Hi Happy Birthday to The Legend Rahman. Some reports say he is turning 42 and others 43. Which is correct?
Chitra --- In arrahmanfans@yahoogroups.com, Vithur <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > http://www.indiaenews.com/bollywood/20080106/90045.htm > 'Mozart of Madras' A.R. Rahman turns 43 > > - Email <http://www.indiaenews.com/email/?id=90045> > - Print <http://www.indiaenews.com/print/?id=90045> > - Download PDF <http://www.indiaenews.com/pdf/90045.pdf> > - Comments (0)<http://www.indiaenews.com/bollywood/20080106/90045/comments.htm> > > From correspondents in Maharashtra, India, 09:30 PM IST > > Few of his fans may be aware that music maestro Allah Rakha Rahman, or A.R. > Rahman as he is better known, started his career composing jingles for > advertising films. > > That was 20 years ago. 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. > > After starting with Mani Ratnam's 'Roja' (1992), Rahman never looked back as > he effortlessly wielded the baton. The songs in the bi-lingual movie, > including the title track 'Roja Jaaneman' and 'Dil Hai Chhotasa' became a > national rage and topped the popularity charts. > > 'Roja' earned him the National Award for best music composer - the first > ever time a debutant has bagged this honour. > > Rahman followed it up with his first exclusive Hindi compositions for > 'Rangeela' (1995) and proved that he understood the taste of the Hindi > audiences. 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. > > He has a longer list of hits in Tamil films. > > In 1997, Sony Music signed him to compose 'Vande Mataram' on the occasion of > the golden jubilee of India's Independence. 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. > > According to an estimate, Rahman's music has sold over 100 million copies > worldwide, making him one of the most saleable composers in India. > > Born as Dileep Singh on Jan 6, 1966, the school dropout from > Chennai<http://www.indiaenews.com/chennai/>belonged to a musically > inclined family. > > He started learning to play piano at the age of four. At nine, his father > R.K. Shekhar, a music arranger, expired, leaving on his young shoulders the > burden of supporting the family. > > 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. > > With Ilayaraja and subsequently in other troupes, including those of tabla > maestro Zakir Hussain, Vishwanathan-Ramamurthy and L. Shankar, the young > Rahman travelled around the world. > > In between he won a coveted degree in western classical music from the > Oxford University. It was around this time that he became deeply inspired by > Sufism and converted to Islam. > > 'I am a deeply spiritual person. Sufism is about love, love for a fellow > human, love for all-round humanity and ultimately love for god. For me, it's > where music and spiritualism meet - at durgahs, you will find qawwalis. > That's my inspiration,' he once said. > > Deeply involved in charitable causes in India and abroad, Rahman was > appointed World Health Organisation (WHO) global ambassador of Stop TB > Partnership in 2004. > > -- > regards, > Vithur > > A.R.RAHMAN - THE ABODE OF DIVINE MUSIC >
