Allah-Rakha Rahman to be named cultural ambassador |05 October 2015

Indian composer, singer-songwriter, music producer, musician and philanthropist Allah-Rakha Rahman is to be honoured today as the second cultural ambassador for Seychelles.

Mr Rahman was to arrive in the country yesterday afternoon and perform at Stad Popiler last night as part of the Seychelles-India Day celebrations.

His works are noted for integrating Eastern classical music with electronic music, world music and traditional orchestral arrangements.

Among his awards are two Academy Awards, two Grammy Awards, a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe, four National Film Awards, 15 Filmfare Awards and 13 Filmfare Awards South.

Mr Rahman’s body of work for film and stage has given him the nickname of ‘the Mozart of Madras’, and Tamil commentators and fans call him Isai Puyal (the Musical Storm in English).

In 2009, Time included Rahman on its list of the world's most influential people. The UK-based world-music magazine Songlines named him one of ‘Tomorrow's World Music Icons’ in August 2011.

Boasting his own in-house studio called Panchathan Record Inn in Chennai, Rahman's film-scoring career began during the early 1990s with the Tamil film Roja. Working in India's film industries, international cinema and theatre, Rahman is one of the world's all-time best-selling recording artists.

In a notable two-decade career, he has been acclaimed for redefining contemporary Indian film music and contributing to the success of several films. Rahman has become a notable humanitarian and philanthropist, donating and raising money for a number of causes and charities.

He was born on January 6, 1967 in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India in a middle-class Tamil Mudaliar family. His father, R. K. Shekhar, was a film-score composer and conductor for Tamil and Malayalam films. He helped his father in the studio, playing the keyboard.

Rahman was nine years old when his father died. He 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, synthesizer, harmonium and guitar, and was particularly interested in the synthesizer because it was the "ideal combination of music and technology".

In 2006, he launched his own music label, KM Music.

Rahman's score for the 2008 film Slumdog Millionaire won a Golden Globe and two Academy Awards – a first for an Asian –, and the songs "Jai Ho" and "O... Saya" from its soundtrack were internationally successful.

Maestro Ilaiyaraaja, one of the finest music composers in India and is also an instrumentalist, conductor, singer, and a songwriter, was appointed the first Seychelles' cultural ambassador last year.

Meanwhile, Dr Mahesh Sharma, the Minister of State responsible for Tourism, Culture and Civil Aviation, is in Seychelles as the representative of the Indian government for this year's Seychelles-India Day celebrations.