Rahman was born in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India in a middle-class Tamil family. His father, R. K. Shekhar, was a film-score composer and conductor for Tamil and Malayalam films; Rahman assisted his father in the studio, playing the keyboard. After his father's death when Rahman was nine years old, the rental of his father's musical equipment provided his family's income.[11] Raised by his mother, Kareema (born Kashturi),[1] Rahman was a keyboard player and arranger for bands such as Roots (with childhood friend and percussionist Sivamani, John Anthony, Suresh Peters, JoJo and Raja)[3] and founded the Chennai-based rock group Nemesis Avenue.[12] He mastered the keyboard, piano, synthesizer, harmonium and guitar, and was particularly interested in the synthesizer because it was the "ideal combination of music and technology".[13]

Rahman began his early musical training under Master Dhanraj,[14][15] and at age 11 began playing in the orchestra of Malayalam composer (and close friend of his father) M. K. Arjunan.[16] He soon began working with other composers, such as M. S. Viswanathan, Ilaiyaraaja, Ramesh Naidu and Raj-Koti,[15] accompanied Zakir Hussain, Kunnakudi Vaidyanathan and L. Shankar on world tours and obtained a scholarship from Trinity College London to the Trinity College of Music.[1] Studying in Chennai, Rahman graduated with a diploma in Western classical music from the school.[17] Rahman was introduced to Qadiri Islam when his younger sister was seriously ill in 1984. He converted to Islam (his mother's religion) with other members of his family in 1989 at age 23, changing his name from R. S. Dileep Kumar to Allah Rakha Rahman (A. R. Rahman
Rahman's film career began in 1992 when he started Panchathan Record Inn, a recording and mixing studio in his backyard. It would become the most-advanced recording studio in India,[19] and arguably one of Asia's most sophisticated and high-tech studios.[20] He initially composed scores for documentaries and jingles for advertisements and Indian television channels. In 1987 Rahman, then still known as Dileep, composed jingles for a line of watches introduced by Allwyn.[21] In 1992, he was approached by director Mani Ratnam to compose the score and soundtrack for his Tamil film, Roja.[19][22] The film's cinematographer Santosh Sivan signed Rahman for the Malayalam film Yodha, directed by Sivan's brother Sangeeth Sivan and released in September 1992. The following year, Rahman received the Rajat Kamal (Silver Lotus) award for best music director at the National Film Awards for Roja. The films' score was critically and commercially successful in its original and dubbed versions, led by the innovative theme "Chinna Chinna Aasai". Rahman followed this with successful scores for Tamil–language films for the Chennai film industry, including Ratnam's politically-charged Bombay, the urban Kadhalan, Thiruda Thiruda and S. Shankar's debut film Gentleman (with its popular dance song, "Chikku Bukku Rayile").[23][24][25][26] Rahman collaborated with director Bharathiraaja on Kizhakku Cheemayile and Karuththamma, producing successful Tamil rural folk-inspired scores; he also composed the saxophone score for K. Balachander's Duet.[27][28] The 1995 film Indira and romantic comedies Mr. Romeo and Love Birds also drew attention.[29][30][31] Rahman attracted a Japanese audience with Muthu's success there.[32] His soundtracks are known in the Tamil Nadu film industry and abroad for his versatility in combining Western classical music, Carnatic and Tamil traditional and folk-music traditions, jazz, reggae and rock music.[33][34][35][36] The soundtrack for Bombay sold 12 million copies worldwide,[37] and "Bombay Theme" would later reappear in his score for Deepa Mehta's Fire and a number of compilations and other media. It was featured in the 2002 Palestinian film Divine Intervention and the 2005 Nicolas Cage film, Lord of War. Rangeela, directed by Ram Gopal Varma, was Rahman's Bollywood debut.[38] Successful scores for Dil Se.. and the percussive Taal followed.[39][40] Sufi mysticism inspired "Chaiyya Chaiyya" from the former film and "Zikr" from his score for Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose: The Forgotten Hero (which featured elaborate orchestral and choral arrangements).[18] Rahman's score for the Chennai production Minsaara Kanavu won him his second National Film Award for Best Music Direction and a South FilmFare Award for Best Music Direction in a Tamil film in 1997, the latter setting a record of six consecutive wins; he later went on to win the award three consecutive additional times. The musical cues in the scores for Sangamam and Iruvar used Carnatic vocals, the veena, rock guitar and jazz.[41] During the 2000s, Rahman composed popular scores for Rajiv Menon's Kandukondain Kandukondain, Alaipayuthey, Ashutosh Gowariker's Swades, Rang De Basanti[42] and songs with Hindustani motifs for 2005's Water. Rahman has worked with Indian poets and lyricists such as Javed Akhtar, Gulzar, Vairamuthu and Vaali, and has produced commercially-successful soundtracks with directors Mani Ratnam and S. Shankar (Gentleman, Kadhalan, Indian, Jeans, Mudhalvan, Nayak, Boys, Sivaji and Enthiran).[43]

In 2005 Rahman expanded his Panchathan Record Inn studio by establishing AM Studios in Kodambakkam, Chennai, creating the most cutting-edge studio in Asia.[44][45] The following year he launched his own music label, KM Music,[46] with his score for Sillunu Oru Kaadhal.[47] Rahman scored the Mandarin-language film Warriors of Heaven and Earth in 2003 after researching and using Chinese and Japanese classical music,[48] and won the Just Plain Folks Music Award For Best Music Album for his score for 2006's Varalaru (God Father).[49] He co-scored Shekhar Kapur's first British film, Elizabeth: The Golden Age, in 2007[50] and received a Best Composer Asian Film Award nomination at the Hong Kong International Film Festival for his Jodhaa Akbar score.[51] Rahman's music has been sampled for other scores in India,[52] appearing in Inside Man, Lord of War, Divine Intervention and The Accidental Husband. His score for his first Hollywood film, the 2009 comedy Couples Retreat, won the BMI London Award for Best Score.[53] Rahman's score for 2008's Slumdog Millionaire won a Golden Globe and two Academy Awards (a first for an Asian), and the songs "Jai Ho" and "O... Saya" from its soundtrack were internationally successful. His music on 2008's Bollywood Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na was popular with Indian youth; that year, his score for Jodhaa Akbar won critical acclaim, a Best Composer Asian Film Award nomination and IIFA awards for best music direction and score. In 2010, Rahman scored the romantic Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa, the sci-fi romance Enthiran and Danny Boyle's 127 Hours, composing for the Imtiaz Ali musical Rockstar; the latter's soundtrack was a critical and commercial success.[54] In 2012 Rahman scored Ekk Deewana Tha and the American drama People Like Us,[55] and collaborated with director Yash Chopra on Jab Tak Hai Jaan.[56] all were positively received.[57] By the end of the year his music for Mani Ratnam's Kadal was critically acclaimed, and the album topped the iTunes India chart for December.[58] In 2013, Rahman had two releases: Raanjhanaa and Maryan. Both were successful, with the former nominated for a number of awards[59][60][61] and the latter the iTunes India Tamil Album of 2013.[62]

The year 2014 was one of the busiest years for Rahman, with him claiming to have worked in 12 films in various languages.[63] While his first release for the year was the Imtiaz Ali's road movie Highway which garnered positive reviews, his very next release was the performance captured animation film Kochadaiiyaan, a Rajinikanth starrer directed by Soundarya Rajinikanth. The film's score and soundtrack garnered huge critical appraise with its score being long-listed at the forthcoming Academy Awards.[64] His next was the score was for the two back to back Hollywood films, Million Dollar Arm and The Hundred Foot Journey, both of which got into the contended list for the original score category nomination at the Oscars. This was followed by the highly successful score for the period drama Kaaviya Thalaivan teaming up with director Vasanthabalan for the first time. His next release was Shankar's supernatural thriller I and K. S. Ravikumar's period action film Lingaa, both of which were highly acclaimed and appreciated upon release.