From key board player to noble winner- A R Rehman
Now a days all over the world whenever people wish to praise something or someone they start singing “jai ho”. This noble winning song made A R Rehman renowned all over the world. Today, The name A.R.Rahman needs no introduction. The man who redefined contemporary Indian music and is the pride of the entire nation and an idol for millions all over the world needs no preamble. . But if you happen to be one, still among the few unfortunate souls, who are a stranger to him and his heavenly music, then read on.
Fifteen years ago, who listened to Tamil music? Only Tamilians. Ten years ago, what did teenagers dance to at discos? What else but Michael Jackson’s or the latest Western dance hit of the day. But A.R.Rahman changed all that. With his universally appealing tunes, he has demolished all conventional rules in Indian film music. He amazes with the manner in which he seamlessly integrates traditionally incompatible harmonies. If anyone can make a perfect potpourri of the latest dancehall rhythms, electro-pop, Latin melodies, Western and Indian classical and pepper it all with a local folk touch or even something as otherworldly as Reggae and serve it all in a contemporary Indian manner that mesmerizes listeners, it is A.R.Rahman. His music transcends all barriers – geographic, age or linguistic. Everyone from 6 to 60, Kashmir to Kanyakumari, as the cliché goes, are fans of his music. Rahman’s strength lies not only in his perfect sense of melody and rhythm but also in his immaculate sound engineering. His music has been hailed as that of the digital age and has also been assailed for the very same reason.
A. R. Rahman or Allah Rakha Rahman was born actually A. S. Dileep Kumar on the 6th of January in the year 1967, in Madras (now Chennai), to a musically affluent Tamil Mudaliar family. Rahman’s early years were one of struggle and hardships. At the age of 9, his father passed away .At the age of 11, he joined Illaiyaraja’s troupe as a keyboard player in order to earn for his family’s upkeep. He also learnt to play the guitar. Thus Rahman formally entered the world of music. He also began to play the keyboard for programmes on television. He also played on the orchestra of M.S.Vishwanathan, Raj-Koti and Ramesh Naidu and accompanied Zakir Hussain and Kunnakudi Vaidyanathan on world tours. All this experience enabled him to earn a scholarship to the famed Trinity College of Music at Oxford University from where he obtained a degree in Western Classical Music. He came back with a dream to bring an international and contemporary world perspective to Indian music.But he was not at all sure he wanted to turn professional. Dileep worked for nearly 8 to 9 years with various music directors.
Fortunately for Dileep he soon got his first break in advertising when he was asked to compose the jingle to promote Allwyn’s new Trendy range of watches, in 1987. The ads were a success and Dileep’s work in them was appreciated.Thus began Dileep’s 5-year successful saga in advertising where he went on to not only compose more than 300 jingles, but would also be the stepping stone to his entry into films.
Around this time, in 1988, one of his sisters fell seriously ill and numerous attempts to cure her failed. The family had given up all hope when they came in close contact with a Muslim Pir Qadri.With his prayers and blessings, Dileep’s sister made a miraculous recovery. Then A. S. Dileep Kumar changed his name to Allah Rakha Rahman.
Continuing with his stint in the advertising world Rahman did a lot of popular ads like those for Parry’s, Leo Coffee, Springz Mineral Water, Boost featuring Sachin Tendulkar and Kapil Dev, Titan, Remanika Sarees, Premier Pressure Cooker, MRF Tyres, Hero Puch, The Hindu Young World and Asian Paints. He also scored the title music for television channels like JJTV, Sun TV, and Asianet. He also won an award for composing the theme music of the Madras Telugu Academy’s Spirit of Unity Concerts.
In 1991, he was given an offer that would change his life. At the awards function where he received the award for Best Jingle Composer for the Leo Coffee ad,he was approached by the man known as the Spielberg of India, Mani Ratnam. In the course of his interactions with Mani Ratnam, he was offered the responsibility of composing music for the director’s forthcoming film. Rahman’s D-Day arrived when ‘Roja’ was released on August 15th, 1992. Sceptics doubted the ability of a 25-year old debutant. ‘Roja’ not only won the heart of millions with its music it also won every conceivable award in music that year. Rahman also got the Rajat Kamal for best music director at the National Film Awards, the first time ever by a debutant. . And there was no looking back for A. R. Rahman. With ‘Roja’, A. R. Rahman had finally arrived.
Journey of A.R.Rahman in Indian Cinema
1. Roja - Roja is a Tamil film and directed by Maniratnam. Later this movie was dubbed into Hindi, Telugu and other reginal languages.
2. Bombay – Bombay is a Tamil film and directed by Maniratnam.
3. Kaadhalan – Kaadhalan is a Tamil film and directed by Shankar.
4. Karuthamma – Karuthamma is a Tamil film and directed by Bharathiraja.
5. Duet, Indira, Love Birds – These are the Tamil films which gave good name to A.R.Rahman.
6. Muthu – Muthu is a Tamil film and he got good number of fans in Japan because of this Movie.
7. Rangeela – Rangeela is a Hindi film directed by Ram Gopal varma. It is the debut film of Rahman in Hindi film industry
8. Dil se – Dil se is a Hindi film and directed by Maniratnam. Later this movie was dubbed into Tamil also. The music of this movie was biggest hit among the audiences.
9. Iruvar, Taal, Sangamam became huge success in Rahman’s carrier. In these movies Rahman used carnatic instruments like veenai, etc.
10. In the year of 2000, Rahman gave many hit movies such as Rajiv Menon’s Kandukonden Kandukonden, Maniratnam’s Alaipayuthey, Ashutosh Gowariker’s Swades and Rang de Basanthi.
11. Direct Shankar and Rehman combination always rules the music world. Gentleman, Jeans, Kaadhalan, Indian, Mudhalvan, Nayak, Boys and Sivaji are the Shankar movies and music composed by Rahman.
12. In the year of 2008, Rahman scored music for Slumdog Millionaire. For this movie Rahman won many International awards like Global Globe, Academy Award and Oscar award.
A.R.Rahman’s Albums
1.In 1997, Rahman made an album named as ‘Vande Mataram’ for the occasion of India’s 50th anniversary of Independence. It was a huge success among Indians.
2.He worked in album ‘Jana Gana Mana with Bharat Bala’s direction. In the year of 2002, Rahman composed music for Bombay Dreams.
3.In 2010, Rahman composed music for theme song of World Classical Tamil Conference which was written by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K.Karunanidhi and directed by Direct Goutham.
Profile of A.R.Rahman
Original Name of A.R.Rahman – A.S.Dileep Kumar
Birth Date of A.R.Rahman – 6-Jan’1966
Birth Place of A.R.Rahman – Chennai, Tamil Nadu
Nick Name of A.R.Rahman – Isai Puyal
Website of A.R.Rahman – arrahman.com
Father Name of A.R.Rahman – R.K.Shekhar
Mother Name of A.R.Rahman – Kashturi (a) Karrema.
Spouse of A.R.Rahman – Saira Banu
Children of A.R.Rahman – 3 children named as Khadijah, Rahima, Aameen.
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Author: sophy99
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