Music maestro AR Rahman will receive the Lakshminarayana International Award on 15 December during the curtain raiser of the Lakshminarayana Global Music Festival 2025.
The Lakshminarayana International Award, presented to distinguished figures in the arts, will this year recognise the Oscar-winning composer and singer for his remarkable contribution to music.
According to a press announcement, the honour will be conferred at a special ceremony marking the launch of the 35th edition of the Lakshminarayana Global Music Festival. The event will take place at Rasika Ranjani Sabha in Chennai on Monday, 15 December, at 2 pm.
A two-time Academy Award winner, Rahman is widely credited with redefining the soundscape of Indian cinema. Over his career, he has sold more than 150 million records across over one hundred film albums and soundtracks. His celebrated works include Roja, Bombay, Dil Se, Taal, Lagaan, Slumdog Millionaire, and 127 Hours.
Trained in Western classical music at 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 and 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 A. R. 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 & A R Rahman, along with three generations, collaborated & 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.
(With inputs from news agency ANI)
