Today is the birthday of Oscar-winning Indian composer  A. R. Rahman

Allah Rakha Rahman was born as A. S. Dileep Kumar in Madras, Tamil Nadu, on 6 January 1967

His father, R. K. Shekhar from a Mudaliar  family, was a film-score composer and conductor for Tamil and Malayalam films.

Rahman began studying piano at age four. He assisted his father in the studio, playing the keyboard.

Rahman began his early musical training under Master Dhanraj, and at age 11 began playing in the orchestra of Malayalam composer M. K. Arjunan

In 1992, he was approached by director Mani Ratnam to compose the score and soundtrack for his Tamil film, Roja.

His background scores are often characterized by the usage of subtle orchestration and ambient sounds.

Rahman is married to Saira Banu . They have three children: Khatija, Rahima and Ameen.