Roja to Jai Ho, celebrating Rahman's music on his 48th birthday

Music composer and singer AR Rahman turns 48 today, so what better time to celebrate his music? Rahman, who began his journey in the music industry with Roja, has had an illustrious career with massive hits and many awards. In fact, he is the only Indian music composer to have won an Academy award for his work.

Rahman’s music, with influences from different genres like Sufi and world music, has stood out in the world of Bollywood music and has been an inspiration to many, including composer Amit Trivedi.

The composer’s musical career began when he was a boy. His father was also a music director and once, when Rahman was nine, he was in the studio while his father was working and composed a fragment that went on to be the Tamil song, “Vellithen Kinnam Pol”. The track, however, was credited to his father and Rahman’s real debut came with Mani Ratnam’s Roja. The film was a huge hit and its soundtrack was a fantastic success. Roja’s songs were a hit down south and, once the film was released in Hindi, they won over Bollywood audiences too. Songs like “Roja Janeman” and “Chhoti Si Asha” became instant hits, bringing in much critical acclaim for the Rahman.

Rahman went on to make many great Bollywood film albums. One of his biggest hits was Lagaan. He successfully composed folksy north Indian songs, blended with strains of classical music. “Ghanan Ghanan” played over and over again on music channels and the album sold 3.5 million copies worldwide.

Another Bollywood album by Rahman that topped the charts was Rang De Basanti. The title track of the album became a rage among school kids and college goers. “Khalbali” and “Lukachupi” were even considered for an Academy Award for Best Original Song nomination.

However, Rahman’s career has not been restricted to only Hindi film music. He has composed everything from jingles to anthems. He has also composed music for Hollywood movies like Slumdog Millionaire and 127 hours.

In 1997, Rahman’s album Vande Mataram became a huge hit, with its song “Ma Tujhe Salaam” (which he sang) becoming an anthem of sorts. The album was in honour of the 50th anniversary on Indian independence.

Among the jingles that he composed, the Airtel jingle became very popular. From phone ringtones to the music that plays when one backs their car, this jingle was played at so many places at so many times it was almost annoying.

But one of Rahman’s biggest successes remain “Jai Ho”. The song was originally composed for the film Yuvraaj, but was rejected by Subhash Ghai (if only he knew) and was finally used in Danny Boyle’s Slumdog Millionaire. “Jai Ho” won him an Oscar and huge acclaim from all over the world.

While the whole world has heard Rahman’s Hindi songs, some of his best compositions have been for Tamil films. Some of the biggest hits like Roja and Bombay have been made into Hindi versions, but hit albums like Thiruda Thiruda are less well-known outside the world of Tamil popular cinema. “Chandralekha” was one of the songs from Thiruda Thiruda that became a sensation.

Kannathil Muthamittal, a Tamil film by Mani Ratnam, fetched Rahman a National Award. The best from the album was the song “Vellai Pookal”, sung by Rahman.

Mani Ratnam and Rahman have worked together in many films and the Iruvar soundtrack is a perfect example of Rahman’s flawless use of jazz and folk music. “Venilla Venilla” sung by Asha Bhosle was one of the hits from the soundtrack.