When it comes to nicknames, people get very creative and come up with titles that describe the entire personality of an individual. This nickname could be because of their talent, hard work or grit. However, the only common thing is that these nicknames makes us realise how versatile people are.
That is how Time magazine was seeking a headline that was grand enough to describe one of the most gifted composers of all time that the world had ever created on the Indian subcontinent. The result was "Mozart of Madras" and it became one of the most iconic nicknames in the music world.
But, do you know who was awarded with this nickname? Read below to find out more about this personality why they were given this nickname.
Who is Known as the Mozart of Madras?
In 2009, Time magazine referred to A.R. Rahman as the Mozart of Madras and put him in its list of the 100 most influential people in the world. The nickname is a comparison between the unparalleled musical genius and versatility of Rahman against Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart who was the most legendary composer in Western classical music history.
A.R. Rahman Early Life
Dileep Kumar Rajagopala, better known as Allah Rakha Rahman, was born in Madras, Tamil Nadu on 6 January 1967. His father (R.K. Shekhar) was a film score composer and conductor of Malayalam films. Rahman began learning piano at age four, and assisted his father in the studio, where he learned to play the keyboard.
Life started off on a rough footing. Rahman was only nine when his father passed away and his family income was the rental of the musical equipment which his father owned. He had little choice but to work and therefore end up failing exams. Yet music was his support.
He started playing in the orchestra of a composer of Malayalam at the age of 11. He was later to be awarded a scholarship at Trinity College London and he graduated with a diploma in Western classical music.
The Big Break
Prior to the emergence of the movies, Rahman would come up with jingles. Rahman also composed jingles on an Allwyn series of watches in 1987 (and even composed the catchy-sounding jingle) for Titan Watches where he used the theme of the Mozart Symphony No. 25.
It was his movie fate to come in 1992. The Tamil director Mani Ratnam picked up Rahman as the musical director of Roja when he was 26 years old. The soundtrack became an instant success and he won the National Film Award in Best Music Direction category.
A.R. Rahman Awards
The list of awards that Rahman has won is quite long. The songs he composed for the Slumdog Millionaire (2008) earned him the Best Original Score and Best Original Song ( for Jai Ho). He also won the Grammy Awards of Best Compilation Soundtrack Album and Best Song Written for Visual Media in 2010.
He has been awarded a total of six National Film Awards, two Academy Awards, two Grammy Awards, a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe Award among numerous others. He was awarded for his contributions to music around the world at Stanford University and in 2014 he was awarded an honorary doctorate at the Berklee College of Music.
The Mozart of Madras is A.R. Rahman, and he is blessed with a musical imagination which transcends all cultural and linguistic borders.
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