A R RAHMAN - A MUSICAL GENIUS

Name: Allah Rakha Rahman
Date of birth: 5 January, 1966
Place of birth: Madras (now Chennai), India
Profession: Music composer, playback singer

In little less than a decade, A.R. Rahman has changed the face of Indian film music. A Mani Ratnam find, Rahman's first major work Roja (1993), was a breakthrough. The unique blend of folk, classical and natural sounds in the Choti si Aasha… number, created a new idiom which became a Rahman hallmark. For South Asians all over the globe, Rahman is a cult figure. The young love him because his blends are wild. His popular numbers have a magical mix of all kinds of sounds. For Rahman, there are no rules, no boundaries in music.

Having dominated the Indian music scene for the better part of a decade, Rahman is no stranger to the western world as he recently worked with Andrew Lloyd Webber and Shekhar Kapur in the highly successful West End musical 'Bombay Dreams'.

Since his introduction to Indian cinema, he has worked on close to sixty films. After creating waves in Mani Ratnam's Roja in 1992, A.R Rahman's career has gone from strength to strength by introducing a new ambience to Indian cinema and being one of the main contributors to the film industry's crossover appeal.

According to acclaimed Indian film director Shyam Benegal, the secrets of Rahman's magic lies in 'the depth of his compositions and his having a perfect feel on the pulse of the younger generation. That makes failure difficult for him.'

At 37, Rahman's achievements are incredible.

SELECTED FILMS AS A COMPOSER

FILMS SHOWING AT 'BITE THE MANGO' FILM FESTIVAL 2003

Spotlights And Saris: Making Bombay Dreams Dir: Nasreen Munni Kabir, UK, 2002, 60 mins.
Saathiya Dir: Shaad Ali, India, , 138 mins

Information courtesy of Bite the Mango Film Festival.