Allah-Rakha Rahman (
pronunciation (help·info), born
A. S. Dileep Kumar on 6 January 1967) is an Indian composer, singer-songwriter, music producer, musician and philanthropist.
[3] Rahman's works are noted for integrating
Eastern classical music with
electronic music,
world music and traditional orchestral arrangements. Among his
awards are two
Academy Awards, two
Grammy Awards, a
BAFTA Award, a
Golden Globe, four
National Film Awards, fifteen
Filmfare Awards and thirteen
Filmfare Awards South. Rahman's body of work for film and stage has given him the nickname of "the
Mozart of Madras", and Tamil commentators and fans call him
Isai Puyal (English: the Musical Storm).
[4]
With an in-house studio (
Panchathan Record Inn in
Chennai) Rahman's film-scoring career began during the early 1990s with the Tamil film
Roja. Working in
India's film industries,
international cinema and theatre, Rahman is one of the world's all-time best-selling recording artists.
[7][8][9] In a notable two-decade career, he has been acclaimed for redefining contemporary Indian film music and contributing to the success of several films. Rahman has become a notable humanitarian and philanthropist, donating and raising money for a number of causes and charities.
Early life
Rahman (left) receiving a platinum award at the MagnaSound Awards; MagnaSound released his first film soundtrack,
Roja, in 1992.
Rahman was born in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India in a middle-class Tamil
Mudaliar[10] family. His father,
R. K. Shekhar, was a film-score composer and conductor for
Tamil and
Malayalam films; Rahman assisted his father in the studio, playing the keyboard. After his father's death when Rahman was nine years old, the rental of his father's musical equipment provided his family's income.
[11] Raised by his mother, Kareema (born Kashturi),
[1] Rahman was a keyboard player and arranger for bands such as Roots (with childhood friend and percussionist
Sivamani, John Anthony,
Suresh Peters, JoJo and Raja)
[3] and founded the Chennai-based rock group Nemesis Avenue.
[12] He mastered the keyboard, piano, synthesizer,
harmonium and guitar, and was particularly interested in the synthesizer because it was the "ideal combination of music and technology".
[13]
Career
Soundtracks
Rahman's film career began in 1992 when he started
Panchathan Record Inn, a recording and mixing studio in his backyard. It would become the most-advanced recording studio in India,
[19] and arguably one of Asia's most sophisticated and high-tech studios.
[20]
He initially composed scores for documentaries and jingles for advertisements and
Indian television channels. In 1987 Rahman, then still known as Dileep, composed jingles for a line of watches introduced by
Allwyn. In 1992, he was approached by director
Mani Ratnam to compose the score and soundtrack for his Tamil film,
Roja.
[19][21]
Cinematographer
Santosh Sivan signed Rahman for the
Malayalam film
Yodha, directed by Sivan's brother
Sangeeth Sivan and released in September 1992. The following year, Rahman received the
Rajat Kamal (Silver Lotus) award for best music director at the
National Film Awards for
Roja. The films' score was critically and commercially successful in its original and dubbed versions, led by the innovative theme "
Chinna Chinna Aasai". Rahman followed this with successful scores for
Tamil–language films for the Chennai film industry, including Ratnam's politically-charged
Bombay, the urban
Kadhalan,
Thiruda Thiruda and
S. Shankar's debut film
Gentleman (with its popular dance song, "
Chikku Bukku Rayile").
[22][23][24][25] Rahman collaborated with director
Bharathiraaja on
Kizhakku Cheemayile and
Karuththamma, producing successful Tamil rural folk-inspired scores; he also composed the saxophone score for
K. Balachander's
Duet.
[26][27] The 1995 film
Indira and romantic comedies
Mr. Romeo and
Love Birds also drew attention.
[28][29][30]Rahman attracted a Japanese audience with
Muthu's success there. His soundtracks are known in the Tamil Nadu film industry and abroad for his versatility in combining Western
classical music, Carnatic and Tamil traditional and folk-music traditions,
jazz,
reggae and rock music.
[32][33][34][35] The
soundtrack for Bombay sold 12 million copies worldwide,
[36] and "
Bombay Theme" would later reappear in his score for
Deepa Mehta's
Fire and a number of compilations and other media. It was featured in the 2002 Palestinian film
Divine Intervention and the 2005
Nicolas Cage film,
Lord of War.
Rangeela, directed by
Ram Gopal Varma, was Rahman's
Bollywood debut.
[37] Successful scores for
Dil Se.. and the percussive
Taal followed.
[38][39] Sufi mysticism inspired "
Chaiyya Chaiyya" from the former film and "Zikr" from his score for
Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose: The Forgotten Hero (which featured elaborate orchestral and choral arrangements).
[18] Rahman's score for the Chennai production
Minsaara Kanavu won him his second National Film Award for Best Music Direction and a
South FilmFare Award for Best Music Direction in a Tamil film in 1997, the latter setting a record of six consecutive wins; he later went on to win the award three consecutive additional times. The musical cues in the scores for
Sangamam and
Iruvar used Carnatic vocals, the
veena, rock guitar and jazz.
[40] During the 2000s, Rahman composed popular scores for
Rajiv Menon's
Kandukondain Kandukondain,
Alaipayuthey,
Ashutosh Gowariker's
Swades,
Rang De Basanti[41] and songs with Hindustani motifs for 2005's
Water. Rahman has worked with Indian poets and lyricists such as
Javed Akhtar,
Gulzar,
Vairamuthu and
Vaali, and has produced commercially-successful soundtracks with directors
Mani Ratnam and
S. Shankar (
Gentleman,
Kadhalan,
Indian,
Jeans,
Mudhalvan,
Nayak,
Boys,
Sivaji and
Enthiran).
[42]
In 2005 Rahman expanded his Panchathan Record Inn studio by establishing
AM Studios in Kodambakkam, Chennai, creating the most cutting-edge studio in Asia.
[43][44] The following year he launched his own music label, KM Music,
[45] with his score for
Sillunu Oru Kaadhal.[46] Rahman scored the
Mandarin-language film
Warriors of Heaven and Earth in 2003 after researching and using
Chinese and
Japanese classical music,
[47] and won the
Just Plain Folks Music Award For Best Music Album for his score for 2006's
Varalaru (God Father).
[48] He co-scored
Shekhar Kapur's first British film,
Elizabeth: The Golden Age, in 2007
[49] and received a Best Composer
Asian Film Award nomination at the
Hong Kong International Film Festival for his
Jodhaa Akbar score.
[50] Rahman's music has been sampled for other scores in India,
[51] appearing in
Inside Man,
Lord of War,
Divine Intervention and
The Accidental Husband. His score for his first Hollywood film, the 2009 comedy
Couples Retreat, won the
BMI London Award for Best Score.
[52]Rahman's score for 2008's
Slumdog Millionaire won a Golden Globe and two Academy Awards (a first for an Asian), and the songs "
Jai Ho" and "
O... Saya" from its soundtrack were internationally successful. His music on 2008's Bollywood
Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na was popular with Indian youth; that year, his score for
Jodhaa Akbar won critical acclaim, a Best Composer Asian Film Award nomination and
IIFA awards for best music direction and score. In 2010, Rahman scored the romantic
Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa, the sci-fi romance
Enthiran and
Danny Boyle's
127 Hours, composing for the
Imtiaz Ali musical
Rockstar; the latter's soundtrack was a critical and commercial success.
[53] In 2012 Rahman scored
Ekk Deewana Tha and the American drama
People Like Us,
[54] and collaborated with director
Yash Chopra on
Jab Tak Hai Jaan.
[55] all were positively received.
[56] By the end of the year his music for Mani Ratnam's
Kadal was critically acclaimed, and the album topped the
iTunes India chart for December.
[57] In 2013, Rahman had two releases:
Raanjhanaa and
Maryan. Both were successful, with the former nominated for a number of awards
[58][59][60] and the latter the
iTunes India Tamil Album of 2013.
[61]
The year 2014 was one of the busiest years for Rahman, with him claiming to have worked in 12 films in various languages.
[62] While his first release for the year was the
Imtiaz Ali's road movie
Highway which garnered positive reviews, his very next release was the performance captured animation film
Kochadaiiyaan, a
Rajinikanth starrer directed by
Soundarya Rajinikanth. The film's score and soundtrack garnered huge critical appraise with its score being
long-listed at the forthcoming
Academy Awards.
[63] His next was the score was for the two back to back Hollywood films,
Million Dollar Arm and
The Hundred Foot Journey, both of which got into the contended list for the original score category nomination at the Oscars. This was followed by the highly successful score for the period drama
Kaaviya Thalaivan teaming up with director
Vasanthabalan for the first time. His next release was
Shankar's supernatural thriller
I and
K. S. Ravikumar's period action film
Lingaa, both of which were highly acclaimed and appreciated upon release.
Background scores
Apart from successful soundtracks, he is also known for highly acclaimed background scores and is considered, one of the finest background-score composers in India.
[64] His background scores are often characterised by the usage of subtle orchestration and ambient sounds.
[64]
Trained in western classical music, he often employs contemporary instruments such as Guitars, Cello, Flute, Strings, Keyboard, Finger board, Harpejji, Santoor and traditional Indian instruments such as Shehnai, Sitar, Mrudangam, Veenai & Tabla to create scores.
Apart from getting high critical appreciations, several of Rahman's background scores have earned him many prestigious awards ranging from Academy awards to Filmfare awards.
[64][65] Some of the films which fetched him appreciations for background scores include
Roja,
Bombay,
Iruvar,
Minsara Kanavu,
Dil Se..,
Taal,
Lagaan,
The Legend of Bhagat Singh,
Swades,
Rang De Basanti,
Bose: The Forgotten Hero,
Guru,
Jodhaa Akbar,
Raavanan,
Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa,
Rockstar,
Kadal and
Kochadaiiyaan. Among his Hollywood scores,
Warriors of Heaven and Earth,
Slumdog Millionaire,
127 Hours,
Million Dollar Arm and
The Hundred-Foot Journey received rave reviews. A. R. Rahman received two
Academy Awards for
Slumdog Millionaire and two
Academy Award nominations for
127 Hours. Recently, his scores for
Kochadaiiyaan,
Million Dollar Arm and
The Hundred-Foot Journey have been nominated in the long list released by
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
[66][67]
Performing and other projects
Rahman has also been involved in
non-film projects.
Vande Mataram, an album of original compositions released for India's 50th anniversary of its independence in 1997,
[68][69][70] is one of India's bestselling non-film albums.
[71] He followed it with an album for the
Bharat Bala–directed video
Jana Gana Mana, a collection of performances by leading exponents and artists of
Indian classical music.
[72]Rahman has written advertising jingles and orchestrations for athletic events, television and Internet media, documentaries and short films,
[73] frequently using the Czech Film Orchestra and the Chennai Strings Orchestra.
Rahman at 2010 Sydney concert
Since 2004 Rahman has performed three successful world
tours before audiences in Singapore, Australia, Malaysia,
Dubai, the United Kingdom, Canada, the United States and India,
[76][78] and has been collaborating with
Karen David on her upcoming studio album. A two-disc CD,
Introducing A. R. Rahman (featuring 25 of his Tamil film-score pieces), was released in May 2006
[79] and his non-film album
Connections was released on 12 December 2008.
[80] Rahman performed at a White House
state dinner arranged by US President
Barack Obama during an official visit by Indian Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh on 24 November 2009.
[81] He is one of over 70 artists on "
We Are the World 25 for Haiti", a
charity single to raise relief funds in the wake of the
2010 Haiti earthquake.
[82] In 2010, Rahman composed "
Jai Jai Garvi Gujarat" in honour of the 50th anniversary of the formation of Gujarat State,
[83] "
Semmozhiyaana Thamizh Mozhiyaam" as part of the
World Classical Tamil Conference 2010,
[84] and the theme song for the
2010 Commonwealth Games, "
Jiyo Utho Bado Jeeto".
[85]Rahman began his first world tour, (
A. R. Rahman Jai Ho Concert: The Journey Home World Tour) on 11 June 2010 at
Nassau Coliseumin New York; 16 cities worldwide were scheduled.
[86]
In January 2012 the
Deutsches Filmorchester Babelsberg announced that it would join
KM Music Conservatory musicians for a 100-member concert tour of five Indian cities (Germany and India 2011–2012: Infinite Opportunities), performing Rahman's songs. The marked the centennial of Indian cinema and Babelsberg Studio, the world's oldest film studio.
[64]
In December 2012 Rahman and
Shekhar Kapoor launched Qyuki, a networking site which is a platform for story writers to exchange their thoughts. Cisco invested ₹270 million in the startup, giving it a 17-percent share. Qyuki uses Cisco's cloud infrastructure for the site.
[95][96][97] On 20 December he released the single "Infinite Love" in English and Hindi, commemorating the last day of the Mayan calendar to spread hope, peace and love. Rahman's 2013 tour, Rahmanishq, was announced on 29 July 2013 in
Mumbai. Beginning in Sydney on 24 August, the tour moved to a number of cities in India.
[98]
Musical style and impact
Rahman's musical interests and outlook originate in his love of experimentation. His compositions, like other
Chennai film composers, have an
auteuristic use of
counterpoint, orchestration and the
human voice, melding Indian pop music with a unique
timbre, form and instrumentation. With this syncretic style and wide-ranging lyrics, the appeal of Rahman's music crosses classes and cultures in Indian society.
[101]
His first soundtrack, for
Roja, was listed on
Time's all-time "
10 Best Soundtracks" in 2005. Film critic
Richard Corliss said that the composer's "astonishing debut work parades Rahman's gift for alchemizing outside influences until they are totally Tamil, totally Rahman",
[102] and his initial global success is attributed to the
South Asian diaspora. Music producer
Ron Fair considers Rahman "one of the world's great living composers in any medium".
[103]
I had come to the music of A. R. Rahman through the emotional and haunting score of
Bombay and the wit and celebration of
Lagaan. But the more of AR's music I encountered the more I was to be amazed at the sheer diversity of styles: from swinging brass bands to triumphant anthems; from joyous pop to West-End musicals. Whatever the style, A. R. Rahman's music always possesses a profound sense of humanity and spirit, qualities that inspire me the most.
[104]
On 21 May 2014 Rahman announced that he has partnered with former Black Eyed Peas’ Will.i.am to recreate an early popular track 'Urvashi Urvashi'. Track is 'Birthday'.
[106]
Awards
Rahman was the 1995 recipient of the Mauritius National Award and the Malaysian Award for his contributions to music,
[107] and 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, he has fifteen
Filmfare Awards and thirteen
Filmfare Awards South for his music.
[107] Rahman has received a
Kalaimamani from the
Government of Tamil Nadu for excellence in the field of music, musical-achievement awards from the
governments of Uttar Pradesh and
Madhya Pradesh and a
Padma Shri from the
Government of India.
[108] In 2006, he received an award from
Stanford University for his contributions to global music.
[109] The following year, Rahman entered the
Limca Book of Records as "Indian of the Year for Contribution to Popular Music".
[110]He received the 2008 Lifetime Achievement Award from the
Rotary Club of Madras.
[111] In 2009, for his
Slumdog Millionaire score, Rahman won the
Broadcast Film Critics Association Award, the
Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score,
[112] the
BAFTA Award for Best Film Music and two
Academy Awards (
Best Original Score and
Best Original Song, the latter shared with
Gulzar) at the
81st Academy Awards. He has received honorary doctorates from
Middlesex University,
Aligarh Muslim University,
[113][114] Anna University in Chennai and Miami University in Ohio.
[115]The composer has won two
Grammy Awards:
Best Compilation Soundtrack Album and
Best Song Written for Visual Media.
[116] Rahman received the
Padma Bhushan, India's third-highest civilian honour, in 2010.
[117] His work in
127 Hours won him Golden Globe, BAFTA, and two Academy Award nominations (Best Original Music Score and Best Original Song) in 2011.
[118][119][120] Rahman is an Honorary Fellow of the
Trinity College of Music.
[121]
On 24 October 2014 Rahman was awarded an honorary doctorate from
Berklee College of Music during a concert paying tribute to his music featuring an international cast of students. Upon receiving his award he commented that being honored by Berklee illustrates how his life has come full circle, as at the start of his career, he had planned to study at Berklee before being offered the opportunity to score
Roja.
[122] During his 7 May 2012 acceptance speech of his
honorary doctorate from
Miami University in
Ohio, Rahman mentioned that he received a Christmas card from the family of the
President of the United States and an invitation to dinner at the
White House.
[123] A street was named in his honour in Markham, Ontario, Canada in November 2013.
[124]
Personal life
Rahman is married to Saira Banu and has three children: Khatija, Rahima and Ameen.
[125] Ameen has sung "NaNa" from
Couples Retreat, and Khatija has sung "Pudhiya Manidha" from
Enthiran.
[126][127] Rahman is the uncle of composer
G. V. Prakash Kumar, the son of his older sister
A. R. Reihana.
[128] Kumar's first film work was singing on Rahman's "Chikku Bukku Rayile", from his score for 1993's
Gentleman.
[129] Reihana's film debut was singing on "Vidai Kodu Engal Naadae" from
Kannathil Muthamittal, and she is a music director. Rahman's younger sister, Fathima, heads his music conservatory in Chennai. The youngest, Ishrath, has a music studio. Rahman is the brother-in-law of film actor
Rahman.
[130]
An atheist during much of his childhood, in 1989 Rahman converted to Islam (the religion of his mother's family). After the early death of his father, his family experienced difficult times;
Sufism influenced his mother and, eventually, his family.
[131][132] During the
81st Academy Awards ceremony Rahman paid tribute to his mother: "There is a Hindi dialogue,
mere pass ma hai, which means 'even if I have got nothing I have my mother here'."
[133] He said, "
Ella pughazhum iraivanukke" ("All praise to God" in
Tamil, a translation from the
Quran) before his speech.
[134]
Humanitarian work
In 2008 Rahman and noted percussionist
Sivamani created a song, "Jiya Se Jiya", inspired by the
Free Hugs Campaign and promoted it with a video filmed in a number of Indian cities.
[140]
LABORATORY TECHNICAL ASSISTANT / MEDICAL LABORATORY TECHNICIAN - VHSE
