CHENNAI, 11 Dec., 2025 — The Lakshminarayana International Award honours legendary artists for their contribution in the field of arts and this year the award will be given to Maestro A R Rahman, at a special ceremony which will be a curtain raiser to the 35th year of the Lakshminarayana Global Music Festival (LGMF) on the 15th Dec., 2025 at Rasika Ranjani Sabha, Chennai.
A. R. Rahman is a two-time Academy Award winner and global music icon whose work has transformed the sound of Indian cinema.
With over 150 million records sold across more than 100 film soundtracks and albums, his landmark scores include Roja, Bombay, Dil Se, Taal, Lagaan, Slumdog Millionaire and 127 Hours.
Trained in Western classical music at the Trinity College, he founded the pioneering Panchathan Record Inn in Chennai & 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 Indian government awards, the Padma Shri & 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.
In a award function A short Video on LGMF will be released by renowned director filmmaker Mani Ratnam & Suhasini.
