A.R. Rahman

Born on 6th January, 1966 in Chennai, India, A.R Rahman is one of the most versatile and talented playback singers as well as composers we have today. He was born as A.S Dileep Kumar who converted to Islam after being inspired by a Sufi saint. Rahman is the only son apart from the three daughters of the famous Tamil composer Ravi Kumar Sekhar. His father died when he was still very young and the responsibility of his family fell on his shoulders. The success that he has achieved in life is due to sheer determination and hard work. AR Rehman's life history is very inspiring. Check it out in this short biography of A.R Rahman.

This versatile composer has been creating scintillating music since a decade and has sold more that a hundred million records all over the world and over two hundred million cassettes that have made him the Top 25 all-time top selling recording artists in the world. When he was still young, his family used to rent out musical equipments to make ends meet after his father died. Things didn't get better as one of his sisters got affected by a mysterious illness. Her condition deteriorated rapidly and doctors were not able to do anything. That is when a Sufi saint visited his place and his sister was miraculously cured. Thereafter, the whole family converted to Islam and he adopted the name Allah Rakha Rahman.

Success did not come overnight. During his struggling years, Rahman got opportunities to compose jingles for ads. He also played the keyboard, synthesizer, guitar and the piano with friends for various bands. He showed immense interest in Carnatic music and traditional forms of music and also received training in Carnatic music. While he was just 11, he joined the troupe of the famous composer Illayaraja and played the keyboard along with other musicians. He got his first break in the year 1992 when the famous director Mani Ratnam approached him to compose music for his Tamil film "Roja". When the movie released, the music was a phenomenal success and A.R Rahman was recognized as untapped potential. He also received the "Rajat Kamal" award for the best music director at National Film Awards.

He accompanied the likes of Zakhir Hussain, Kunnakudi Vaidyanathan, M. S. Viswanathan and Ramesh Naidu on world tours. This gave him the opportunity to get a scholarship in Trinity College, Oxford University and he graduated with a degree in Western classical music. He constructed a studio attached to his house where he composed music for ads, films and also albums. He has also sung for many films and has also cut albums which have been highly successful.

His popular films include Bombay, Kadhalan, Indira, Minsaara Kanavu, Muthu, Love Birds, Rangeela, Taal, Lagaan, Dil Se, Saathiya, Guru, Rang De Basanti, etc. His style of music combined natural sounds with classical, folk, jazz, reggae, soft rock and other varied styles of music. He has also collaborated with the international composer Andrew Lloyd Webber and Shekhar Kapur on the highly successful Bombay Dreams. His hits continue to enthrall us and will do so for many more years to come.