Happy birthday AR Rahman: Seven things to know about the Oscar-winning composer

AR Rahman, fondly called as the Mozart of Madras, won a national award for his very first movie Roja.

AR Rahman, fondly called as the Mozart of Madras, won a national award for his very first movie Roja. Time magazine listed his track for Mani Ratnam's Roja among '10 Best Soundtracks' of all time. (Photo | AP) 

A.R Rahman is the first Asian to be awarded with two Oscar awards in the same year. In 2009, he was conferred with the prestigious award in 'Best original song' and 'Best original music' categories for his compositions for the movie Slumdog Millionaire. (Photo | AP)

In 2009, Time magazine included AR Rahman in the list of World’s most Influential People of the year. In total, the legendary musician has won a total of 117 awards including 4 national awards. IN PICTURE: AR Rahman with veteran lyricist Gulzar and Oscar winning sound editor Resul Pookutty. (Photo | AFP)

A street in Canada's Ontario has been named to honour the legendary musician . The street has been named to 'Allah-Rakha Rahman st' to honour the musician's contributions to Arts. (Photo | AP)

As a kid, AR Rahman paticipated in Doordarshan’s Wonder Balloon, where he shocked the audience by playing four keyboards at a time. IN PICTURE: AR Rahman with his wife Saira Banu. (Photo | AFP)

Airtel's signature tone, composed by AR Rahman stands as the most downloaded mobile music. As of now, the tone has been downloaded by over 150 million internet users. (Photo | Youtube screengrab)

AR Rahman, born in a Hindu family as Dileep, embraced Islam in 1987, after meeting a Sufi saint, peer Karimullah Shah Qadri. (Photo | AP)