AR Rahman Age, Wife, Family, Children, Biography and more

AR Rahman

Bio Profile
Real Name: A. S. Dilip Kumar
Full Name: Allah Rakha Rahman
Nickname (item): Isai Puyal, The Mozart of Madras
Profession (s): Music Director, Singer

Physical stats and more
Height
In centimeters (approx) 165 cm
In Meters - 1.65 Meters
Feet Inches - 5 '5'

Weight
In kg (approx) - 70 kg
In pounds - 154 lbs

Eye color: brown
Hair color: black
 

Personal Life
Birth date: 6 January 1967
Age (in 2021): 54 years
Birthplace: Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
Zodiac capricorn
Signature

Nationality: Indian
Hometown: Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
School: Padma Seshadri Bal Bhavan, Chennai
College: Madras Christian College, Chennai
Trinity College of Music, Oxford University, United Kingdom
Educational Qualification: Degree in Western Classical Music

Family
Father- R.K.  Shekhar (music composer)
Mother- Karima Bigam

Brother- None
Sisters- A. R.  Rihan, Fatima Rafiq and Ishrat Qadri
Religion: Islam (converted from Hinduism)
Address: Kodambakkam, Chennai

Hobby: keyboard games

Relationship and more
Marital Status: Married
Wife: Saira Banu

Children
Daughter- Khatija, Rahima
Son- Amin

Debut
Music Director: Roja (1992, Tamil and Hindi)

Album: Vande Mataram (1997)

Awards, National Film Awards

1992- Best Music Direction - Roja
1996- Best Music Direction - Minsara Kanavu
2001- Best Music Direction - Lagaan
2002- Best Music Direction - Kannathil Muthamittal
2017- Best Music Direction - Katru Veliyidai
2017- Best Music Direction - Mother

Academy Awards

2009- Best Original Score and Best Original Song for "Jai Ho" - Slumdog Millionaire

BAFTA Award

2009- Best Film Music - Slumdog Millionaire

Grammy Award

2009- Best compilation soundtrack album for motion picture and best song written for motion picture for "Jai Ho" - Slumdog Millionaire

The Honors

1995- Kalimani by Tamil Nadu Government
2000- Padma Shri by the Government of India
2001 - Oudh Award by Uttar Pradesh Government
2004- National Lata Mangeshkar Award by Government of Madhya Pradesh
2010 - Padma Bhushan by the Government of India

Controversy
It is said that Rahman converted from Hinduism to Islam, because a maulavi cured his seek sister and his mother was influenced by the maulavi and began to believe in Islam.

A fatwa or fringe was issued against him for composing the music of the biopic on Prophet Muhammad, called "Muhammad: The Messenger of God".
 
Favorite things
Food: Palak Paneer, Rasam-Rice
Musicians (S): Ilaiyaraaja, Mohammad Rafi, Michael Jackson
Destination (s): Chennai, Mumbai, London

 
Money factor
Salary (approx): Rs.  5-8 crores / film
Net worth (approximately): Rs. 163 crores

Some lesser known facts about AR Rahman

Is A. R.  Rehman Smokes ?: No
Is A. R. Rahman Drink ?: No
Rahman was earlier known as AS Dilip Kumar before converting from Hinduism to Islam.
His childhood was difficult because his father died when he was 9, leaving him as the sole earning source of his family.  Initially, he used his father's keyboard to earn money.
  

AR Rahman's childhood photo

He scored 62% in his board exam.
He aspired to become a computer engineer.
Following in his father's footsteps, he got his initial training in music from Master Dhanraj.
His first salary for operating a record player was 50 (INR).
From 1984–88, he was part of a band called Root.  During this period, he also played keyboards for 10 - 12 Kannada films.
  

AR Rahman - Roots Band

Later, he became part of a rock band called "Nemesis Avenue", where he worked as a producer-manager and also performed for a concert concert live live.
  

AR Rahman - Nemesis Avenue Band

In 1987, he began composing short songs for advertising advertisements, the first of them being Alvin's range of new modern watches.  And, over a period of 5 years, he composed about 300 of them.
In 1989, he and his family converted to Islam from Hinduism after his sister received magical relief from his serious illness with the blessings of Pir Qadri, named Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jeelani.
In 1991, he met Sharada Trilok, a producer, who introduced him to his cousin, Mani Ratnam, who was so impressed with his performance that he brought him success in the film Roja (1992).  In 2005, the same song was listed among TIME's "10 Best Soundtracks".
Very few people know that the first film for which he composed music was Mohanlal starrer Yodha (1992), a Malayalam film.
By 2004, he was one of the world's best-selling recording artists, until then, he sold nearly 200 million cassettes and 150 million recordings to his soundtrack.
Although he loves to compose all of Gender's music, romantic is his favorite.
In 2008, he founded KM College of Music and Technology in Chennai, which was inaugurated by Mukesh Ambani.

A.R. Rahman KM College of Music and Technology inaugurated by Mukesh Ambani

The Oscar-winning song "Jai Ho" was introduced for the Bollywood film Yuvraj (2008), but later became a part of Slumdog Millionaire (2008).

In 2012, he received a Christmas card and dinner invitation from then President of the United States Barack Obama at the White House.
He shares his birthday (6 January) with his son, Amin.
He is the global ambassador of the WHO's "Stop TB Partnership" and also supports "Save the Child" in India.
In 2013, a street was named in his honor in Markham, Ontario, Canada.

 

AR in Canada  Rahman Street

Unlike other composers, he prefers composing music at night.
His favorite raga is 'Sindhu Bhairavi'.
Along with filmmaker Shekhar Kapur, he has launched a social media platform called "Kyuki" to showcase raw talent in India.

  

AR Rahman and Shekhar Kapoor

On 20 January 2017, he celebrated a one-day fast with members of Nadigar Sangam to support the people of Tamil Nadu against the ban on Jallikattu (a bull-taming event).

AR Rahman Tweet for Jallikattu

In January 2018, he became the first brand ambassador of Sikkim.

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