It was a remarkable journey from Chennai to Hollywood for music maestro Allah Rakha Rahman who today made a billion Indians proud, adding another feather in his cap by bagging two Oscars for his score in "Slumdog Millionaire".
It was a 'Jai ho' for the soft-spoken Rahman, hailed by Time Magazine as the 'Mozart of Madras', when he walked to receive the award for Best Original Score and Best Song 'Jai Ho'.
The 'Mozart of Madras', who redefined contemporary Indian music and has been a role model for millions of Indians, has already won a Golden Globe and a BAFTA for his music in Oscar-winning film "Slumdog Millionaire"
The 43-year-old music wizard, who has enthralled audience in the country and abroad with his heartwarming symphonies, is creating waves on the international stage with his composition in "Slumdog Millionaire".
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Born as A S Dileep Kumar in a musically affluent family in Chennai on January 6, 1966, he changed his name to Allah Rakha Rahman after his family converted to Islam in the late 1980's.
Rahman was forced to shoulder the responsibilities of his family at the age of nine after his father R K Shekhar, who was a composer, arranger and conductor for Malayalam movies, died due to illness.
The music genius came to the limelight with his music for a Bombay Dyeing ad and Leo Coffee in 1980's which became very popular.
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But the major break in his career came when noted filmmaker Mani Ratnam approached Rahman, who was then a keyboard player with composer Illayaraja, to compose for his film 'Roja' in 1992.
The music of the film, which was a refreshing change from the run-of-the-mill renditions, made Rahman a star overnight and brought him his maiden Best Music Director trophy at the National Film Awards, the first time ever by a debutante film composer.
Rahman was introduced to the Hindi film industry in Ram Gopal Verma's "Rangeela". The music of the film became a rage and the genius continued to give some brilliant compositions for films such as "Bombay", "Dil Se", "Taal", "Lagaan" and "Rang De Basanti" among others.
What made Rahman's music click with the listeners was the refreshing use of percussions, sound and melody, most of which were inspired from the Indian folk music.