A. R. Rahman
Allah Rakha Rahman[1] (About this soundpronunciation (help·info); born A. S. Dileep Kumar; 6 January 1967) is an Indian film composer, record producer, singer and songwriter who works predominantly in Tamil and Hindi films. In 2010, the Indian government awarded him the Padma Bhushan, the nation’s third-highest civilian award.[2] Among Rahman’s awards are six National Film Awards, two Academy Awards, two Grammy Awards, a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe Award, fifteen Filmfare Awards and seventeen Filmfare Awards South.
Rahman initially composed scores for different documentaries and jingles for advertisements and Indian television channels. With his in-house studio Panchathan Record Inn, Rahman’s film-scoring career began during the early 1990s with the Tamil film Roja.[3] Following that, he went on to score several songs for Tamil language films, including Ratnam’s politically charged Bombay, the urban Kadhalan, Thiruda Thiruda, and S. Shankar’s debut film Gentleman. Rahman’s score for his first Hollywood film, the comedy Couples Retreat (2009), won the BMI Award for Best Score.
His music for Slumdog Millionaire (2008) earned him Best Original Score and Best Original Song at the 81st Academy Awards. He was also awarded Best Compilation Soundtrack Album and Best Song Written for Visual Media at the 2010 Grammy Awards. He is nicknamed “Isai Puyal” (musical storm) and “Mozart of Madras”.[4]
Rahman has also become a humanitarian and philanthropist, donating and raising money for a number of causes and charities. In 2006, he was honoured by Stanford University for his contributions to global music.[5] In 2008, he received Lifetime Achievement Award from the Rotary Club of Madras.[6] In 2009, he was included on the Time list of the world’s 100 most influential people.[7] In 2013, he introduced 7.1 surround sound technology to South Indian films.[8] In 2014, he was awarded an honorary doctorate from Berklee College of Music. He has also received honorary doctorate from Aligarh Muslim University.[9] In 2017, he made his debut as a director and writer for the film Le Musk.[10]
