Oscar-winning composer A R Rahman, who turned 49 today, thanked his fans for inspiring him to churn out "beautiful music" every year.
The musician pledged to make the world a beautiful place on his birthday.
"To my dearest friends, fans, family and well-wishers... Thank you for your kind birthday wishes, prayers and affection. You inspire me to work harder and make even more beautiful music. Luckily, I am not yet 50.
"May the Almighty keep us all united, keep our hearts pure and compassionate. Let us make the world a beautiful place with connected wisdom, love and care," Rahman posted on his Facebook page.
Rahman was born in Chennai on January 6, 1966 as S Dileep Kumar. The musical genius lost his musician father R K 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 back 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" and "Tamasha" among others.
(Reopens DES 9)
Celebrities from Indian film industry like melody queen Lata Mangeshkar, filmmaker Karan Johar and actor Anil Kapoor took to Twitter to wish the musical genius on his 49th birthday.
"Wishing you a very happy birthday. I pray to god that you continue to be successful in the music world," tweeted Mangeshkar.
Johar also wished him, "To the man who changed the sound of music .....Happy birthday! arrahman."
Anil, who starred in Rahman's Oscar-winning film "Slumdog Millionaire" wished him success.
"Happy Birthday @arrahman! May your vision for #KMMC take Indian music to greater heights," he wrote.
Anil's actress daughter Sonam Kapoor also tweeted, "Happy birthday to the man who gave soul to two of my films !! @arrahman I'm your biggest fan!."
Saluting the world acclaimed composer, popular Bengali actor Prosenjit Chatterjee wrote, "Saluting the musical maestro @arrahman on his birthday. Thanks for gifting us so many wonderful tunes and eagerly waiting for more and more."
"Vicky Donar" actress Yami Gautam tweeted, "We come nearest to the great when we are great in humility' ! Wish you a very happy bday @arrahman sir!".
