Allahrakha Rahman, known professionally as AR Rahman, made his debut in 1992 as a composer with Mani Ratnam’s 'Roja' and shot to instant fame as the wonder kid in the industry, who changed the grammar of music and sounds. After that, he gave tracks to Bollywood movies like 'Bombay', 'Dil Se', 'Taal', 'Saathiya', 'Guru', 'Jodhaa Akbar', 'Slum Dog Millionaire' and many more.
The music maestro has been awarded four National awards, two academy awards, two Grammy awards, a BAFTA awards, a Golden globe, fifteen Filmfare Awards and sixteen Filmfare Awards south. He was also honoured with the Padma Bhushan, the third highest civilian award, in 2010 by the Government of India. He is also the first Asian to have won 2 Oscars in the same year.
As the singer-composer turns 54 on January 6, we have listed some of his most popular tracks:
Dil Se Re (Dil Se)
The melody from the movie Dil Se was picturised on Shah Rukh Khan and Manisha Koirala. The song is composed as well as crooned by AR Rahman and the lyrics was penned by Gulzar. The song also had Anuradha sriram and Anupama lending their voices to the song. The unforgettable love ballad by Rahman, picturised in locations highlighting love amidst adversity has attained cult status over the years.
Jai Ho (Slumdog Millionaire)
The amazing track from the movie Slumdog Millionaire, is composed by AR Rahman, and penned by Gulzar and Tanvi Shah. The song has the marvellous voice of Rahman, Sukhwinder Singh, Tanvi Shah, Mahalakshmi Iyer, and Vijay Prakash. The song bagged an Academy Award for Best Original Song and a Grammy Award for Best Song Written for a Motion Picture.
Khwaja Mere Khwaja (Jodha Akbar)
Acclaimed composer A. R. Rahman composed the musical score. The film emerged out as the biggest winner in many music awards. Rahman won Filmfare's Best Music Director award for this composition.
Roja is the debut soundtrack album of music composer A. R. Rahman, featuring lyrics by Vairamuthu. Released on Lahari Music, it was also listed in Time magazine's "10 Best Soundtracks" of all time. It also fetched the National Film Award for Best Music Direction for A. R. Rahman and the National Film Award for Best Lyrics for Vairamuthu.
Kun Faya Kun (Rockstar)
Kun Faya Kun is a popular sufi song from the Hindi movie Rockstar. It was sung by Mohit Chauhan, A.R. Rahman, Javed Ali. Chand Nizami, the 53-year-old 'qawwal' at Delhi's Hazrat Nizamuddin shrine, became instantly recognizable to millions after his appearance in 'Rockstar'. His ode to Rahman is indicative of the musician's sphere of influence in hidden pockets.
As Rahman turns 54 today, let's take a look at some of the lesser-known facts about the music maestro:
1. Rahman was born as a Hindu and was originally called Dileep Kumar but he embraced Islam after his fatally ill younger sister was cured by a Sufi saint Karimullah Shah Kadri. Dileep Kumar then becamer Allah Rakha Rahman.
2. AR Rahman might be the country’s best musician but he didn’t complete his schooling. Rahman was asked to leave school because of poor attendance at the age of 15.
3. A street in Markham, Ontario, Canada, has been named in his honour in November 2013.
4. The Oscar winning song "Jai Ho" was initially composed for the Salman Khan starrer- Yuvraaj!
5. In 2012, Rahman revealed that he had received a Christmas card from the family of the President of the United States and dinner invitation at the White House.
6. He is also the first Asian to have won 2 Oscars in the same year.
7. Airtel's signature tune, composed by Rahman, is the world's most downloaded mobile music with over 150 million downloads.
8. AR Rahman had revealed that the composition of the song Hai Rama from Rangeela was inspired by the background score in a romantic sequence in 1960 classic Mughal-e-Azam.
9. AR Rahman composed a special song for the India release of the highest grossing film of all time, Avengers: Endgame. The was released in the presence of Avengers: Endgame co-director Joe Russo, who was in India to promote the film.
10. Besides winning two Academy Awards for Slumdog Millionaire, AR Rahman was once again nominated for Oscars for his 2011 film 127 Hours. This was AR Rahman's second collaboration with filmmaker Danny Boyle after Slumdog Millionaire. Based on a true story, the movie starred James Franco.