A.R. Rahman: The Story Behind the Legend

Words cannot describe the accomplishments of A.R. Rahman, nor does he require any formal introduction. Singer, songwriter, producer, are just a few of Rahman's talents and as HHPulse discovered, the story behind the legend is just as amazing as any and all of his musical compositions.
Billy Ocean


A.R. Rahman, or Allah Rakha Rahman was actually born A.S. Dileep Kumar to a musically gifted Tamil family in Madras (Chennai) on January 6th 1967. While his father, K.A. Sekhar, was a composer and conductor in Malayalam movies, a young Rahman would often travel along side his father and attend the many studio sessions required of a composer. Interestingly, during one of those visits, musical director Sudarshanam Master observed 4 year old Rahman playing a tune on the harmonium. Even when the Master covered the harmonium keys with a cloth, Rahman played the tune again as if the keys were still uncovered. Impressed by what he was witnessing, Sudarshanam Master recommended for 4 year old Rahman to undergo studies as a musician, and soon after a young Dileep was receiving lessons from Dhanraj Master.

Although his young life was filled with promise and joy, much of that was cut short at the age of 9, at the time when Rahman's father died from a mysterious illness. Forced to support his three sisters and mother, he and his family first rented out all of his father's musicial equipment but when that was not enough, Rahman went further by the age of 11 by joining Illaiyaraja's troupe as a keyboard player.

At this point in time, and seeing the potential in her only son, Rahman's mother Kareema Begum encouraged her son to pursue music fulltime, and because of this, his education naturally suffered. Skipping school became a common occurance for Rahman, so much so that it forced the young musician to drop out of the prestigious Padma Seshadri Bai Bhavan to the Madras Christian College, to finally dropping out of school all together by the 11th grade. While out of school, Rahman stayed busy with his music endevours by accompanying Zakir Hussein and Kunakuddi Vaidyanathan on world tours, as well as playing on orchestras commanded by such individuals as M.S. Vishwanathan and Ramesh Naidu.

For the next 8-9 years of his life, Rahman would work with different composers and musical directors, and while each experience led to Rahman's understanding of musical compositions, Rahman had always felt that in order to make the greatest music, composers were probably under the influence of some drug or alcohol. Illaiyaraja changed his perceptions on those stereotypes: "Until then I thought you had to drink or take dope to be a good artist. But Illaiyaraja was making such beautiful music and leading a pure life. I was under the impression that if its music, whoever it is, they must have some bad habit. He [Illaiyaraja] proved that he could make music without any bad habits."

In 1988, tragedy struck Rahman's family again as one of his sisters became seriously ill, hovering close to death. After all medications and prayer services were deemed un-helpful, the family asked for the help of Pir Qadri, a religious muslim whom the family had sought at the time of Rahman's father's death. Through Qadri's prayers and blessings, Rahman's sister made an unbelievable full recovery, an experience which convinced Rahman and the entire family of the powers of Allah, and as a result, the entire family converted to Islam. No longer did he present himself as A.S. Dileep Kumar, but now went by the name of Allah Rakha Rahman, or A.R. Rahman: "As Dileep I had an inferiority complex. As A.R. Rahman I feel like I have been born again."

Through all of these experiences, A.R. Rahman built his musical expertise and understanding, as well as a fond understanding of life and religion. Although his early catelogue of works is impressive, it was not until 1991 that his musical genius was discovered. In 1991, Tamil move director Mani Ratnam took a chance on the young Rahman, who at that time was best known for a composition he had produced for a Leo Coffee commercial. After inviting Rahman to a studio session, it only took one listen to a Rahman track to convince Mani Ratman that A.R. Rahman was his man. After signing Rahman to produce the score for the film "Roja," the song "Tamizha Tamizha" became an instant Tamil hit in India, and launched the then 25 year old into stardom.

Of course A.R. Rahman had much more in-store for the world to witness when in 1998, Mani Ratnam employed Rahman again to compose the score for his first Hindi film "Dil Se." Although the film flopped and was unsuccessful in India, the title track "Dil Se," sung by Rahman himself, as well as his production for the hit "Chaiyya Chaiyya" was enough to bring movie-goers to the theaters. It only takes one listen to these two tracks to understand why A.R. Rahman is widely considered as one of the best musical composers to ever come out of India.

Of course, an entire book can be written on A.R. Rahman, however getting a small glimpse into the life of a legend is a humbling experience. Not only has A.R. Rahman received numerous awards and accolades, but his 2002 Broadway debut "Bombay Dreams" received a generous welcome as well. Throughout all of his accomplishments, A.R Rahman has completely transcended all cultural boundaries by his musical productions, compositions, and vocal performances, and never ceases to amaze the musical industry.

A.R. Rahman is currently on a US Tour entitled "The 3rd Dimension," which features Rahman, Sukhwinder Singh, Chitra, Hariharan, Sadhana Sargam, Sivamani, Blaaze, and others.