Jay Ho

 

Allah Rakha Rahman Known as A.R. Rehman Born on January 6, 1967 as A.S. Dileep Kumar in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. He is a two time Academy Award winning Indian film music composer. To date he has sold over 250 million albums worldwide making him one of the biggest selling artists of the last two decades.

Generally regarded as the finest Indian film composer of his time (and certainly the most commercially successful), Rahman produced music for nearly 35 widescreen releases during his first five years in the industry.Rahman's music led him to be noticed internationally with several of his tracks featuring in movies such as 'The Lord of War', 'Inside Man' and 'The Accidental Husband'. His composition, Bombay Theme holds the distinction of being featured in over 50 international compilations.

The music of A.R. Rahman also featured in the Slumdog Millionaire soundtrack, which was released at the end of 2008. The score won multiple awards, including the Golden Globe award for best music, the Academy Award for the Best Score and, along with lyricist Gulzar, the Best Song category for the song ‘Jai Ho’.

He also scored the music for the Hollywood productions, 'Elizabeth - The Golden Age', 'Slumdog Millionaire', 'Couples Retreat' and the Chinese movie, 'Warriors of Heaven & Earth' produced by Sony Pictures. He has worked with many of his country's brightest music stars and a growing list of international luminaries like Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Zakir Hussain, L. Shankar, Apache Indian, and David Byrne.His star on the rise, Rahman proceeded to compose music for six films in 1993 and nine in 1994, including the score for Ratnam's Bombay (1995).Rahman recently composed the score for the stage production of 'The Lord of the Rings', one of the most expensive productions mounted on stage.

Today music buffs in India and not only in India, but also all parts of the world recognizes his music and his music has satisfied all types of music attenders. This magnificent man is one 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.

In a career spanning over a decade, Rahman, by 2003, had sold more than one hundred million records of his film scores and soundtracks world-wide,and sold over 200 million cassettes making him one of the world's top 25 all-time top selling recording artists.

Know More

• His first soundtrack for Roja was listed in TIME's "10 Best Soundtracks" of all time in 2005.

• Rahman was 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.
• Padma Shri from the Award winner Government of India.
• Rahman was awarded the Padma Bhushan, India's third highest civilian honor, in 2010.
• Rahman has also received six Tamil Nadu State Film Awards.
• Fourteen Filmfare Awards and eleven Filmfare Awards South for his music and scores.
• Rahman won the Critics' Choice Award, the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score.
• BAFTA Award for Best Film Music (Slumdog Millionaire).
• Two Academy Awards for Best Original Music Score and Best Original Song at the 2009 Oscars.
• He has also won two Grammy Awards, for Best Compilation Soundtrack Album and Best Song Written for a Visual Media

On August 15, 1997, he released an album called "Vande Mataram," on Columbia/SME Records, to commemorate 50 years of Indian independence.He was nominated for a 2003 Laurence Olivier Theatre Award (The Hilton Award) for Best New Musical of 2002, "Bombay Dreams," performed at the Apollo Theatre, West End, London, and on Broadway in New York City.

More recently, he 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.