AR. Rahman – Education

Allahrakka Rahman, known professionally as A. R. Rahman, is an Indian composer, singer and music producer who works predominantly in Tamil and Hindi movies. Rahman was born in Madras, India on 6 January 1967.   His father, R. K. Shekhar, was a film-score composer and conductor for Tamil  and Malayalam films. Rahman assisted his father in the studio, playing the keyboard. He was only nine years old when his father died, so he was raised by his mother whose name is kareema. His mother was a practicing Hindu. At the age of 23, he converted to Islam with other members of his family in 1989, changing his name to Allahrakka Rahman (A. R. Rahman).

 Rahman initialy studied in padma shree bhavan but, along with  his study he started to  work and support his family. This led  to a routinely miss of his  classes and he failed exams. Therefore, the Principal of his school Mr. YGP  summoned Rahman and his mother and told them that Rahman should focus on academics irrespective of family circumstances. Rahman attended another school called MCN for a year, and later joined Madrass Christan College higher secondary school , where he was admitted on his music talent and formed a band with his high school classmates.Rahman was a keyboard player and arranger for bands such as Roots and founded the Chennai-based rock group Nemesis Avenue. He mastered the keyboard, piano, synthesizer, harmonium and guitar. However, after discussing with his mother, he later dropped out of school to pursue a career as a full-time musician. 

Rahman began his early musical training under Master Dhanraj and at age of 11 only he had  started playing in the orchestra of Malayalam composer MK Arjun. He soon began working with other composers, such as M.S. Vishwanathan, Ilaiyaraaju, Ramesh Naidu and Raj-Koti. he also accompanied Zakir Hussain, Kunnakudi Vaydianathan and L. Shankar on world tours. Studying in Madras, Rahman graduated with a diploma in Western classical music from the school. Rahman also obtained a scholarship from Trinity College London to the Trinity College Music. He was married to Saira Banu and was blessed with three children namly Khatija, Rahima and Ameen.

Conserts and Performances.  

Rahman has done various  non-film projects. VANDE MATRAM, an album of original compositions released for India’s 50th anniversary of its independence in 1997, is one of India’s bestselling non-film albums.He followed it with an album for the BHARAT BALA–directed video JANA GANA MANA, a collection of performances by leading exponents and artists of Indian classical music. Rahman has written advertising jingles and orchestrations for athletic events, television and Internet media, documentaries and short films, frequently using the Czech Film Orchestra and the Chennai Strings Orchestra.

In 1999, Rahman  partnered with choreographers Shobana and Prabhu Deva and a Tamil film-dancing troupe to perform with Michael Jackson in Munich, Germany at his Michael Jackson and Friends concert. In 2002 he composed the music for his first stage production, BOMBAY DREAMS  which was commissioned by Andrew Lloyd Webber. He also appeared as a judge on THE VOICE, a singing reality show. He has also sung and composed the track spiced up with rap and heavy percussion. The Irish rock band U2 once has  collaborated with Rahman to release a single, “Ahimsa”, in December 2019. 

popularity

Rahman’s music for 2008’s SLUMDOG MILLIONARE won a Golden Globe and two Academy Awards (a first for an Asian), and the songs “JAI HO” and “O… SAYA” from its soundtrack were internationally successful. His music on 2008’s Bollywood JAANE TU YA JAANE NA was popular with Indian youth; that year, his score and songs for JODHA AKBAR  won critical acclaim, a Best Composer Asian Film Award nomination and IIFA Award  for the best music direction and score. By the end of the year his music for Mani Ratnam’s KADAL was critically acclaimed, and the album topped the i Tunes India chart for December. In 2013, Rahman had two releases RANJHNAand MARYAN. Both were successful, with the former nominated for a number of awards and the latter the iTunes India Tamil Album of 2013. Till now Rahman is consided the finest artist in the industry and also a gentle human being.