Allah-Rakha Rahman or more precisely A.R Rahman is an eminent Indian music composer, singer , song writer, philanthropist and music producer. His original name was A. S. Dileep Kumar but later converted to Islam after the death of his father. His unique style of blending eastern classical music along with electronic music has helped him to carve a niche for himself globally. His talent won him countless national and international awards. In the year 2009, he was included in TIME’s list of “the world’s most influential people”.
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Early Life and Back ground
A.R Rahman was born on 6th January 1967 in Chennai . His father, R.K Shekher was a film conductor and a score composer in Tamil Film Industry. His mother, Kareema Begum, was a home maker. He has an elder sister A. R. Reihana who is also a play back singer. Rahman used to assist his father in the studio from a very tender age. When his father died, he was just a 9 years old kid. The family used to earn their living by renting the musical instruments of his father. Rahman soon trained himself as a key board player and music arranger. He is a close friend of Sivamani, John Anthony, Suresh Peters, JoJo and Raja . Together with them he used to arrange music for brands like Roots. He also established a band called Nemesis Avenue. Rahman started gaining knowledge in both Indian and Western music. He took his initial training on music from Master Dhanraj.
From a tender age of 11, he started playing in the orchestra of M. K. Arjunan who was a close friend of his father. In subsequent years he started working for composers like Ilaiyaraaja, Ramesh Naidu, Raj-Koti and many more. He also got the chance to accompany famous musicians of the country like Zakir Hussain, Kunnakudi Vaidyanathan etc on world tours. By dint of his talent, he won a scholarship from Trinity College of Music and graduated in Western Classical Music.
Career
During the initial days of his career, A.R Rahman used to compose music and jingles for television commercials and documentaries. His jingle for the commercial ad of “Titan” became very popular. Lady luck favored him in the year 1992 when he was approached by Mani Ratnam to compose music for his movie Roja. The music was an instant hit and he earned “Rajat Kamal” award and “ National Award” for the movie. In the same year, he established his own recording studio called “Panchathan Record Inn” in the backyard of his house which is now regarded as one most sophisticated and technically advanced music studio in Asia.
After the spectacular success of the movie Roja, A.R Rahman worked in innumerable movies in the country which include Bombay, Rangeela, Jodhaa Akbar, Highway, Enthiran and many more. He has been the part of many international projects which include Slumdog Millionaire, Elizabeth: The Golden Age, Couples Retreat and so on. He released an album named “ Vande Mataram” on 50th anniversary of India’s independence. The album was a huge hit. Apart from this he performed in many national and international shows and undertook many world tours.
Awards
In his glorious career, he won many national and international awards and accolades that include 2 Academy Awards, 2 Grammy Awards, a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe, 4 National Film Awards, 15 Filmfare Awards , 13 Filmfare Awards South etc. For his talent, he is known as the “Mozart of Madras”.
Philanthropy
Apart from this, Rahman is associated with many social issues like “Save the Children India” etc. He was also the global ambassador of a WHO project called Stop TB Partnership in 2004.
A.R. Rahman – Wife
A.R Rahman is married to Saira Banu. The couple is blessed with three kids namely Khatija, Rahima and Ameen
A R Rahman – Net Worth
A.R Rahman has a net worth of $ 280 Million.