Garhwal Post Bureau
Chennai, 11 Dec: The Lakshminarayana International Award honours legendary artists for their contribution in the field of arts and this year the Lakshminarayana International Award will be given to ‘Maestro AR Rahman’. The award will be presented at a special ceremony which will be a curtain raiser to the 35th year of the Lakshminarayana Global Music Festival on 15 December at Rasika Ranjani Sabha, Chennai.
AR Rahman is a two-time Academy Award winner and global music icon whose work has transformed the sound of Indian cinema. With over 150 million records sold across more than 100 film soundtracks and albums, his landmark scores include Roja, Bombay, Dil Se, Taal, Lagaan, Slumdog Millionaire and 127 Hours. Trained in Western classical music at the Trinity College, he founded the pioneering Panchathan Record Inn in Chennai and made a historic debut with Roja, winning the National Award—later earning six more, the most for any Indian composer. He is also a recipient of the Padma Shri & Padma Bhushan.
Beyond cinema, Rahman continues to innovate through projects like his VR film Le Musk and through nurturing new talent with the KM Music Conservatory, the Sunshine Orchestra, the Firdaus Orchestra, and his recent ensembles Rooh-e-Noor and Jhalaa. Through the AR Rahman Foundation, he remains committed to education and philanthropy. Featured in Time’s “100 Most Influential People” and appointed Honorary President of Trinity Laban in 2024, Rahman stands at the forefront of global music, seamlessly bridging tradition, technology and culture.
In January 2023, Dr L Subramaniam & AR Rahman, along with three generations, collaborated and produced a new version of Don’t Leave Me, one of Dr L Subramaniam’s soulful compositions which he had composed for his father in 1985. The song is from one of the most critically acclaimed albums, Conversations. This version was done as a tribute to Prof V Lakshminarayana for his 111th Birth Anniversary.
