Early life and influences
A. R. Rahman is the only son of R. K. Sekhar, 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. During early difficulties, an unexplainable illness of Rahman's sister, Reihana disappeared after a visit by a Sufi saint. This led Dileep to convert to Islam, changing his name to Allah Rakha Rahman.
During these early years, Rahman served as a keyboardist and an arranger in bands with friends, embracing numerous music genres. He played the keyboard and piano, in addition to the synthesizer, the harmonium and the guitar. His curiosity in the synthesizer in particular increased because, he says, it was the “ideal combination of music and technology.” He began training in Carnatic music. At the age of 11, he joined the troupe of Indian composer Ilaiyaraaja as a keyboardist.[1] 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 graduated with a degree in Western classical music.
Summary of Career
Film scoring and soundtracks
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 music of Indian 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(yes). In 1992, 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 super hit 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 Kannathi lMuthamittal (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, in its original and dubbed versions, and Rahman followed it up with a number of other extremely popular films, including Bombay, Kadhalan, Indira, Minsaara Kanavu , Muthu and Love Birds. His soundtracks gained him recognition and notice in the Tamil film industry and across the country for his versatality in classical, folk, jazz, reggae, soft rock and other styles. Rangeela, directed by Ram Gopal Varma, marked Rahman's debut in Hindi films. Many popular albums for films including Dil Se and Taal followed. The huge sales of these albums prompted movie producers to take film music more seriously. Rahman's playback singing in several of his albums was also widely admired.
Rahman's work is also unique in the fact that his collaborations with some film directors have always resulted in hugely successful albums. In particular, he has worked with Mani Ratnam on ten films until 2006, all of which have been musical superhits. Also notable is his collaboration with the director S. Shankar - in Gentleman, Kadhalan, Indian, Jeans, Mudhalvan, Nayak, Boys and Sivaji.
His first movie album Roja was listed in TIME magazine's "Top 10 Movie Soundtracks of All Time".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] The music of this film was very much appreciated in
His latest work includes Water, Rang De Basanti, Sillunu Oru Kaadhal and Guru. He has recently finished working on Shankar's next venture Sivaji: The Boss with superstar Rajnikanth in the lead and the audio has received a superb response. Rahman is also working on Shyam Benegal's next venture, Chamki Chameli, which is set for release in the middle of 2007 as well as the much awaited Jodhaa Akbar starring Hrithik Roshan and Aishwarya Rai. Also he has given Aishwarya Rai movie Provoked. Its music is soulful one, tttally inline with the story line.
Rahman is a recipient of the Padma Sri, one of the highest civilian awards in
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