AR Rahman is one of the greatest and most sought after composers of popular and film music in India. He has completely redefined music in India, and indeed, single-handedly taken Indian popular music international – not just to expatriate Indians all over the world, but to millions of people of other nations.
AR Rahman has also worked with internationally reputed artists like Michael Jackson, Jean Michel Jarre, Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber, Vanessa Mae, Deep Forest, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Apache Indian, Zakir Hussain, Dominic Miller, L.Shankar and David Byrne. For his musical genius, Rahman has been internationally dubbed The Mozart from Madras, and his albums reportedly sell more than those of Britney Spears and Madonna combined. The legendary composer of musicals, Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber, has described Rahman thus – “Rahman is fantastic. His music is so beautiful, and I believe what he is writing is so far ahead of the game, that we could be talking about the future of musicals for a very long time. I really look on Rahman as someone I can pass the mantle on to.
In India, he has a massive following among people of all ages -- children, adults as well as elders. His music, which has been prolific, routinely sells out within days if not hours of release. Besides more than two dozen hit singles, he has scored music for Indian block-buster films such as Lagaan (an Oscar nominee), Bombay, Roja and a dozen others. The music industry reliably estimates his total album sales somewhere in the region of 110 million units. At the age of 37, Rahman has garnered innumerable accolades for his work, including numerous Indian film and music awards. He has also received the prestigious Padmashri award, one of the highest civilian awards of the Government of India.
The Times of India, the nation's leading English daily newspaper, has hailed Rahman as one of the 100 greatest Indians of the 20th century. Rahman has also been assessed by a leading newsmagazine to be among the top three highest earning Indian entertainers, and even ahead of other icons like international cricket star Sachin Tendulkar and film superstar Shah Rukh Khan.
However, what sets Rahman completely apart from the other popular music stars, and makes him a potent voice for the Stop TB Partnership, were two projects which practically transformed the idea of India among the Indians of today. Rahman’s “Vande Mataram/Maa Tujhe Salaam” and “Jana Gana Mana” took the National Song and the National Anthem of India respectively, and rendered the essence and spirit of the original compositions in an interpretation that has now become legend.
The projects, which were specifically dedicated to the future generations of India, were part of a creative initiative launched on the 50 th anniversary of India’s independence. As a prestigious media publication in India described Rahman: “ Even if he had never composed a successful piece of film music in his life, he would have gone down in history for one unforgettable night: August 14th 1997, India’s 50th anniversary of Independence. That was the night A. R. Rahman gave his country its most rapturous 50th birthday present – ‘Vande Mataram / Maa Tujhe Salaam’. It was as if the very soul of India had found its voice once more.”
Other key projects and achievements that make AR Rahman a highly visible and potent ambassador for the Stop TB Partnership are summarized below:
A.R. Rahman and a Finnish folk troupe, Varttina, have been invited to write and compose songs for a musical stage version of the hit film series "The Lord of the Rings”. The musical is scheduled to open in London in the spring of 2005.
AR Rahman wrote the music score for the recently launched period film “Warriors of Heaven and Earth”, directed by acclaimed Chinese director Hei Ping. The film was co-produced by Columbia Pictures.
AR Rahman is the only composer besides himself that Sir Andrew Lloyd Weber has ever invited to score one of his musical productions, that being Bombay Dreams, which has received wide international acclaim. Following a 2-year long run in Westend, the musical opened on Broadway on April 29, 2004.
In 1999, Michael Jackson invited AR Rahman to jointly perform '’Ekam Satyam', a Rahman composition, as the finale for a concert for underprivileged children at the Olympic Stadium in Munich, Germany. Jackson sang the English lyrics and Rahman rendered the rest of the song in Sanskrit. Other performers at the concert included Luciano Pavarotti, Stevie Wonder, Alan Parsons, Vanessa Mae and Boyzone.
The above-mentioned projects reflect AR Rahman’s international stature and personal commitment to justice, humanism and peace. In India, aside from his many fans, AR Rahman enjoys the privilege of being a respected and close friend of the President of India, Dr Abdul Kalam.
AR Rahman’s immense popularity and iconic status, his internationally acclaimed musical genius, the deep respect accorded to him by high-profile celebrities and political leaders, the media and the entertainment industry, combined with his gentle, unassuming and humble persona, make him a compelling ambassador for the Stop TB Partnership. Additionally, his own upbringing and childhood experiences, especially the death of his father due to a prolonged battle with cancer, has made him particularly sensitive to issues related to children, health and poverty.
AR Rahman is a thorough professional of his craft, and of exemplary personal integrity and dignity. Despite his iconic status, he has been careful to maintain simplicity in his personal life. Rahman’s personal philosophy is best described in his own words: "If a music artist wants to blossom into a full-pledged person, it's not enough if he knows only classical music; nor is it enough if he's well-versed only in ragas and techniques. Instead, he should be a knowledgeable person interested in life and philosophy. In his personal life there should be, at least in some corner of his heart, a tinge of lingering sorrow."
AR Rahman lives with his wife and three young children in Chennai, India.
