A.R. Rahman

Originally known by the name A.S. Dileep Kumar, Rahman was introduced to music at a young age by his father, a successful film musician and conductor. At age four Rahman started to learn classical piano, however by his teens had mastered the keyboard, harmonium, guitar and had a vested interest in synthesisers. By age 11 Rahman was playing in the orchestra of M.K. Arjunan, followed by orchestras of M.S. Viswanathan and Ramsh Naidu, and later earned a scholarship from Trinity College of Music in London, UK. The musician soon found a job as a session musician for film soundtracks, however before long found the process tedious and moved onto commercial jingles.

Following his conversion to Islam in 1989, A.S. Dileep Kumar changed his name to Allah Rakha Rahman i.e. A.R. Rahman. Also in 1989, following a successful advertisement jungle for Leo Coffee, Rahman was introduced to Mani Ratnam, who enlisted the musician’s help with the score for K. Balachander’s 1992 film “Roja”. The soundtrack proved to be a colourful and genre expanding score that earned the composer three awards for Best Music Director at the National Film Awards.

In 1993 Rahman scored the soundtracks for six films, and increased his workload to nine the year after. Rahman notably crafted the soundtrack to “Ratnam’s Bombay” in 1994 which showcased the composer’s disregard for the limits of cultures and genres. Following these successful soundtracks Rahman signed a three year deal with Sony Records and released his debut non-film album “Vande Mataram” in 1997. The album was made available in 28 countries across the world and celebrated India’s 50 year anniversary since their independence.

After a number of shows across Canada, Europe and the U.S., Rahman collaborated with Talking Heads frontman David Byrne, and scored the soundtrack to David Lloyd Webber’s “Bombay Dreams”. The theatre production ran for over 250 performances in London and New York and once again showcased another string of the talented composer’s bow. In 2005 Rahman opened up AM Studios, which is conceivably the most advanced recording studio in Asia, and proved the home to a number of Rahman’s productions.

In 2007 Rahman produced the soundtrack to the English-language film “Elizabeth: The Golden Age”, which was followed by his most high-profile Western film to date “Slumdog Millionaire”. The film went on to win eight Academy Awards, including two for Rahman for Best Original Score and Best Song. In 2011 Rahman joined the ranks of the supergroup SuperHeavy alongside Mick Jagger, Dave Stewart, Joss Stone and Damian Marley, and a year later composed a Punjabi song for the Danny Boyle-directed London Olympics opening ceremony.