Here is another article to share written abt ARR.
Monday, 07 January 2008 ------------------------------------------------------------ --------------------
'Mozart of Madras' A.R. Rahman turns 42
Unparalleled and much admired, Allah Rakha Rahman, or A.R. Rahman as he is better known, through his magical music has impressed the world and touched many a hearts. His music mesmerizes and baffles the listener and uplifts his soul. AR Rahman is indeed God's gift to the world of music - a song bird whose melodies turn prose to poetry. And today we celebrate him and his music!
Initially, Rahman - who would later be hailed by Time magazine as the 'Mozart of Madras' - started out by hiring his father's musical instruments to make ends meet. He cut his musical teeth at 11 in south India's famous music director Ilayaraja's orchestra as a keyboard player.
ARR started his career composing jingles for advertising films; that was 20 years ago. With an innate talent and interest, he played several instruments in M.S.Viswanathan's and Ramesh Naidu's orchestra too. He accompanied many musicians such as Kunnakkudi Vaidyanathan, L.Shankar and Zakir Hussain on their concerts.
His debut as music director was with Maniratnam's 'Roja', an album that changed the face of tamil cinema music forever. His rhythms and beats revolutionised filmi music giving it a more global feel with some rather unique compositions. 'Roja' earned him the National Award for best music composer - the first ever time a debutant has bagged this honour. Maniratnam-Rahman colloboration happened for ten more films after 'Roja', all films becoming musical hits. 'Roja' was also listed in TIME's "Top 10 Movie Soundtracks of All Time".
Also famous is his colloboration with director Shankar he has produced some extraordinary numbers like 'Gentleman', 'Kaadhalan', 'Indian', 'Jeans', 'Mudhalvan', 'Nayak', and 'Boys'.
This mastero's versatality is brilliant. He has touched upon every genre of music from Indian Classical, to jazz and regae and what not! He caught the attention of the whole nation and eventually the world. Ram Gopal Varma's 'Rangeela' marked ARR's debut in Bollywood. Rahman offered them new sounds, unheard-of tunes and compositions that catapulted him to the top rung of Bollywood.
Rahman, who has redefined contemporary Indian music, continued his colossal stride over Bollywood with memorable compositions for movies like 'Bombay', 'Dil Se', 'Taal', '1947-Earth', 'Pukar', 'Lagaan', 'Zubeida', 'Meenaxi', 'The Legend of Bhagat Singh', 'Water', 'Yuva', Swades', 'Rang De Basanti' and many others.
His most recent works in Hindi include 'Chamki Chameli' and 'Jodhaa Akbar' along with the Hindi remake of Tamil blockbuster 'Ghajini'.
In 2001, the legendary Andrew Lloyd Webber invited him to collaborate on his smashing musical, 'Bombay Dreams,' which opened to packed houses in London and ran non-stop for two years. In 2002 he composed for the most recent 'Elizabeth-The Golden Age'. Furthermore, Rahman, along with the Finnish folk music band 'Vrttin', composed the music for 'The Lord of the Rings' theatre production. He composed the piece 'Raga's Dance' for Vanessa Mae's album 'Choreography' (2004).
Though Rahman is frequently away from Tamil films on world tours, he communicates to the masses through his works. In 1997, Sony Music signed him to compose 'Vande Mataram' on the occasion of the golden jubilee of India's Independence. His 'Jana Gana Mana' is a compilation of performances by eminent artistes in classical music, one of its kind!
Today, as he enters the 43rd year of his life, the eminently gifted Rahman is credited with creating one of the richest legacies of film music any modern music director has ever crafted.
Deeply involved in charitable causes in India and abroad, Rahman was appointed World Health Organisation (WHO) global ambassador of Stop TB Partnership in 2004.
ARR's music continues to fascinate us all, and our thirst for his compositions can never be quenched. As we wish him a very Happy Birthday, we also say a silent prayer that he continue to melt our hearts with his divine compositions!
Edited by amukta - 17 years ago
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