A.R Rahman - The melody king

By: Smitha Nambiar
Wednesday, March 29, 2006

The name A.R.Rahman or Allah Rakha Rahman suggests melody and need no introduction. This is the man who redefined contemporary Indian music to appeal to the younger generation. Today, his very name is a 'guarantee' of good music and is a source of inspiration to millions.

It was in the year 1991 when it all began. Mani Ratnam, one of India's best-known directors was in search of a new music composer for his films. At an awards function for excellence in the field of advertising, he met Rahman after he bagged the award for the best ad jingle in Sharada Trilok's advertisement for Leo Coffee. Sharada introduced the young composer to her cousin, Mani Ratnam who was so impressed that he signed him for K. Balachander's 1992 film Roja, six months later. The film was directed by noted filmmaker Mani Ratnam and featured Madhoo and then debutant Arvind Swamy. At last, Rahman's talent and caliber came to the notice of the entire world. The song 'Tamizha Tamizha' in the film became a rage. The colourful fusion of pop, Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, reggae, rock, and classical Indian music (Carnatic) won him three awards for Best Music Director. A.R Rahman's music is greatly influenced by Sufi mysticism.

It is interesting to note how this great music composer came up in life, considering his humble beginnings. A.S. Dileep Kumar or A.R. Rahman as we know today was born on January 6 1966, in Madras. Rahman's father, K.A. Sekhar was a successful musician, arranger and conductor in Malayalam movies and had worked with popular figures like Salil Chowdhary and Devarajan. Under this background, ar rahman began learning the piano at the age of four. But life was not all that hunky-dory for the young boy who lost his father at the age of nine.

The responsibility of supporting his mother Kasturi (Kareema Begum) and three sisters (Kanchana, Bala - now Talat and Israth), soon fell on his young shoulders. At the age of eleven, Dileep joined Illaiyaraja's troupe as a keyboard player and a session musician on soundtracks. All this was casting an adverse effect on Rahman's education. Lack of attendance and indifference on the part of the management forced him to shift from the prestigious Padma Seshadri Bal Bhavan to the Madras Christian College. However, he finally dropped out of school at the age of 16.

He then roamed the world with various orchestras including renowned Zakir Husain. His experience and exposure helped him earn a scholarship and obtain a degree in Western Classical Music from Trinity College of Music, Oxford University.

It was sometime in 1987 that Rahman ventured into composing jingles for television commercials, the first one being for Allwyn's new trendy range of watches. He composed more than 300 jingles in a matter of five years apart from his first album of Muslim devotional songs titled 'Deen Isai Malai' and the English album, 'Set Me Free'. However, that failed to make an impact in the market. Few of the popular ads that he did included Parry's, Leo Coffee, Boost showcasing Sachin Tendulkar and Kapil Dev, Titan, Premier Pressure Cooker, Hero Puch and Asian Paints. The small studio called Panchathan Record Inn that he began is one of India's most well equipped and advanced recording studios today. Also, Rahman began a collection of sound samples - The most comprehensive sonic libraries in Asia.

A lot has been talked about Rahman's conversion to Islam. In fact the quiet music composer even received a lot of flak for the same. It was in the year 1989 that Dileep Kumar and his family converted into Islam. It wasn't a very difficult decision to make as his mother Kareema Begum belonged to a Muslim family. Also, in 1988, one of his sisters fell seriously ill and in spite of the family's effort to cure her, her health deteriorated by the day. They happened to meet a Muslim Pir - Sheik Abdul Qadir Jeelani or Pir Qadri. His prayers and blessings did wonder for his sister who made a miraculous comeback to life. Thus began the journey of A.S.Dileep Kumar to A.R. Rahman.

Life after Roja was very predictable for the young composer. He composed music for six films in 1993 and nine in 1994 including Maniratnam's Bombay (1995), starring Manisha Koirala and Arvind Swamy in the lead role. The film was a huge success as the soundtrack for Bombay crossed 5 million units with sales of more than 40 million albums in 3 years. The theme of the movie was featured on Talvin Singh's 'Soundz' of the Asian Underground compilation.

Sony Music signed ar rahman (He was the first Indian artist to sign with Sony Music) for a three-year contract in 1997. The first song he sang was 'Vande Mataram', celebrating 50 years of India's independence. ar rahman soon became a name known in the international scenario having worked with the likes of David Byrne, Michael Jackson and Andrew Webber Lloyd for his album 'Bombay Dreams'.

The regional films that he composed music for include Thiruda Thiruda (1993), Pudhiya Mannargal (1993), Gentleman (1994), Karuththamma (1995), Kadalan (1994), May Madham (1994), Anthimanthaarai (1996), Indian (1996), Kadhal Desam (1996), Love Birds (1997), Iruvar (1997) and Mudhalvan (1999) to name a few. His excellence in Hindi films can be noticed in films like Rangeela (1995), Fire (1996), Daud (1997), Dil Se.. (1998), 1947 Earth (1998), Taal (1999), Thakshak (1999), Zubeidaa (2001), Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India (2001), Saathiya (2002), Meenaxi: Tale of 3 Cities (2004), Yuva (2004) and Kisna: The Warrior Poet (2005) amongst many others.
Out of the innumerable awards that ar rahman received, the most noteworthy include the prestigious National Lata Mangeshkar Award (April 2005), Padmashri 2000 (For contribution to music From Govt of India), Filmfare award for Rangeela, Kadhal Desam, Minsara Kanavu, Dil Se, Taal (1999; R D Burman Award at the SuMu Music Awards (1993); Mauritius National Award (1995; for contribution to music); Malaysian Award (1996 for contribution to music); Sanskriti Award from Delhi based Sanskriti foundation (1994); Kalaimamani Award from Tamil Nadu Government (1995); Thangapillai Award; Rajiv Gandhi Award.

It is for certain that though there will be many music composers to shine in tinselville, none can match up to the richness of ar rahman's music. It is sure to linger on for a long time to come.

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