In 1991, Rahman began his own studio (attached to his house), called the Panchathan Record Inn. He initially composed music for use in advertisements, the title music on popular Indian Television channels and music in documentaries, among other projects. Rahman was, at first, hesitant about composing music for the Indian film industry primarily because most film makers at the time used songs as "fillers" - a means by which the audience was given a break from the movie's plot. In 1991 he was approached by film director Mani Ratnam, who offered Rahman the job as composer of music for his upcoming film Roja, at a price of Rs. 25,000. Rahman accepted, and the movie's superhit debut made him a household name in Tamil Nadu virtually overnight and led Rahman to receive the Rajat Kamal award for best music director at the Indian National Film Awards, the first time ever by a debutant. Rahman has
since then gone on to win the award 3 more times (for Minsaara Kanavu (Electric Dreams, Tamil) in 1997, Lagaan (Tax, Hindi) in 2002 and Kannathil Muthamittal (A Peck on the Cheek, Tamil) in 2003), the most ever by any composer.
A.R. Rahman combined the usage of technology and music. He has been successful in creating his own style of composition by a symbiosis of the best elements of technology and Indian classical instruments. However some critics allege that he makes excessive usage of technology in his music.
When Rahman arrived onto the Indian music scene with his first film Roja, the music industry in India was going through a crisis with the retirement of older music composers and the lack of innovation in Indian film music. Roja was a massive hit, and Rahman followed it up with a number of other extremely popular films, including Bombay, Rangeela, Dil Se and Taal . The huge sales of these albums prompted movie producers to take film music more seriously.
Another point worth noting is that while Ilayaraaja brought western music in Indian Instruments, A.R.Rahman pioneered the art of composing Indian classical Carnatic and Hindustani music and using western Instruments to play those tunes.
Rahman's work is also unique in the fact that his collaborations with a few movie directors have always resulted in hugely successful albums. In particular, he has worked with Mani Ratnam on eight movies (until 2004) (see list of movies by Mani Ratnam featuring A R Rahman), all of which have been musical superhits. Also notable is his collaboration with the director S. Shankar (Gentleman, Kadhalan, Indian, Jeans, Mudhalvan, Nayak and Boys). Lord Lloyd-Webber with A.R. Rahman Lord Lloyd-Webber with A.R. Rahman He made an album Vande Mataram (1996) on India's national song. Recently, he also came up with an album called Jana gana mana, a huge conglomeration of performances by all the leading exponents/artists of Indian classical music.
His latest work includes Mani Ratnams's Yuva, Meenaxi: Tale of 3 Cities, Bose - The Forgotten Hero, Swades, Mangal Pandey - The Rising and Rang De Basanti. He is currently working on Mani Ratnam's next venture Guru, and on one of Shyam Benegal's most expensive ventures, undisclosed so far, which is set for release in the spring of 2006.
International accolades
Andrew Lloyd Webber, a well known composer of musicals, was impressed with Rahman's unique style and therefore hired him to compose his maiden stage production Bombay Dreams (2002). This play was well received in England and opened him up to new vistas in Hollywood. Currently (as of May 2004) Rahman, along with the Finnish folk music
band Värttinä, is composing for The Lord of the Rings musical, set to open in Toronto on March 23, 2006.
Rahman received more international attention with this article in the TIME magazine. Rahman's first movie album "Roja" was listed in TIME magazine's TOP 10 Movie Soundtracks of all time; source. According to
BBC Rahman is reported to have sold 100 million records world-wide.
In 2000, Rahman's annual income was estimated to be around $4 million from worldwide endorsements and royalties dating back to Roja (1992). According to Rediff.com, rights for his Tamil album Kandukondain Kandukondain (2000) were sold for an astonishing record sum of Rs. 22 million! This record still remains unbeaten six years hence.
In addition to influencing western audiences, Rahman also impressed eastern audiences with his music so much that he was tapped by Chinese director He Ping to provide music for the Chinese film Warriors of Heaven and Earth in 2003 IMDB. The music of this film was very much appreciated in Asia and in India.
Awards and nominations
A.R. Rahman has won the following awards:
* 1993, National Film Award for Best Music Direction, Roja
* 1995, Filmfare Best Music Director Award, Rangeela
* 1997, National Film Award for Best Music Direction, Minsaara Kanavu
* 1998, Filmfare Best Music Director Award, Dil Se
* 2000, Filmfare Best Music Director Award, Taal
* 2000, Zee Cine Award Best Music Director, Taal
* 2002, Zee Cine Award Best Music Director, Lagaan
* 2002, Filmfare Best Music Director Award, Lagaan
* 2002, National Film Award for Best Music Direction, Lagaan
* 2002, Filmfare Best Music Director Award, Saathiya
* 2003, National Film Award for Best Music Direction, Kannathil Muthamittal
* 9 South Indian Filmfare Awards
* 6 Times Tamil Nadu State Film Awards
A.R Rahman has been nominated for the following awards:
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