A Tribute to A R Rahman

A beautiful video compilation by Raaja. We have to listen to the music of A R Rahman to understand what a genius he is. I dedicate this video to my Rahmaniac daughter, who was instrumental in my introduction to Rahman and his music !

He has just pocketed the prestigious Golden Globe award and now A.R. Rahman nicknamed “Mozart of Madras” by Time magazine has stunned entire India with 3 Oscars nominations for his work in Slumdog Millionaire. It is a dream come true for India.

He was nominated one for Best Original Score and Best Original Song categories for two of his compositions — ‘Jai Ho’ and ‘O Saya’.

The film Slumdog Millionaire has got 10 Oscar nominations, while AR Rahman 3 nominations.

Rahman, one of the most talented music composers of Tamil cinema, stepped into the limelight with Mani Ratnam’s Roja, which bagged the National Award for him. Rahman, a graduate in western classical music from Trinity College of Music, London, has composed many experimental melodies, raps and hip-hops.

His music created a new trend, scaled astonishing heights of appreciation and grew to become a sensation. Many of his compositions might actually sound ordinary the first time. But his compositions are an intriguing cocktail of musical pieces that would blow your mind.

A.R. Rahman's path to Hollywood

Rahman Born January 6, 1966 to R. K. Shekhar, a composer, arranger and conductor for Malayalam-language films started to learn the piano at the age of 4.
His father died when Rahman was 9 years old, he was forced to start work as a keyboard player to support his family at just 11 years old.

Dropped out of high school to pursue his music career.
He converted to Islam from Hinduism in 1989 along with his family.
At the age of 11, he joined, as a keyboardist, the troupe of Tamil Composer Maestro Ilaiyaraaja.

His first debut film Soundtrack Director Maniratnam “Roja” in 1992 turned out to be the world’s 10th best soundtrack ever, as rated by Time Magazine.
The debut “Roja” led Rahman to receive the Rajat Kamal award for Best Music Director at the National Film Awards, the first time ever by a first-time film composer.

His soundtracks gained him recognition in the Tamil Nadu film industry and across the world for his stylistic versatility in his pieces including in Western classical, Carnatic, Traditional/folk, jazz, reggae and rock music.

Rahman has sold over 200 million albums worldwide: more than Madonna and Britney Spears combined.