of Madras. In 2009, for his score of Slumdog Millionaire, Rahman won the Broadcast Film Critics Association Award, the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score, the BAFTA Award for Best Film Music, and two Academy Awards for Best Original Music Score and Best Original Song at the 81st Academy Awards. Rahman has received honorary doctorates from Middlesex University and Aligarh Muslim University. Later the year Rahman was conferred the honorary doctorate from Anna University in Chennai. He has also won two Grammy Awards, for Best Compilation Soundtrack Album and Best Song Written for a Visual Media. Rahman was awarded the Padma Bhushan, India's third highest civilian honor, in 2010. Rahman's work for the film 127 Hours garnered him Golden Globe, BAFTA, and two Academy Award nominations for Best Original Music Score and Best Original Song in 2011. He is an Honorary Fellow of the Trinity College of Music, presented to him by Trinity College London…

A.R. RAHMAN’S ACHIEVEMENTS

A two-time Academy Award (Oscar) winner, A. R. Rahman is popularly known as the man who

has redefined contemporary Indian music. Hailed by Time Magazine as the 'Mozart of Madras',

Rahman, according to a BBC estimate, has sold more than 150 million copies of his work

comprising of music from more than 100 film soundtracks and albums across over half a dozen

languages, including landmark scores such as 'Roja', 'Bombay', 'Lagaan', and more recently,

'Jodhaa Akbar', 'Delhi 6' and 'Slumdog Millionaire'.

Rahman pursued music as a career at a very young age and after assisting leading musicians in

India went on to compose jingles and scores for popular Indian television features. He also

obtained a degree in western classical music from the Trinity College of Music, London and set

up his own in-house studio called Panchathan Record-Inn at Chennai.

In 1997, Sony Music signed up Rahman as its first artiste in South Asia. The result was 'Vande

Mataram', an album that instantly made Indians relate to it and succeeded in rekindling the spirit

of patriotism. In 2001, Andrew Lloyd Webber, invited Rahman to compose for his musical,

'Bombay Dreams'. 'Bombay Dreams' had an unprecedented run for 2 years and later premiered

at New York's Broadway. Rahman recently composed the score for the stage production of 'The

Lord of the Rings'.

Rahman has undertaken several sellout concert tours in over 30 international destinations

including one at the prestigious Hollywood Bowl in 2006. Recently, Times Magazine rated the

soundtrack of 'Roja' in the Top 10 of their all time best movie soundtracks of the world; The

Guardian, UK, listed the soundtrack of 'Bombay' in '1000 albums to listen before you die'.

Rahman's music led him to be noticed internationally with several of his tracks featuring in movies

such as 'The Lord of War', 'Inside Man' and 'The Accidental Husband'. His composition, Bombay

Theme holds the distinction of being featured in over 50 international compilations. He also

scored the music for the Hollywood productions, 'Elizabeth - The Golden Age', 'Slumdog

Millionaire', 'Couples Retreat' and the Chinese movie, 'Warriors of Heaven & Earth' produced by

Sony Pictures.

In 2008, Rahman's work gained global prominence with the extraordinary success of his score for

'Slumdog Millionaire' that won 8 Academy Awards including two for Rahman, for Best Score and

Best Song. Rahman won over 15 awards for his score including two Grammys, the Golden Globe

and the BAFTA.

Rahman has been bestowed with two of India's highest national civilian honours, recognising his

contribution to music, in addition to several other awards including 4 Indian National Film Awards

and 25 Filmfare Awards, India's leading recognition for films. He was also named as one of the

100 most influential people in the world by Time Magazine, in 2009.

Rahman has expanded his focus to newer horizons like setting up the A.R Rahman Foundation to

help poor and underprivileged children. He released his first English single, 'Pray For Me Brother'

in 2007, with proceeds from the sales going to the foundation. He also serves as the UN

Ambassador for the 2015 Millenium Development Goals.

                     

                         “ BE PROUD TO BE AN INDIAN”