AR Rahman turns 58: Interesting facts about ‘The Mozart Of Madras’

Music maestro AR Rahman, fondly referred to as ‘The Mozart Of Madras,’ is celebrating his 58th birthday on Monday, January 6. In his decades-long journey, Rahman has become one of the most celebrated musicians and is popular for his soulful music across all age groups.
To mark the 58th birthday of AR Rahman, here we take a look at some of the interesting facts about the great musician:

1. Rahman was born as Dileep Kumar into a Hindu family. However, he went on to embrace Islam at the age of 23 after meeting his spiritual guru Qadri Islam.
2. He created history by emerging as the first Asian to have bagged two Oscars in the same year for Slumdog Millionaire. Besides this, the Padma Bhushan recipient has also won several National Awards, two Grammy Awards, one BAFTA honour and a Golden Globe Award.
3. Before he entered the entertainment industry, Rahman shot to fame as the child who could play four keyboards at once on the show ‘Wonder Balloon’ on Doordarshan.
4. According to reports, the signature tune of Airtel, which was composed by Rahman, is one of the most downloaded music items on mobile.
5. The first one to spot Rahman in the industry was none other than Mani Ratnam, who roped him in to compose the music of the 1992 classic Roja. In return, Rahman was reportedly paid ₹25,000 for the film. Roja bagged Rahman a National Film Award for his work.
6. AR Rahman’s Oscar-winning song Jai Ho was featured in the film Slumdog Millionaire in 2008. However, not many know that this single was initially composed to feature in Bollywood superstar Salman Khan’s Yuvvraaj.
7. Besides working in the Indian entertainment industry, Rahman has also composed scores for Hollywood films like 127 Hours and Lord Of War. Also, he worked with Mick Jagger, Dave Stewart and Joss Stone to introduce SuperHeavy, a one-off supergroup project.

Recently, Rahman was in the news after he and Saira Banu announced their separation after 29 years of marriage. In a heartfelt note on social media, Rahman said that he hoped to reach the ‘grand thirty’ with his former partner, but it wasn’t to be.

“We had hoped to reach the grand 30, but all things, it seems, carry an unseen end. Even the throne of God might tremble at the weight of broken hearts. Yet, in this shattering, we seek meaning, though the pieces may not find their place again. To our friends, thank you for your kindness and for respecting our privacy as we walk through this fragile chapter,” he wrote on X while accompanying the message with a bouquet emoji and the hashtag #arrsairaabreakup.