Allah Rakha Rahman; born A. S. Dileep Kumar; on 6 January 1967 is an Indian music composer, record producer, singer, and songwriter best known for his work in Indian cinema. He has acted mainly in Tamil and Hindi films, with occasional forays into international films, arranging his fanfare for Starr his studio, 20th Century Studios. He has won 6 National Film Awards, 2 Academy Awards, 2 Grammy Awards, a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe Award, 15 Filmfare Awards, and 17 Filmfare Awards His South. In 2010, the Indian government awarded him Padma Bhushan, the third highest civilian honor in the country.
Rahman initially composed music for various documentaries and jingles for commercials and Indian television stations. With his in-house studio, Panchathan Record Inn, Rahman’s career as a film score began in the early 1990s with the Tamil film Roja. He then composed several songs for Tamil films such as Ratnam’s politicized Bombay, Urban Kadaran, Tilda his Tilda and S. Shankar’s debut Gentleman. Rahman’s score for his first Hollywood film, His Couple His Retreat (2009), earned him the BMI Award for Best Original Score. His music for Slumdog Millionaire (2008) won Best Original Score and Best Original Song at the 81st Academy Awards. He also won Best Compilation Soundtrack for his Album and Best Visual Media Song at the 2010 Grammy Awards. He has been nicknamed “Isay Puyal” (Music Storm) and “Mozart of Madras”.
Allah Raka Rahman was born A.S. Dileep Kumar on January 6, 1967, in Madras, Tamil Nadu. His father, R.K. Shekhar, from the Mudaliar family, was a film score composer and conductor of Tamil and Malayalam films. Rahman began taking piano lessons at the age of four. He helped his father in the studio and played keyboards. Rahman’s film career began in 1992 when he opened his Panchathan Record Inn, his recording and mixing studio in his backyard. It was to be one of India’s most modern recording studios and arguably Asia’s most sophisticated high-tech studio. Cinematographer Santosh Sivan signed Rahman for his second film, Yodda, directed by Sivan’s brother Sangeeth Sivan, a Malayalam film starring Mohanlal, released in September 1992.
