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A.R. Rahman

Personal Profile

A.R. Rahman
  • Birth Name:
    A. S. Dileep Kumar
  • Common Name:
    A. R. Rehman
  • Nickname:
    The Mozart of Madras, Isai Puyal
  • Date of Birth:
    June 19, 1966
  • Zodiac Sign:
    Gemini
  • Place of Birth:
    Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
  • Height:
    5' 6"
  • Sex:
    Male
  • Hair Color:
    Black
  • Nationality:
    Indian
  • Religion:
    Islam
  • Education:

    Trinity College of Music

  • Hobbies:
    Watching Movies, Listening Music

Family

A.R. Rahman
  • Father:
    R. K. Shekhar
  • Mother:
    Kasturi Sekhar
  • Sister:
    A. R. Reihana
  • Uncle:
    G. V. Prakash Kumar
  • Spouse:
    Saira Banu
  • Son:
    Khadijah
    Aameen
  • Daughter:
    Rahima
  • Relation:
    G. V. Prakash Kumar

Career

A.R. Rahman

Favourites

A.R. Rahman
  • Food:
    Palak Paneer
  • Actor:
    -
  • Actress:
    -
  • Movies:
    Rangeela, Dil Se
  • Color:
    Black , Yellow, Green
  • Destination:
    -
  • Perfumes:
    -
  • Author:
    -

Awards

A.R. Rahman

2009: Oscar Award, Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Score for: Slumdog Millionaire

2008: Popular Award, Best Music Direction
for: Guru (2007)

2002: Popular Award, Music Direction for: Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India

2009: BAFTA Film Award, Best Music for: Slumdog Millionaire

2009: Critics Choice Award, Best Composer for: Slumdog Millionaire (2008)

Trivia

A.R. Rahman
  • After two Oscars and two Grammys, he is all set to wow the world with the16-city "Jai ho" Concert beginning in New York.
    submitted by - Amit Kher
  • A.R. Rahman has put his money where his heart is, building an institution for future musicians at the KM Musiq Conservatory in Chennai.
    submitted by - Amitabh Dhiman
  • A.R. Rahman is collaborating with the best in the world, from Mick Jagger to Joss Stone.
    submitted by - Akshya Dhiman
  • In 2008, A.R. 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.
    submitted by - Chotu Dhiman
  • He produced the single "We Can Make It Better" by Don Asian alongside Mukhtar Sahota.
    submitted by - Amit Rank

Quotes

A.R. Rahman
  • Whom do you consider your closest rival? "The man who's inside me and constantly trying to distract me from doing good work. - Unknown
    submitted by - Akshya Dhiman
  • His Prayer to God O God, if I worship thee for fear of hell, burn me in hell, and if I worship thee in hope of Paradise, exclude me from Paradise, but if I worship thee for thy own sake, grudge me not thy everlasting beauty. - Unknown
    submitted by - Amit Kher
  • Music is a gift from God and every note should be blessed. Otherwise music becomes noise if it is not blessed. I am influenced by Sufism, which is also connected with music. Before composing I pray and beg to God to give me something. I believe every song should have a pure soul in it to reach people. - Unknown
    submitted by - Vaibhav Dhiman
  • I only know music. I communicate with my fellow-human beings with that. That is sufficient for me. - Unknown
    submitted by - Amit Kher
  • Is there anything more sorrowful than the whistle of the train or more happiness than in the saaral* of the rain? - Unknown
    submitted by - Amit Kher

Biography

A.R. Rahman
Last Updated: Friday, March 12, 2010

A.R. RahmanA.R. Rahman is one of the famous musician of bollywood. He started learning the piano at the age of 4, and at the age of 9, his father passed away. Since the pressure of supporting his family fell on him, Allah Rakha Rahman  joined Ilayaraja's troupe as a keyboard player at the age of 11. He dropped out of school as a result of this and traveled all around the world with various orchestras. A.R. Rahman accompanied the great tabla maestro Zakir Hussain on a few world tours and also won a scholarship at the Trinity College of Music at Oxford University, where he studied Western classical music and obtained a degree in music.

Due to some personal crisis, Dileep Kumar embraced Islam and came to be known as A.R. Rahman. In 1987, he moved to advertising, where he composed more than 300 jingles over 5 years. In 1989, he started a small studio called Panchathan Record Inn, which later developed into one of the most well-equipped and advanced sound recording studios in India. At an advertising awards function, Rahman met one of India's most famous directors, Mani Ratnam. A.R. Rahman played him a few of his music samples. Mani loved them so much that Allah Rakha Rahman  asked Rahman to compose the music for his next film, Roja (1992). The rest, as they say, is history.

A.R. Rahman went on to compose several great hits for Tamil-language films before composing the score and songs for his first Hindi-language film, Rangeela (1995). The enormous success of his first Hindi venture was followed by the chart-topping soundtrack albums of films such as Bumbai (1995) , Dil Se,(1998), Taal (1999), Zubeidaa (2001), and Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India (2001), which was nominated for best foreign-language film at the 2002 Academy Awards. More recently, Allah Rakha Rahman  worked with Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber and Shekhar Kapur (director of Elizabeth (1998)) on a musical called "Bombay Dreams." At 36 years old, A.R. Rahman has revolutionized Indian film music and one can only expect this musical genius to reach greater heights.