Indian cinema has seen many a great composer but the one name that truly stands out is undoubtedly that of AR Rahman's. This is the same man who changed the face of Indian music at various stages. Not only has he surprised his audience with each and every composition of his, but has also managed to provide renditions under various genres and emotions. And the most astonishing part about his music is that it has successfully penetrated borders, be it his home country India (which is a vast geography practicing starkly different cultures) or otherwise (A Golden globe, a BAFTA, 2 Grammies and 2 Oscars stand proof of it). Today, the man who is forever in his humble demeanour turns 50 and we decided to take a look back at his musical journey and bring to you some of his all-time classic original scores.
The Debut :
The man was creating waves right from the word go as his debut composition for Roja turned out to be a phenomenal hit making both Mani Ratnam (director) and AR Rahman a household name in the country. It won him a National award, a state award and featured in the TIME magazine's 10 best soundtracks of all time in 2005. The song which remains most memorable though from the album is Chinna Chinna Aasai (Chothi Si Aasha in Hindi)
Experimenting with Genres:
By the time Rahman was known for his kind of music which is usually considered to be techno and western, he took everyone by surprise by choosing a film based on an out and out rural subject (KizhakkuCheemaiyilae) and came out with flying colours. The songs were all based on Tamil folk music and gained one of its singers a State award for best male playback. (Jayachandran - Kathaazha Kaattu Vazhi) This was also the first movie to have introduced the Bharathi Raja-AR Rahman combination.
The 90s Era :
The 90s was definitely the era of AR Rahman who royally ruled the roost in the music department during that time. He had produced some unwavering chart-busters notably with Shankar's Kadhalan and Indian, Mani Ratnam's Bombay, Ram Gopal Varma's Rangeela, K.S. Ravikumar's Muthu, Rajeev Menon's Minsaara Kanavu and Kathir's Kaadhal Desam.
Kadhalan: This song was not not only a milestone in the department of visuals and choreography but also in the cateogory of music. It was Rahman's impeccable musical composition which uplifted the whole song experience.
Bombay : The number Humma-Humma (whose rip-off music by a different composer caused a furore among fans recently) was extremely popular. Another number Kannalane/Kehna hi Kya has been listed by The Guardian magazine under "1000 Songs Everyone Must Hear" and "1000 Albums to Hear Before You Die".
Kadhal Desam : This song of AR Rahman's remains the unofficial friendship anthem among many till date.
Individual Albums :
Rahman who had by this time conquered the Indian cine industry, ventured into individual music on a big scale by producing the album Vande Mataram in the year 1997. As someone known to take every world he steps into by storm, it was no wonder when he yet again goose-bumped each and every one of his fellow countrymen with his patriotic number Maa Tujhe Salaam /Thai Mannae Vanakkam. The song recreated its global attention when Chris Martin (lead vocalist of the band Coldplay) attempted singing it with Rahman during his first concert in India in 2016. The tracks "Jiya Se Jiya" and "Pray for Me Brother" are two other widely popular numbers from his other individual albums.
PAN Indian Reach :
His debut Hindi musical Rangeela, created quite a furore in the musical industry, with the title track garnering the utmost attention.
But it was the movie Dil Se (Uyire) which added to his repertoire of sensational music in Bollywood. The track Chaiyya Chaiyya became an instant favourite and the song was even ranked 9th in the Top 10 Songs of all time by the BBC World Service. It was later featured in an International movie titled Inside Man.
Rahman went on to produce ample amount of work in various other languages later but this song continues to be the most popular classic till date.
Global Fame :
Rahman's biggest International fame came through the 2008 British film Slumdog Millionaire. His song Jai Ho from the movie went on to become his biggest chartbuster ever winning him 2 Academy awards for Best Original Score and Best Original Song. He also won a Golden Globe Award and a BAFTA award for Best Original Score and Best Film Music respectively.
But not many know that Rahman was popular in the West even before all this fame. His first ever international project was Warriors of Heaven and Earth which was his first and only Chinese composition. Apart from composing for a slew of acclaimed English films (Lord of Rings, Elizabeth, etc) his original music has appeared in movies like Inside Man (Chaiya Chaiya), The Accidental Husband (Yaro Yaro Di, Swasamae, Rang De Basanti) and Lord of War (Bombay Theme music). The song Urvasi Urvasi also inspired DJ William and Cody Wise for their hit number "Its my Birthday".
Keeping with the trend :
Though his work of music have all been successful and popular, Rahman is one of those rare musicians who keeps re-inventing himself with time. In a career spanning 25 years, if he has managed to retain the top spot, it is mainly beacuse of his coming-of-age music. With his birthday in mind, we present to you one of his most unforgettable numbers which stood the test of time in the popularity graph. It featured among the top numbers for almost a year in the musical charts :
Here's wishing the Mozart of Madras who is also fondly known as the Isai Puyal a very happy birthday and all success in his future endeavors (Kaatru Veliyidai, Vijay 61, GVPrakash-Rajeev Menon movie to name a few)