Rahman pursued music as a career at a very young age and after assisting leading musicians in India went on to compose jingles and scores for popular Indian television features. He also obtained a degree in western classical music from the Trinity College of Music, London and set up his own in-house studio called Panchathan Record-Inn at Chennai. In 1991, noted film maker Mani Ratnam offered Rahman a movie called 'Roja' which was a run-away success and brought nationwide fame and acclaim to the composer. The movie also won Rahman the Indian National Award for the best music composer, the first time ever by a debutant. Since then, Rahman has gone on to win the National Award 3 more times, the most ever by any music composer.
In 1997, to commemorate 50 years of Indian Independence, Sony Music signed up Rahman as its first artiste in South Asia. The result was 'Vande Mataram', an album that instantly made Indians relate to it and succeeded in rekindling the spirit of patriotism. In 2001, Andrew Lloyd Webber, the well known composer of musicals like 'Phantom of the Opera' & 'Jesus Christ Superstar' invited Rahman to compose for his musical, 'Bombay Dreams', the first time he would produce a musical he did not compose for. 'Bombay Dreams' opened to packed houses at London's West End and had an unprecedented run for 2 years and later premiered at New York's Broadway. Rahman recently composed the score for the stage production of 'The Lord of the Rings', one of the most expensive productions mounted on stage.
Rahman has undertaken several sellout concert tours in over 30 international destinations including one at the prestigious Hollywood Bowl in 2006.Recently, Time magazine rated the soundtrack of 'Roja' in the Top 10 of their all time best movie soundtracks of the world; The Guardian, UK, listed the soundtrack of 'Bombay' in '1000 albums to listen before you die'.
Rahman's music led him to be noticed internationally with several of his tracks featuring in movies such as 'The Lord of War', 'Inside Man' and 'The Accidental Husband'. His composition, Bombay Theme holds the distinction of being featured in over 50 international compilations. He also scored the music for the Hollywood productions, 'Elizabeth - The Golden Age', 'Slumdog Millionaire', 'Couples Retreat' and the Chinese movie, 'Warriors of Heaven & Earth' produced by Sony Pictures.
In 2008, Rahman's work gained global prominence with the extraordinary success of his score for 'Slumdog Millionaire' that won 8 Academy Awards including two for Rahman, for Best Score and Best Song. Rahman won over 15 awards for his score including two Grammys, the Golden Globe and the BAFTA.
Rahman has been bestowed with the 'Padma Bhushan' and 'Padma Shri', two of India's highest national civilian honours, recognizing his contribution to music, in addition to several other awards including 4 Indian National Film Awards and 25 Filmfare Awards, India's leading recognition for films. He has also been conferred with honorary doctorates from the Trinity College of Music, Aligarh Muslim University, Anna University and the Middlesex University. He was also named by Time Magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the world, in 2009.
Rahman has expanded his focus to newer horizons like setting up the A R Rahman Foundation to help poor and underprivileged children. He released his first English single, 'Pray For Me Brother' in 2007, with proceeds from the sales going to the foundation. He also serves as the UN Ambassador for the 2015 Millenium Development Goals. Rahman has also announced initiatives to establish a tradition in western classical music in India and recently embarked on an ambitious venture to set up the KM Music Conservatory and the KM Music Symphony Orchestra based out of Chennai, India. He plans to provide a platform for non-mainstream music through his music label KM Musiq and will shortly launch a couple of artistes.
