Not many know that the legendary music composer
AR Rahman
was actually born as
Dileep Kumar
Rajagopala in Madras. His father RK Shekhar was also a film score composer but he passed away just when Rahman was a little boy of 9 years. The family survived by renting out his father’s musical equipments. While he was going through a tough time, Rahman had lost his hopes. That’s when he met a renowned peer Qadri Saaheb and was impressed by him. He then converted to Islam when he was 23 along with his mother and sisters.
Rahman had opned up on it during an interview with Karan Thapar. He had said, “There was a Sufi who was treating him towards the end days before he died. We later met him after 7-8 years and that’s when we led another spiritual path which gave us peace.”
He had shared details about it in his biography. In a book by
Nasreen Munni Kabir
titled, ‘AR. Rahman: The Spirit of Music’, he said, “The truth is I never liked my name. No disrespect to the great actor Dilip Kumar! However, somehow my name didn’t match the image I had of myself. He suggested the names: Abdul Rahman and Abdul Rahim and said that either name would be good for me. I instantly loved the name, Rahman. It was a
Hindu astrologer
who gave me my Muslim name.”
The composer had also spoken about his life and how he had thoughts of suicide after his father passed away. He had said during an interview with Hindustan Times, “Up until 25, I used to think about suicide. Most of us feel they are not good enough. Because I lost my father, there was this void… There were so many things happening. (But) that in a way made me more fearless. Death is a permanent thing for everyone. Since everything created has an expiry date, so why be afraid of anything?”
