Allahrakka Rahman, known professionally as A. R. Rahman, is an Indian composer, singer and music producer. He is nicknamed “Isai Puyal” and Mozart of Madras”. In 2010, the Indian government awarded him the Padma Bhushan, the nation’s third-highest civilian award.

Some Lesser Known Facts About A. R. Rahman

• Does A. R. Rahman smoke?: No
• Does A. R. Rahman alcohol?: No
• Rahman was known earlier known as A. S. Dileep Kumar before he converted from Hinduism to Islam.
• He had a difficult childhood as his father died when he was 9 years old, leaving him as the sole earning source of his family. Initially, he used to play his father’s keyboard to earn money.
• He scored 62% in his board exams.
• He aspired to be a computer engineer.
• Following the footsteps of his father, he incepted his early training in music from Master Dhanraj.
• His first salary was 50 (INR) for operating a record player.
• From 1984-88, he was part of the band called Roots”. During this period, he also played keyboard for 10 – 12 Kannada films.
• Later, he became part of a rock band called “Nemesis Avenue”, where he worked as producer-arranger and also performed for a concert ‘Jive live’.
• In 1987, he started composing short songs for ad commercials, first among them was Alwyn’s new trendy range of watches. And, in the span of 5 years, he composed around 300 of them.
• In 1989, he and his family converted to Islam from Hinduism after his sister felt magical relief out of her severe illness from the blessings of a Pir Qadri called Sheik Abdul Qadir Jeelani.
• In 1991, he met a producer, Sharada Trilok, who introduced him to her cousin, Mani Ratnam who got so much impressed with his performance, that he gave him a breakthrough in the film Roja (1992). In 2005, the same song was listed among TIME’s “10 Best Soundtracks” of all time.
• 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 among the world’s all-time top-selling recording artists, as till then, he sold almost 200 million cassettes and 150 million recordings of his soundtracks.
• Though he loves to compose music of all genders, but romantic is his favorite.
• In 2008, he founded KM College of Music and Technology in Chennai, which was inaugurated by Mukesh Ambani.
• His Oscar Award-winning song “Jai Ho” was initially composed for the Bollywood film Yuvvraaj (2008), but it later became a part of Slumdog Millionaire (2008).
• In 2012, he had received a Christmas card and a dinner invitation from Barack Obama, the then President of the United States at the White House.
• He shares his birthday (6 January) with his son, Ameen.
• He is a 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 honour in Markham, Ontario, Canada.A. R. Rahman Street in Canada
• Unlike other musicians, he likes composing music at night.
• His favourite raaga is ‘Sindhu Bhairavi’.
• Along with filmmaker Shekhar Kapoor, he has launched a social media platform called “Qyuki”, to showcase the raw talent in India.
• On 20 January 2017, he along with members of the Nadigar Sangam observed a one-day fast to support the people of Tamil Nadu protesting against the ban on Jallikattu ( a bull-taming event).
• In January 2018, he became the first-ever brand ambassador of Sikkim.A. R. Rahman in Sikkim