AR Rahman honoured at 43rd Cairo International Film Festival

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Music maestro AR Rahman on Monday said he was given a special tribute at the 43rd Cairo International Film Festival (CIFF) for his contribution in the field of music. The acclaimed composer, who is one of the most globally popular Indian artists, is known for his musical prowess across different film industries like Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Hindi and Hollywood. Rahman, 54, took to Instagram to share the news about him receiving the honour at the film gala with his fans.

“Thank you @cairofilms #ellapugazumiraivanukke,” he wrote, along with two pictures, one of himself at the festival and the other of the certificate, which read, ‘Special tribute certificate to the Indian composer A R Rahman for his creative contribution that span both cinema and music’.

In the past, Rahman has won numerous laurels including six National Film Awards, two Academy Awards, two Grammy Awards, a Golden Globe Award and a BAFTA Award. In 2010, the Indian government had awarded him the Padma Bhushan, the nation's third-highest civilian award.

Rahman's film-scoring career began with the Tamil film “Roja”, helmed by Mani Ratnam, and following that he went on to score several songs for Tamil and Telugu language movies.

Later he forayed in Bollywood with Ram Gopal Varma’s “Rangeela” (1995). Some of his best soundtracks in Hindi include critically acclaimed films such as “Guru”, “Rockstar”, “Dil Se”, “Roja”, “Lagaan”, “Raanjhanaa” among many others.

Rahman created history in 2009 by becoming the first ever Indian to win two Academy Awards – one for the original score for Danny Boyle-directed drama “Slumdog Millionaire” and the other for the hugely popular track ‘Jai Ho’ which he shared with eminent lyricist Gulzar -- in a single night Two years later, he was again nominated at the Oscars in the original score and song categories for Boyle's 2011 movie “127 Hours”.

Rahman has also ventured into film production, with the musical-drama “99 Songs” starring Lisa Ray, Manisha Koirala, Aditya Seal, among others. It arrived in theatres on April 16 this year.

The oldest running film festival in the Middle East and Africa, the CIFF opened on November 26 and will conclude on December 5.