The 70th National Awards for films releasing in 2022 were announced today and Oscar winner AR Rahman’s name is included in this prestigious list. He won the National Film Award for Best Music Director (Background Score) for his work in Mani Ratnam’s Tamil film Ponniyin Selvan – Part 1, which became a blockbuster in 2022. (70th National Film Awards Live Updates)
The award gave AR Rahman a record seven National Awards, the most won by any music director in India. Isaignani Ilayaraja is second with five National Awards for music, his last being in 2015 for the Tamil film Tharai Thappattai. Hindi music directors Vishal Baradwaj is third on the list with four and Jaidev with three.
AR Rahman officially entered Tamil films as a music director with Mani Ratnam’s Roja in 1992 and that’s where his glorious journey began. He won his first National Award for Best Music for Roja and then for Minsara Kanavu in 1996. He had started composing music in multiple languages by the year 2000 and it was not a surprise when he received a National Award for the Hindi film Lagaan in 2001. Soon after he won another award for Mani Ratnam’s Kannathil Muthamittal in 2002.
After 2002, Rahman won numerous awards worldwide, including Golden Globes, Critics’ Choice Movie Awards and Oscars, for his work in world cinema in films such as Slumdog Millionaire and 127 Hours. He made a name for himself internationally working in Indian cinema, but it was only 15 years later that he made his mark once again at the National Awards with wins for both Mani Ratnam’s Kaatru Veliyidai and the Sridevi-starrer Hindi film Mom. And with the National Award for Ponniyin Selvan 1, Rahman has cemented his place as the most winning music director in Indian history and the history of cinema.
The Mani Ratnam Factor
One of the most striking aspects about Rahman’s music after he came to Tamil cinema was his amazing ability to reinvent Tamil music. When he started out he worked from a small studio and the new sounds he created impressed veteran director Mani Ratnam so much that he signed him for Roja in 1992. Mani Ratnam and AR Rahman, known as the Mozart of Madras, are considered one of the most successful and greatest director-composer duos of our times.
Mani Ratnam told Deadline Interview“And he (Rahman) played something that he had recorded for a jingle, and the sound was incredible. It was something I had never heard before in such a small studio. But it wasn’t traditional instruments or traditional forms that he was using, so we worked with him for a couple of months to see if he could fit into the story… to see if he could do what we needed in terms of the six songs and the background score.” According to the director of Ponniyin Selvan, every film with Rahman was a special journey and he brought ‘newness, new sounds and new music to every project’.
This was the beginning of a deep bond between Mani Ratnam and Rahman that continues to this day and grows stronger with each film. In fact, if we look at the list of National Awards won by Rahman, four of them were for Mani Ratnam’s films. In turn, the Lagaan music director considers Ratnam his brother and mentor who has been with him for the last 32 years.
Features of ARR’s music
When Rahman released the album Roja, it was like a breath of fresh air that took everyone – young and old – by surprise. The new compositions, melodies and the use of new sounds was something that was totally unexpected, something that the Tamil film audience could not resist. His beautiful, soulful combination of Indian and Western sounds and elements was a turning point in Tamil film music (and possibly in Indian music) and it became his signature for decades to come. The music director of Slumdog Millionaire created unique songs for Indian films by combining Broadway-style orchestrations, jazz, pop, Sufi and reggae and other world music with Indian sounds.
From Madras, Rahman has performed across the world and worked with some of the best artists in Hollywood and international cinema and beyond. The Oscar winner summed up his philosophy in life and music when he gave this advice to aspiring musicians. Rahman said, “Don’t let others put you down, just believe in yourself, pursue your passion and one day you will stun the world. Also, while it is okay to be inspired by someone, find what is attractive in your personality, develop it. Then everyone will come to you because no one else can be like you.” And truly, there is no one who can replace AR Rahman and his music.
