A. R. Rahman to perform in Colombo
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Popular Indian musical sensation A. R. Rahman, one of the best musicians India has produced in recent times, will come alive in Colombo on 23rd of April at the Galle Face Green. This will be his first concert in Sri Lanka.A. R. Rahman, born A. S. Dileep Kumar in January 1967 in Tamil Nadu, is an Indian composer, singer-songwriter, music producer, musician, multi-instrumentalist and philanthropist. He has won two Academy Awards, two Grammy Awards, a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe, four National Film Awards, fifteen Filmfare Awards and thirteen Filmfare Awards South in addition to numerous other awards and nominations. The UK based World Music magazine Songlines named him one of ‘Tomorrow’s World Music Icons’ in August 2011. Having set up his own in-house studio called Panchathan Record Inn at Chennai, arguably one of Asia’s most sophisticated and high-tech studios, Rahman’s film scoring career began in the early 1990s with the Tamil film Roja.
His father, R. K. Shekhar, was a film-score composer and conductor for Tamil and Malayalam films; Rahman assisted his father in the studio, playing the keyboard. After his father’s death when Rahman was nine years old, the rental of his father’s musical equipment provided his family’s income. Raised by his mother, Kareema, Rahman was a keyboard player and arranger for bands such as Roots with childhood friend and percussionist Sivamani, John Anthony, Suresh Peters, JoJo and Raja and founded the Chennai-based rock group Nemesis Avenue.
He mastered the keyboard, piano, synthesiser, harmonium and guitar, and was particularly interested in the synthesiser because it was the ‘ideal combination of music and technology’.
Working in India’s various film industries, international cinema and theatre, Rahman is one of the world’s all-time top selling recording artistes. In a notable career spanning two decades, Rahman has garnered particular acclaim for redefining contemporary Indian film music and thus contributing to the success of several films. Rahman is currently one of the highest paid composers of the motion picture industry.
He will be backed by his Ochestra.