| Richard Corliss, the author of the article, That Old Feeling: Isn't It Rahmantic? in Time.com says, the name of Rahman for the Indian audience "stands for melody, quality, energy , instant hummability — a sound both personal and universal, devouring older forms and transforming them into something gorgeously new." The person that defines so much of what music is to us, is the celebrity of our focus this week.
Born on 6th January 1966, Rahman started his career by joining the troupe of the reining South Indian Music Composer IIaiyaraja as a keyboard player. He played for many famous artists like M.S Vishwanathan, Ramesh Naidu and Zaakhir Hussain. In 1991, Rahman began his own studio and composed Jingles for advertisements. His first venture into films was Roja, a tamil film directed by Mani Ratnam which announced the entry of a new Music Director. From then on, there was no stopping this Musical Genius.
"Yaare re yaare re zor lagaake nache re" marked the entry of this Musical Genius into Bollywood. Debuting with Rangeela, Rahman has composed for several films, his latest being Guru. Rahman has dazzled us with his extremely unique blend of classical music throughout his career, making a mark all around the world. Today, songs from his oldest movies still play on the radio and are available to listen to anywhere.
Often called the Mozart of Indian Music, Rahman ventured beyond India. He worked with Lloyed Webber, composing for musicals like Bombay Dreams. He has composed for Lord Of The Rings threatre production and Warriors of Heaven and Earth, a Chinese film. What is interesting is, he is known to have sold over 100 million records worldwide and over 200 million cassettes. He also obtained a scholarship to Trinity College at Oxford University, where he received a degree in Western classical music Rahman is the receiver of several prestigious awards. He has received the National Award four times and is the only artist to receive it as a debutant for Roja. The internationally acclaimed artist has received the Laurence Oliver Award for the most Outstanding Musical (Bombay Dreams) and Dora Moore Awards for the General Theatre Division - Outstanding Musical Direction for Lord of The Rings. On the personal side, Allah Rakha Rahman born on 6th January, 1966 to RK Sekhar and Kareema Begum, and formerly known as A.S. Dileep Kumar, started learning piano at the very young age. His father died when Rahman was nine years old. His family used to rent out musical equipment to make ends meet, something they found very difficult. During those hard times, a Sufi (Muslim) saint helped them spiritually. This led Dileep to convert to Islam, changing his name to Allah Rakha Rahman. From 'Roja Jaaneman' to 'Vande Matram' to his latest 'Tere Bina' in Guru, Rahman has never failed to experiment with new techniques, and dazzle us with mesmerizing music. He has definitely won our hearts as an outstanding music director – one of the Best India has produced! |
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
