Did You Know AR Rahman Was Born As Dilip Kumar & Later Converted To Islam? Music Maestro Once Revealed Being Named By A Hindu Astrologer: “I Never Liked My Name”

AR Rahman is a profoundly popular musician who is known all over the world for his magical creations. However, did you know that the music composer was born into a Hindu family but changed his faith and name after meeting a Sufi? In a throwback interview, the music maestro opened up about the same and talked about his journey of following Islam. Scroll below to find out!

For those who don’t know, Mr Rahman was born as Dilip Kumar. Yes, that’s right. However, after Sufi treated his father, he and his mother felt they needed to adopt a different faith, and that is how their journey began. AR Rahman has given one after other hits irrespective of the language of the industry, and we are all in debt to his creations, be it Roza or Dil Se or Slumdog Millionaire.

Back in 2000, while talking to Karan Thapar for his BBC show, AR Rahman talked about what made him choose a different faith. He shared, “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.” Later, in Nasreen Munni Kabir’s AR. Rahman: The Spirit of Music, the music maestro said, “My mother was a practising Hindu. She had always been spiritually inclined. We had Hindu religious images on the walls of the Habibullah Road house where we grew up. There was also an image of Mother Mary holding Jesus in Her arms and a photograph of the sacred sites of Mecca and Medina.”

While opening up about his name to Karan Thapar, AR Rahman had revealed that it was his mother who chose Allah Rakha (AR) as it came in her dreams. However, in Nasreen’s book, Rahman mentioned that he never liked his previous name. 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.”

In Nasreen Munni Kabir’s book, AR Rahman even shared how he got his name, Rahman. He revealed that before he changed his faith, his family members had visited a Hindu astrologer for his sister as they wanted to get her married. At that moment, when he asked about changing his name, the astrologer had suggested this name. Recalling the incident, Rahman said, “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.”

Well, did you know about this little trivia about AR Rahman’s life? Let us know.

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