Biography of Oscar A.R. Rahman

Name: A.R. Rahman

Father Name: R. K. Shekhar

Mother Name: Kareema (Kasthuri)

Date of Birth: January 6 1967

Nationality: Indian

Birth Place: Chennai

He was born in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India to a musically affluent Mudaliar Tamil family. His father R. K. Shekhar, was a Chennai based composer and conductor for Malayalam films. Rahman lost his father at a young age and his family rented out musical equipment as a source of income. He was raised by his mother Kreema (Kasthuri).

PERSONAL LIFE

A.R. Rahman has been married to Saira Banu, and blessed with three children, Khatija, Rahima, and Ameen.

AWARDS

He is an Indian film composer, record producer, musician and singer. His film scoring career began in the early 1990s. He has won thirteen Filmfare Awards, four National Film Awards, a BAFTA Awards, a Golden Globe and two Academy Awards. He has also been nominated for two Grammy Awards.

• 1975-Composed first song, developed into "Vellithen Kinnam Pol" for 'Penpada'
• 1992-Composed music for his first film 'Roja'
• 1993-Received his first National Award, the Rajat Kamal Award for Best Music Director.
• 1995-Received the Rajiv Gandhi Award
• 1997-Bestowed with second National Film Award for 'Minsara Kanavu'
• 2000-Honored with Padma Shri Award
• 2001-Presented with Padma Bhushan Award
• 2002-Conferred upon with third National film Award for 'Lagaan'
• 2003-Bagged fourth National Film Award for 'Kannathil Muthamittal'
• 2005-'Roja' listed in TIME magazine's 10 Best Soundtracks
• 2009-Received two Academy Awards and a Golden Globe for 'Slumdog Millionaire'

STYLE OF MUSIC

His first film composing came with Mani Ratnam's Tamil film 'Roja' which bagged him the Rajat Kamal award for Best Music Director at National Film Awards. Thereafter, there was no looking back for Rahman as he went on to compose some of the most memorable and exceptional music scores and soundtracks for both Indian and foreign movies. He has been awarded the Rajat Kamal Award thrice again for 'Minsara Kanavu' in 1997. 'Lagan' in 2002, and 'Kannathil Muthamittal' in 2003, a record for any composer. His popular films include 'Bombay', 'Kadhalan', 'Indira', 'Muthu', 'Love Birds', 'Rangeela', 'Taal', 'Dil Se', 'Saathiya', 'Guru', and 'Rang de Basanti'. His style of music combined natural sounds with classical, folk, jazz, reggae, soft rock and other varied styles of music.

In 2011 Rahman joined a super band, SuperHeavy, comprising Mick Jaggar, Josee Stone, Damian Marley and Dave Stewart. Rahman has collaborated with several other international artistes including Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Michael Jackson, Michael Bolton, MIA, Vanessa Mae, the Pussycat Dolls, Sarah Brightman, Dido, Hossom Ramzy, Hans Zimmer and Akon. Rahman remains one of the few mainstream artistes, classical adaptations of whose work have been performed live y the likes of the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, Babelsberg Film Orchestra and the Birmingham Symphony Orchestra.

FILMOGRAPHY

S. No.	Film	Year	Director	Language
1	Roja	1992	Maniratnam	Tamil
2	Pudhiya Mugam	1993	Suresh Menon	Tamil
3	Gentleman	1993	S.Shankar	Tamil
4	Kizhakku Cheemayile	1993	Bharathiraja	Tamil
5	Uzhavan	1993	Kadhir	Tamil
6	Thiruda Thiruda	1993	Maniratnam	Tamil
7	Vandicholai Chinraasu	1994	Manoj Kumar	Tamil
8	Duet	1994	K.Balachander	Tamil
9	May Madham	1994	Venus Balu	Tamil
10	Kadhalan	1994	S.Shankar	Tamil
11	Pavithra	1994	K.Subhash	Tamil
12	Karuththamma	1994	Bharathiraja	Tamil
13	Pudhiya Mannargal	1994	Vikraman	Tamil
14	Bombay	1995	Maniratnam	Tamil
15	Indira	1995	Suhasini Maniratnam	Tamil
16	Muthu	1995	K.S.Ravikumar	Tamil
17	Love Birds	1996	P.Vasu	Tamil
18	Indian	1996	S.Shankar	Tamil
19	Kadhal Desam	1996	Kadhir	Tamil
20	Mr. Romeo	1996	Ravel	Tamil
21	Anthimanthaarai	1997	Bharathiraja	Tamil
22	Minsara Kanavu	1997	Rajiv Menon	Tamil
23	Iruvar	1997	Maniratnam	Tamil
24	Ratchagan	1997	Praveen Kanth	Tamil
25	Jeans	1998	S.Shankar	Tamil
26	En Swasa Kaatre	1999	K.S.Ravi	Tamil
27	Padayappa	1999	K.S.Ravikumar	Tamil
28	Kadhalar Dhinam	1999	Kadhir	Tamil
29	Sangamam	1999	Suresh Krishna	Tamil
30	Jodi	1999	Praveen Kanth	Tamil
31	Mudhalvan	1999	S.Shankar	Tamil
32	Taj Mahal	1999	Bharathiraja	Tamil
33	Alaipayuthey	2000	Maniratnam	Tamil
34	Kandukondain Kandukondain	2000	Rajiv Menon	Tamil
35	Rhythm	2000	Vasanth	Tamil
36	Thenali	2000	K.S.Ravikumar	Tamil
37	Star	2001	Praveen Kanth	Tamil
38	Paarthale Paravasam	2001	K.Balachander	Tamil
39	Alli Arjuna	2001	Saran	Tamil
40	Kannathil Muthamittal	2002	Maniratnam	Tamil
41	Baba	2002	Suresh Krishna	Tamil
42	Kadhal Virus	2002	Kadhir	Tamil
43	Parasuram	2003	Arjun	Tamil
44	Boys	2003	S.Shankar	Tamil
45	Enakku 20 Unakku 18	2003	Jyothi Krishna	Tamil
46	Kangalal Kaidhu Sei	2003	Bharathiraja	Tamil
47	Udhaya	2004	Alagam Perumal	Tamil
48	Aaytha Ezhuthu	2004	Maniratnam	Tamil
49	New	2004	S.J.Suryaah	Tamil
50	Anbe Aaruyire	2005	S.J.Suryaah	Tamil
51	Sillunu Oru Kaadhal	2006	N.Krishna	Tamil
52	Varalaru	2006	K.S.Ravikumar	Tamil
53	Sivaji	2007	S.Shankar	Tamil
54	Azhagiya Thamizh Magan	2007	Bharathan	Tamil
55	Sakkarakatti	2008	Kala Prabhu	Tamil
56	Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa	2010	Gautham Menon	Tamil
57	Raavanan	2010	Maniratnam	Tamil
58	Enthiran	2010	S.Shankar	Tamil
59	Kadal	2013	Maniratnam	Tamil
60	Mariyaan	2013	Bharat Bala	Tamil
61	Kochadaiyaan	2014	Soundarya Rajinikanth	Tamil
62	I	2014	S.Shankar	Tamil