Working in several of India's various film industries, international cinema and theatre, by 2003, Rahman, in a career spanning over a decade, has sold more than 100 million records of his film scores and soundtracks worldwide,[1] and sold over 200 million cassettes[2] making him one of the world's all-time top selling recording artists.
His acclaimed music compositions have led TIME Magazine to declare him the "Mozart of Madras" and several Tamil commentators have given him the title Isai Puyal (Tamil: இசைப் புயல்; English: Musical Storm).
Early life and influences
A. R. Rahman was born to a Tamilian family — his father R. K. Shekhar was a composer and conductor for Malayalam-language films of Keralite cinema. His father died when Rahman was nine years old, and his family rented out musical equipment as a source of income.
He converted to Islam (Sufism) from Hinduism in 1989 along with his family.[3] During these early years, Rahman served as a keyboard player and an arranger in bands such as "Roots" with childhood friend and percussionist Sivamani, John Anthony, JoJo and Raja.[4] Rahman is the founder of the Chennai-based rock group, "Nemesis Avenue".[5] He played the keyboard and piano, 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".[6] He began early training in music under Master Dhanraj. At the age of 11, he joined, as a keyboardist, the troupe of Ilaiyaraaja,[6] one of many composers to whom musical instruments belonging to Rahman's father were rented. Rahman later played in the orchestra of M. S. Viswanathan and Ramesh Naidu, accompanied Zakir Hussain, Kunnakudi Vaidyanathan and L. Shankar on world tours and obtained a scholarship to Trinity College of Music in London, where he graduated with a degree in Western classical music.[3]
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Summary of career
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Film scoring and soundtracks
In 1992, Rahman began his own music recording and mixing studio attached to the backyard of his house called the Panchathan Record Inn, which was developed into India's most advanced recording studio.[7] He initially composed music jingles for advertisements, Indian Television channels and music scores in documentaries, among other projects. In 1992, he was approached by film director Mani Ratnam to compose the score and soundtrack for Ratnam's Tamil film Roja.[7] The 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 his scores for Minsara Kanavu (Electric Dreams, Tamil) in 1997, Lagaan (Tax, Hindi) in 2002, Kannathil Muthamittal (A kiss on the Cheek, Tamil) in 2003, the most ever by any composer.[8]
Roja's score met with high sales and acclaim, in its original and dubbed versions, bringing about a marked change in film music at the time, and Rahman followed this with successful scores for Tamil–language films of the Chennai film industry including Ratnam's political Bombay, the urbanite Kadhalan, Bharathiraaja's Karuththamma, the saxophonic Duet, Indira, and the romantic comedies Minsaara Kanavu and Love Birds, which gained him considerable notice.[9][10] His fanbase in Japan increased with Muthu 's success there.[11] His soundtracks gained him recognition in the Tamil Nadu film industry and across the world for his stylistic versatality in his pieces including in Western classical, Carnatic, Tamil traditional/folk, jazz, reggae and rock music.[12][13][14] The Bombay Theme — from Ratnam's Bombay, — would later reappear in Deepa Mehta's Fire and various compilations and media. Rangeela, directed by Ram Gopal Varma, marked Rahman's debut for Hindi–language films, made in the Mumbai film industry. Many successful scores for films including Dil Se and the percussive Taal followed.[15][16] Sufi mysticism would form the basis of Chaiyya Chaiyya from the former and the composition "Zikr" from his score of the film Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose: The Forgotten Hero for which he created large orchestral and choral arrangements.[4] Musical cues in scores for Sangamam and Iruvar employed Carnatic vocals and instruments such as the veena with leads of rock guitar and jazz.[17] In the 2000s Rahman created hit scores for Rajiv Menon's Kandukondain Kandukondain, Alaipayuthey, Ashutosh Gowariker's Swades and Rang de Basanti.[18] He composed songs with Hindustani motifs for Water (2005).
Rahman has worked with Indian poets and lyricists such as Gulzar, Mehboob, Vairamuthu and T. S. Rangarajan (Vaalli). His collaborations with some film directors have always resulted in successful soundtracks, particularly with the director Mani Ratnam who he has worked with since Roja, all of which have been hits, and the director S. Shankar in the films Gentleman, Kadhalan, Indian, Jeans, Mudhalvan, Nayak, Boys and Sivaji.[19]
Rahman attached and opened a developed extension studio to his Panchathan Record Inn in 2005 called AM Studios in Kodambakkam, Chennai — considered to be the most developed, equipped and high tech studio in Asia.[20][21] In 2006, Rahman launched his own music label, KM Music.[22] Its first release was his score to the film Sillunu Oru Kaadhal. Rahman scored the Mandarin language picture Warriors of Heaven and Earth in 2003 after researching and utilizing Chinese and Japanese classical music, and co-scored the Shekhar Kapoor helmed Elizabeth: The Golden Age in 2007. His compositions have been reused in scores within India[23] and have made appearances in Inside Man, Lord of War and The Accidental Husband.
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Other works
Rahman has been involved in several projects aside from film. He made an album Vande Mataram (1997) on India's 50th anniversary of independence to commercial success.[24][25] He followed it up with an album for the Bharat Bala–directed video Jana Gana Mana, a conglomeration of performances by many leading exponents/artists of Indian classical music. Rahman has written jingles for ads and composed several orchestrations for athletic events, T.V. and internet media publications, documentaries and short films.
In 1999, Rahman, along with choreographers Shobhana and Prabhu Deva Sundaram and a Tamil cinema dancing troupe performed with Michael Jackson in Munich, Germany, for his "Michael Jackson and Friends Concert." In 2002, he composed his maiden stage production Bombay Dreams (2002) following a commission from musical theatre composer Andrew Lloyd Webber, a success in London's West End. With Finnish folk music band Värttinä, he wrote the music for The Lord of the Rings theatre production and in 2004, Rahman composed the piece "Raga's Dance" for Vanessa-Mae's album Choreography.[8]
In the last six years, Rahman has performed three successful world tours of his concerts to audiences in Singapore, Australia, Malaysia, Dubai, UK, Canada, the US (Hollywood Bowl and 3d tour) and India.[8] He has been collaborating with Karen David for her upcoming studio album. A two-disc soundtrack, Introducing A. R. Rahman (2006) featuring 25 pieces he composed from his Tamil film scores was released in May 2006. His latest non-film album, Connections was launched on 12th December, 2008.
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Music style and impact
Skilled in Carnatic music,[26] Western classical, Hindustani music and the Qawwali style of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Rahman has been noted to write film songs that amalgamate elements of these music systems and other genres, layering instruments from differing music idioms in an improvisatory manner.[4] Symphonic orchestral themes have accompanied his scores, where he has employed leitmotif. In the 1980s, Rahman recorded and played arrangements on mono, synonymous with the era of predecessors such as K. V. Mahadevan and Vishwanathan–Ramamoorthy, but later his methodology changed. Rahman worked and experimented on fusing traditional instruments with new electronic sounds and technology.[4]
His interest and outlook in music stems from his love of experimentation.[3] Rahman's compositions, in the vein of past and contemporary Chennai film composers, bring out auteuristic uses of counterpoint, orchestration and the human voice, evolving Indian pop music with unique timbres, forms and instrumentation. By virtue of these qualities, broad ranging lyrics and his syncretic style, his themes appeal to several sections of Indian society.[27]
His first soundtrack Roja was listed in TIME's "Top 10 Movie Soundtracks of All Time" in 2005. Film critic Richard Corliss felt the "astonishing debut work parades Rahman's gift for alchemizing outside influences until they are totally Tamil, totally Rahman."[28] Rahman's initial global reach is attributed to the South Asian diaspora. Described as one of the most innovative composers to ever work in the industry, his unique style and immense success transformed film music in the 1990s prompting several film producers to take film music more seriously.[29]
The director Baz Luhrmann notes
"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.[30]
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Awards
Main article: List of A. R. Rahman awards
Rahman is the 1995 recipient of the Mauritius National Award and the Malaysian Award for contributions to music. He was nominated for a Laurence Olivier Award for his first West-End production. A four time National Film Award winner and conferred the Padma Shri from the Government of India, Rahman has received six awards for Best Music at the Tamil Nadu State Film Awards and eleven awards for his scores at the Filmfare and Filmfare Awards South each. In 2006, he received an honorary award from Stanford University for contributions to global music.[31] A 2008 Critics Choice Awards winner for Best Composer, Rahman became the first Indian national to win a Golden Globe, winning for Slumdog Millionaire in the category of Best Original Score.[32] Rahman received three Academy Award nominations in 2009—Best Original Score and two different Best Original Songs for the same movie.[33]
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Personal life
A. R. Rahman is married to Saira Bano. The couple have three children, Khatija, Rahima, and Aman. Rahman is related to the southern Indian actor Rashin Rahman. Rahman is the uncle of composer G. V. Prakash Kumar.
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Social service
Rahman is involved in various charitable causes. In 2004, he was appointed as the Global Ambassador of the Stop TB Partnership, a project by WHO.[8] He has shown support to charities including Save the Children, India, and 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 towards helping orphans in Banda Aceh, one of the areas worst affected by the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami. He also supports charities such as Save the Children and has also produced the single "We Can Make It Better" by Don Asian alongside Mukhtar Sahota.[34] In 2008, Rahman opened his KM Music Conservatory partnered with Audio Media Education facility to tutor and train aspiring musicians in vocals, instruments, music technology and sound design. The conservatory — with preeminent musicians on its panel and a newly founded symphony orchestra — is located near his studio in Kodambakkam, Chennai, offering courses at Beginners, Foundation and Diploma level.[35] In 2008, Rahman, along with percussionist Sivamani created a song titled Jiya Se Jiya, (released through Universal Music) which was inspired by the Free Hugs Campaign and promoted it through a video shot in various cities in India.
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Filmography
Main article: A. R. Rahman discography
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as Music DirectorYear Film Language/Industry Notes
1992 Roja Tamil Winner, National Film Award
Winner, Tamil Nadu State Film Award
Yodha Malayalam
1993 Pudhiya Mugam Tamil
Gentleman Tamil Winner, Tamil Nadu State Film Award
Kizhakku Cheemayile Tamil
Uzhavan Tamil
Thiruda Thiruda Tamil
1994 Vandicholai Chinraasu Tamil
Super Police Telugu
Duet Tamil
May Madham Tamil
Kadhalan Tamil Winner, Tamil Nadu State Film Award
Pavithra Tamil
Karuththamma Tamil
Pudhiya Mannargal Tamil
Manitha Manitha Tamil
Gangmaster Telugu
1995 Bombay Tamil Winner, Tamil Nadu State Film Award
Indira Tamil
Rangeela Hindi
Muthu Tamil
1996 Love Birds Tamil
Indian Tamil
Kadhal Desam Tamil
Fire Hindi
Mr. Romeo Tamil
1997 Anthimanthaarai Tamil
Minsara Kanavu Tamil Winner, National Film Award
Winner, Tamil Nadu State Film Award
Iruvar Tamil
Daud: Fun On The Run Hindi
Ratchagan Tamil
Mona Lisa Tamil
Vishwavidhaata Hindi
Kabhi Na Kabhi Hindi
1998 Jeans Tamil
Dil Se… Hindi
Earth Hindi
Doli Saja Ke Rakhna Hindi
1999 En Swasa Kaatre Tamil
Padayappa Tamil
Kadhalar Dhinam Tamil
Taal Hindi
Sangamam Tamil Winner, Tamil Nadu State Film Award
Jodi Tamil
Takshak Hindi
Mudhalvan Tamil
Taj Mahal Tamil
2000 Pukar Hindi
Alaipayuthey Tamil
Kandukondain Kandukondain Tamil
Fiza Hindi 1 song
Rhythm Tamil
Thenali Tamil
Zubeidaa Hindi
2001 One 2 Ka 4 Hindi
Nayak: The Real Hero Hindi
Love You Hamesha Hindi
Lagaan Hindi Winner, National Film Award
Star Tamil
Parthale Paravasam Tamil
2002 Alli Arjuna Tamil
Kannathil Muthamittal Tamil Winner, National Film Award
The Legend of Bhagat Singh Hindi
Baba Tamil
Kadhal Virus Tamil
Saathiya Hindi
2003 Parasuram Tamil
Boys Tamil
Warriors of Heaven and Earth Mandarin / Japanese
Enakku 20 Unakku 18 Tamil
Kangalal Kaithu Sei Tamil
Tehzeeb Hindi
2004 Udhaya Tamil
Warriors of Heaven and Earth English
Lakeer - Forbidden Lines Hindi
Meenaxi: A Tale of Three Cities Hindi
Aayitha Ezhuthu Tamil
Yuva Hindi
New Tamil
Naani Telugu
Dil Ne Jise Apna Kahaa Hindi 3 songs
Swades Hindi
Kisna - The Warrior Poet Hindi 2 song
2005 Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose: The Forgotten Hero Hindi
Mangal Pandey - The Rising Hindi
Anbe Aaruyire Tamil
Water Hindi 5 songs
2006 Rang De Basanti Hindi
Sillunu Oru Kaadhal Tamil
Varalaru Tamil
2007 Guru Hindi
Provoked Hindi
Sajni Kannada
Sivaji: The Boss Tamil
Azhagiya Thamizh Magan Tamil
Elizabeth: The Golden Age English With Craig Armstrong
2008 Jodhaa Akbar Hindi
Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na Hindi
ADA: A Way of Life Hindi
Sakkarakatti Tamil
Yuvvraaj Hindi
Ghajini Hindi
Slumdog Millionaire English / Hindi Winner, Golden Globe Award
Nominated, Academy Award for Best Orginal Score
Nominated, Academy Award for Best Original Song "O..Saya"
Nominated, Academy Award for Best Original Song "Jai Ho"
2009 Delhi 6 Hindi Filming
Eight by Ten Hindi Filming
Nairsan English / Japanese / Mandarin Filming
Blue Hindi Filming
Puli Telugu Filming
Ashokavanam Tamil Filming
Raavan Hindi Filming
Chennaiyil Oru Mazhaikalam Tamil Filming
Sultan The Warrior Tamil Filming
Manavar Dhinam Tamil Filming
The 19th Step English / Tamil / Japanese Filming
2010 Endhiran Tamil
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