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A. R. Rahman

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A. R. Rahman<tr style="text-align: center;"><td colspan="3">A. R. Rahman:A R Rahman
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Background information

<tr><td>Birth name</td><td colspan="2">A. S. Dileep Kumar</td></tr><tr><td>Also known as</td><td colspan="2">Allah Rakha Rahman</td></tr><tr><td>Born</td><td colspan="2">January 6, 1966</td></tr><tr><td>Origin</td><td colspan="2">Madras, Tamil Nadu, India</td></tr><tr><td>Genre(s)</td><td colspan="2">Film score
Soundtrack
Theatre
World Music</td></tr><tr><td>Occupation(s)</td><td colspan="2">Film composer
Vocalist
Keyboardist</td></tr><tr><td>Instrument(s)</td><td colspan="2">Keyboards, vocals, Other</td></tr><tr><td>Years active</td><td colspan="2">1991 – present</td></tr><tr><td>Website</td><td colspan="2">Official Website</td></tr>

Allah Rakha Rahman (Tamil: ஏ.ஆர்.ரஹ்மான்); born on January 6, 1966 as A. S. Dileep Kumar in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India) is a composer, best known for authoring a number of famous film scores and soundtracks for the Indian film industries.


Contents

Early years

Rahman is the only son of R. K. Sekhar, who was a composer, arranger and conductor for Malayalam films. His father died when Rahman was nine years old, and his family used to rent out musical equipment to make ends meet, something they found very difficult. During those hard times, a Sufi (Muslim) saint helped them spiritually. This led Dileep to convert to Islam, changing his name to Allah Rakha Rahman.

At the age of 11, Rahman joined the troupe of Indian composer Ilaiyaraaja as a keyboardist. He later played on the orchestra of M. S. Viswanathan and Ramesh Naidu, and accompanied Zakir Hussain and Kunnakudi Vaidyanathan on world tours. The experience allowed him to obtain a scholarship to Trinity College at Oxford University, where he received a degree in Western classical music.

In 1991, Rahman began his own studio (attached to his house), called the Panchathan Record Inn. He initially composed music for use in advertisements, the title musicIndian Television channels and music in documentaries, among other projects. Rahman was, at first, hesitant about composing music for the Indian film industry primarily because most film makers at the time used songs as "fillers" - a means by which the audience was given a break from the movie's plot. In 1991 he was approached by film director Mani Ratnam, who offered Rahman the job as composer for his upcoming Tamil language film Roja, at a price of Rs. 25,000. Rahman accepted, and the movie's superhit debut made him a household name in Tamil Nadu virtually overnight and led Rahman to receive the Rajat Kamal award for best music director at the Indian National Film Awards, the first time ever by a debutant. Rahman has since then gone on to win the award 3 more times (for Minsaara Kanavu (Electric Dreams, Tamil) in 1997, Lagaan (Tax, Hindi) in 2002 and Kannathil Muthamittal (A Peck on the Cheek, Tamil) in 2003), the most ever by any composer.

When Rahman arrived on the Indian music scene with his first film Roja, he brought about a transformation of film music. Roja was a massive hit, and Rahman followed it up with a number of other extremely popular films, including Bombay, Rangeela, Dil Se and Taal. Rangeela, directed by Ram Gopal Varma, marked Rahman's debut in Hindi films. The huge sales of these albums prompted movie producers to take film music more seriously.
A. R. Rahman:Lord Lloyd-Webber with A. R. Rahman
Lord Lloyd-Webber with A. R. Rahman

Rahman's work is also unique in the fact that his collaborations with a few film directors have always resulted in hugely successful albums. In particular, he has worked with Mani Ratnam on eight movies (until 2004) (see list of movies by Mani Ratnam featuring A R Rahman), all of which have been musical superhits. Also notable is his collaboration with the director S. Shankar (Gentleman, Kadhalan, Indian, Jeans, Mudhalvan, Nayak, Boys and Sivaji).

He made an album Vande Mataram (1996) on India's national song, singing the title song on the album. He followed it up with an album called Jana gana mana, a huge conglomeration of performances by all the leading exponents/artists of Indian classical music.

Andrew Lloyd Webber, a well known composer of musicals, was impressed with Rahman's unique style and therefore hired him to compose his maiden stage production Bombay Dreams (2002). This play was well received in England and opened him up to new vistas in Hollywood. Furthermore, Rahman, along with the Finnish folk music band Värttinä, composed the music for The Lord of the Rings theatre production, which opened in Toronto on March 23 2006.

The following article was written in TIME magazine about Rahman's achievements. His first movie album Roja was listed in TIME magazine's "Top 10 Movie Soundtracks of All Time".[1]

In addition to influencing western audiences, Rahman also impressed eastern audiences with his music so much that he was tapped by Chinese director He Ping to compose the score and soundtrack for the Chinese film Warriors of Heaven and Earth in 2003.[2] The music of this film was very much appreciated in Asia and in India.

On May 23rd 2006, a two-disc album soundtrack, titled Introducing A.R. Rahman, was released by Times Square Records, featuring 25 songs he composed from Tamil film soundtracks spanning 1993-2001. The compillation soundtrack was well received. In addition to this, Rahman performed at the Hollywood Bowl amphitheatre in July of 2006, with Indian singers Sukhwinder Singh, Hariharan and Sadhana Sargam, as well as American performing groups Raagapella and Global Rhythms, to a sell out crowd.

His latest work includes Yuva, Bose - The Forgotten Hero, Swades, Mangal Pandey - The Rising, Rang De Basanti and Sillunu Oru Kaadhal. He is currently working on Mani Ratnam's next venture Guru, and on one of Shyam Benegal's next ventures, Chamki Chameli, which is set for release in 2007.

Rahman is a recipient of the Padma Shri and is known around the world as the "Mozart from Madras".

Awards and nominations

A.R. Rahman has won the following awards:

A.R. Rahman has been nominated for the following awards:

Partial discography

Films

YEARTamilTeluguHindiMalayalamMarathiEnglishMandarin
1992RojaRojaRoja (1994)RojaRoja
1992Ashokan (1993)Yoddha (1995)Dharam Yodha (1993)Yodha
1993Uzhavan
1993Thiruda ThirudaDonga DongaChor Chor (1996)
1993Pudhiya MugamPadmavyuhamVishwa Vidhatha (1997)
1993GentlemanGentlemanThe Gentleman
1994Vandicholai ChinnaraasuBobili Paparayudu
1994Super PoliceSuper PoliceKhel Khiladi Ka (1996)
1994Pudhiya Mannargal
1994Pavithra
1994May MadhamHridayaanjali (1999)
1994Kizhakku CheemayilePalnati Pourusham
1994KaruththammaVanitha/Osey Krishnamma
1994KadhalanPremikudu (1995)Humse Hai Muqabla
1994DuetDuetTu Hi Mera Dil
1995IndiraIndiraPriyanka
1995BombayBombay (1995)Bombay (1995)
1994Manitha ManithaGang Master
1995RangeelaRangeliRangeela
1995MuthuMuthu (1995)Muthu Maharaja (2001)
1996Love BirdsLove Birds (1997)Love Birds (1997)
1996IndianBharateeyuduHindustani
1996Kadhal DesamPrema DesamDuniya Dilwalon Kiii
1996FireFire
1996Mr RomeoMr RomeoMr Romeo (1997)
1996Anthimantharai
1997Minsara KanavuMerupu KalaluSapnay
1997IruvarIddaru
1997Ottam50-50Daud: Fun On The Run
1997RatchaganRakshakudu
1997Mona LisaKabhi Na Kabhi
1997Vishwa Vidhaata
1998JeansJeansJeans
1998UyirePrematho..Dil Se..
19981947/Earth
1998Doli Saja Ke Rakhna
1999En Swasa KaatrePremante Pranamistha
1999JodiJodi
1999PadayappaNarasimha
1999TaalamTaal
1999Thakshak
1999Kadhalar DhinamPremikula RojuDil Hi Dil Mein
1999Pukar
1999Sangamam
1999Taj Mahal
1999MudhalvanOke OkkaduNayak (2001)
2000Alai PayutheySakhiSaathiya (2002)
2000Fiza (1 out of 8 tracks)
2000Kandukondain KandukondainPriyuralu Pilichindi
2000RhythmJeevithamma Chirunavva
2000ThenaliTenali
2000Zubeidaa
2001One 2 Ka 4
2001Love You Hamesha
2001Star
2001Lagaan
2001Parthale ParavasamParavasam
2001Alli Arjuna
2002Kannathil MuthamittalAmrutha
2002The Legend of Bhagat Singh
2002BabaBaba
2002Kadhal Virus
2003Udhaya
2003ParasuramPolice Kartavyam
2003BoysBoys
2003Warriors of Heaven and Earth
2003Enakku 20 Unakku 18Nee Manasu Naaku Telusu
2003Kangalal Kaidhu Sei
2003Tehzeeb
2004Lakeer
2004Meenaxi: A Tale of Three Cities
2004Aayitha EzhuthuYuvaYuva
2004NewNaani
2004Dil Ne Jise Apna Kahaa (3 out of 8 Tracks)
2004Swades
2004Kisna - The Warrior Poet (6 out of 16 tracks)
2005Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose: The Forgotten Hero
2005The Rising - Ballad of Mangal Pandey
2005Anbe Aaruyire
2005Water
2006Rang De Basanti
2006Provoked
2006Sillunu Oru KaadhalNuvvu Nenu Prema
2006Varalaru - The Story of the Godfather
2006GuruGuruGuru
2007Akbar-Jodha
2007Sivaji: The BossSivaji: The Boss
2007London Dreams
2007Sakkarakatti
2007Lajjo
2007Exclusion
2007Azhagiya Tamil Magan

Note: "Year" indicates the year the earliest version of any multi-language movie was released. Movies with the year next to the title dictates that the film was either dubbed or released later than the original version of the movie.

The following films had soundtracks reused from previous albums:

The soundtrack of Nicolas Cage's Lord Of War (2005), features the instrumental piece "Bombay Theme" from the Tamil film Bombay, directed by Mani Ratnam.

The soundtrack of Spike Lee's Inside Man (2006), features the song Chaiyya Chaiyya from the Hindi film Dil Se, directed by Mani Ratnam.

Non-film

Personal life

Rahman (born Dileep Kumar) is the second among four children of R.K. Shekhar and Kareema Begum (Kasthuri). He has three sisters, Rehana (Kanchana), Talat (Bala) and Israth. He has three children - Khatija, Rahima and Roomi.

Trivia

See also

References

  1. ^ Time.com. Top 10 Movie Soundtracks of All Time. Retrieved on 26 October, 2006.
  2. ^ Imdb.com. Warriors of Heaven and Earth. Retrieved on 26 October, 2006.
  3. ^ BBC. Top Selling artists. Retrieved on 26 October, 2006.
  4. ^ Rediff. Top Selling artists. Retrieved on 26 October, 2006.
  5. ^ Rediff. Top Selling artists. Retrieved on 26 October, 2006.

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1966 births | 20th century classical composers | 21st century classical composers | Converts to Islam | South Asian Muslims | Indian film score composers | Living people | Padma Shri recipients | Tamil people | People from Chennai | Indian film singers | Indian male singers | Indian Muslims | Kollywood playback singers | Bollywood playback singers

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