In startling revelation Music maestro, AR Rahman recently talked about his early days in Bollywood.
While speaking to a newspaper, the 51-year-old music composer and singer reportedly said that he was told to change his name when he shifted to Mumbai from Chennai to try his luck in the film industry.
He was allegedly also told that he wouldn’t be able to break the barrier between South and Mumbai and that no one would help him enter the city.
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AR Rahman, however, assured his fans that such claims turned out to be stories only. He told the entertainment daily that he was accepted by everyone just as he is.
Rahman was born in Chennai on January 6, 1966 as S Dileep Kumar. The musical genius lost his musician father RK Sekar when he was only nine years and had to support the family.
Starting his career by composing ad jingles, Rahman was approached by Mani Ratnam to compose the score and soundtrack for his Tamil film ‘Roja’.
The music of the film became a hit, giving Rahman a Best Music Director trophy at the National Film Awards. Rahman’s first big break in Hindi film came with Ram Gopal Varma’s ‘Rangeela’.
With the success of ‘Rangeela’, Rahman did not have to look behind as he found a huge fan following with his brilliant compositions for films like ‘Bombay’, ‘Dil Se’, ‘Taal’, ‘Lagaan’, ‘Rang De Basanti’, ‘Delhi 6’, ‘Rockstar’ and ‘Highway’ among others.
Rahman is best known for mixing Western influences with Indian sounds, ranging from classical instruments to folk music.
Rahman’s composition ‘Jai ho’ for British director Danny Boyle’s ‘Slumdog Millionaire’, earned him two Academy awards and a Golden Globe trophy.