A. R. Rahman
| A. R. Rahman | ||
|---|---|---|
 | ||
| Background information | ||
| Birth name | A. S. Dileep Kumar | |
| Also known as | Allah Rakha Rahman | |
| Born | January 6, 1967 | |
| Origin | Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India | |
| Genre(s) | Film score Soundtrack Theatre World Music | |
| Occupation(s) | Film composer, Singer | |
| Instrument(s) | Keyboards, vocals, guitar, piano, harmonium, percussion, other | |
| Years active | 1992 – present | |
| Website | Official Website | |
Allah Rakha Rahman (Tamil: ஏ.ஆர்.ரஹ்மான்) (born on January 6, 1967 as A. S. Dileep Kumar in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India) is an internationally renowned musician, best known for composing film scores and soundtracks.
In a career spanning over a decade, Rahman has sold more than one hundred million records world-wide, and sold over two hundred million cassettes making him one of the world's top 25 all-time top selling recording artists.
Biography
A. R. Rahman is the only son of R. K. Shekhar, 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 as a source of income.
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. He later played in 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. His music was used 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. 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 debut led Rahman to receive the Rajat Kamal award for best music director at the National Film Awards, the first time ever by a first-time film composer. Rahman has since then gone on to win the award three more times (for Minsaara Kanavu (Electric Dreams, Tamil) in 1997, Lagaan (Tax, Hindi) in 2002 and Kannathil Muthamittal (A Kiss 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 hit, in its original and dubbed versions, and Rahman followed it up with a number of other 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 sales of these albums prompted movie producers to take film music more seriously. Rahman's playback singing in several of his albums was also admired.
Rahman's work is also unique in the fact that his collaborations with some film directors have always resulted in successful albums. In particular, he has worked with Mani Ratnam on ten films until 2006, all of which have been musical hits. Also notable is his collaboration with the director S. Shankar - in Gentleman, Kadhalan, Indian, Jeans, Mudhalvan, Nayak, Boys and Sivaji.
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".In addition to influencing western audiences, Rahman also impressed eastern audiences with his music so much that he was hired by Chinese director He Ping to compose the score and soundtrack for the Chinese film Warriors of Heaven and Earth in 2003.
His latest work includes Water, Rang De Basanti, Sillunu Oru Kaadhal, Guru , Varalaru and Sivaji: The Boss. Rahman has scored the movie Provoked and is also working on Shyam Benegal's next venture, Chamki Chameli, which is set for release in late 2007 as well as Jodhaa Akbar.
Rahman is a recipient of the Padma Sri, one of the highest civilian awards in India, and has been described as the "Mozart from Madras".
Other works
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 conglomeration of performances by all the leading exponents/artists of Indian classical music.
Andrew Lloyd Webber, a well-known composer of musicals, hired Rahman to compose his maiden stage production, Bombay Dreams (2002). This play was well received in England. Furthermore, Rahman, along with the Finnish folk music band Värttinä, composed the music for The Lord of the Rings theatre production, which first opened in Toronto on March 23, 2006, and a new production of which begins previewing in London at The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane from May 9, 2007.
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. Rahman has performed in concerts and tours worldwide. He performed at the Hollywood Bowl amphitheatre in July 2006, with Indian singers Sukhwinder Singh, Hariharan and Sadhana Sargam, as well as American performing groups Raagapella and Global Rhythms, to a sold-out crowd.
Music style
Rahman's interest in the works of Classical and Romantic period composers, Carnatic composers, early film composers and predecessors K. V. Mahadevan and Vishwanathan-Ramamoorthy of the Tamil film industry and others continued through his late teens. He further explored and trained in Carnatic music, Western classical, Hindustani music and the Qawalli style of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, in addition to numerous other styles. His interest and outlook in music is said to stem from his love of experimentation. As a result, his scores have alternated from songs and themes composed covering a variety of genres, with unconventionally-grouped instruments, and different vocal styles being used and combined together in some of his film soundtracks, to more traditional orchestral themes with leitmotif techniques composed in others. Rahman's works often feature a mix of minimalist songs and evocative, thematic pieces, building on his differing chord progressions and rhythms. He has written scores and songs with new and varied melodic and percussive sounds from instruments of different music systems. This unique blend he pioneered would come to be known as his avant-garde sound.
Awards and nominations
- For a full list of awards and nominations, see List of A. R. Rahman awards and accolades.
Discography
The AR Rahman Foundation
The vision of the AR Rahman Foundation is to eradicate poverty globally. As a first step towards achieving this vision, the Foundation will set up and partner with educational institutions across India. These institutions will provide education to children who do not have the means to access and fund their education.
Philanthropy
Rahman has also worked with Cat Stevens / Yusuf Islam for his song "Indian Ocean" .The song featured A-ha keyboard player,Magne Furuholmen and Travis drummer, Neil Primrose.The proceeds of the song went to help orphans in Banda Aceh, one of the areas worst affected by the Tsunami.
Personal life
Rahman (born Dileep Kumar) is the second of four children born to R.K. Shekhar and Kareema Begum (Kasthuri). He has three sisters, Rehana (Kanchana), Fatima Talat (Bala) and Israth. He is married to Saira. He has three children - Khatija, Rahima and Amin. Rahman is an alumni of PSBB Lake Area School, Nungambakkam, Chennai. His nephew G. V. Prakash Kumar is an upcoming music director in Kollywood.
See also
- Panchathan_Record_Inn - Rahman's own recording studio
- H.Sridhar - Chief Audio Engineer of Panchathan Record Inn
- Best selling music artists - World's top-selling music artists chart
he converted to islam when one of his sisters was gravely ill. Having done everything in his capacity he went to a moque and prayed and promised to convert to islam if his sister was saved. She was saved and he converted.
References
- ^ BBC. Top Selling artists. Retrieved on 26 October, 2006.
- ^ Rediff. Top Selling artists. Retrieved on 26 October, 2006.
- ^ a b A. R. Rahman: Short Biography. TFM Page Magazine (January 2006). Retrieved on 15 February, 2007.
- ^ a b A. R. Rahman: Summary Biography. A. R. Rahman: A Summary Biography (November 2002). Retrieved on 15 February, 2007.
- ^ Time.com. Top 10 Movie Soundtracks of All Time. Retrieved on 26 October, 2006.
- ^ Imdb.com. Warriors of Heaven and Earth. Retrieved on 26 October, 2006.
- ^ Time.com. Retrieved on 5 December, 2006.
- ^ A. R. Rahman: Table Profile. Nilacharal. Retrieved on 15 February, 2007.
