music: A. R. Rahman

Birth name : A. S. Dileep KumarBorn : January 6, 1966 (1966-01-06) (age 42)Origin : Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
A. R. Rahman was born to R. K. Shekhar, a composer, arranger and conductor for Malayalam-language films. His father died when Rahman was nine years old, and his family rented out musical equipment as a source of income.
During these early years, Rahman served as a keyboardist and an arranger in bands such as "Roots" and "Nemesis Avenue" with friends including Sivamani, embracing numerous music genres. He played the keyboard and piano, in addition to, among others, the synthesizer, the harmonium and the guitar. His curiosity in the synthesizer in particular increased because, he says, it was the “ideal combination of music and technology.” He began early training in music under Master Dhanraj. At the age of 11, he joined, as a keyboardist, the troupe of composer Ilaiyaraaja,one of many composers to whom musical instruments belonging to Rahman's father were rented to. Rahman later played in the orchestra of M. S. Viswanathan and Ramesh Naidu, accompanied Zakir Hussain, Kunnakudi Vaidyanathan and L. Shankar on world tours and obtained a scholarship to Trinity College of Music, where he graduated with a degree in Western classical music

In 1991, Rahman began his own music recording and mixing studio, attached to backyard of his house, called the Panchathan Record Inn. He initially composed music jingles for advertisements,Indian Television channels and music scores in documentaries, among other projects. In 1992, he was approached by film director Mani Ratnam to compose the score and soundtrack for Ratnam's Tamil film Roja. The debut led Rahman to receive the Rajat Kamal award for Best Music Director at the National Film Awards, the first time ever by a first-time film composer. Rahman has since then gone on to win the award three more times (for his scores for Minsaara Kanavu (Electric Dreams, Tamil) in 1997, Lagaan (Tax, Hindi) in 2002 and Kannathil Muthamittal (A Kiss on the Cheek, Tamil) in 2003), the most ever by any composerRoja's score met with high sales and acclaim, in its original and dubbed versions, bringing about an effective transformation in film music at the time, and Rahman followed this with scores for films including, among others, Bombay, Kadhalan, Indira, Minsaara Kanavu, Muthu and Love Birds, which gained him notice. His soundtracks gained him recognition in the Tamil film industry and across the country for his versatality in classical, folk, jazz, reggae, soft rock and other styles in his pieces. Rangeela, directed by Ram Gopal Varma, marked Rahman's debut in Hindi films. Many popular and superhit scores for films including Dil Se and Taal followed. The sales of these albums prompted several film producers to take film music more seriously.

Rahman's work is also unique in the fact that his collaborations with some film directors have always resulted in successful soundtracks. In particular, he has worked with Mani Ratnam on ten films until 2006, all of which have been musical hits. Also notable is his collaboration with the director S. Shankar in the films Gentleman, Kadhalan, Indian, Jeans, Mudhalvan, Nayak, Boys and Sivaji.His first movie album Roja was listed in TIME "Top 10 Movie Soundtracks of All Time".Rahman continued to record frequently in his studio, the Panchathan Record Inn till 2005, after which he shifted to his new studio named as A.M. Studio, which is considered to be the most developed, equipped and high tech studio of Asia. In 2006, Rahman launched his own music label, KM Musiq. It's first release was his soundtrack to the film Sillunu Oru Kaadhal which it released worldwide, in August 2006. His latest work includes Rang De Basanti, Sillunu Oru Kaadhal, Guru, Varalaru - The History of the Godfather, Sivaji: The Boss and Azhagiya Tamil Magan. Rahman has scored the movie Provoked, co-scored Elizabeth: The Golden Age and is working on Chamki Chameli and Jodhaa Akbar set for release in 2008 along with Hindi version of Tamil blockbuster "Ghajini".He is a recipient of the Padma Shri.

Film scores
Roja (1992)

Yodha (1992)

Uzhavan (1993)

Thiruda Thiruda (1993)

Pudhiya Mugam (1993)

Gentleman (1993)

Vandicholai Chinnaraasu (1994)

Super Police (1994)

Pudhiya Mannargal (1994)

Pavithra (1994)

May Madham (1994)

Kizhakku Cheemayile (1994)