Slumdog composer is the toast of India

The soaring "Slumdog Millionaire" soundtrack's three Oscar nominations and Golden Globe award marked many Americans' first exposure to the music of A.R. Rahman. But in his native India, the composer has been a national treasure for years.

The 43-year-old composer has been winning awards since he burst on the Bollywood music scene in the early '90s - blending styles rarely seen in mainstream Indian cinema. Rahman has composed music for more than 130 Indian films, incorporating jazz, rock, Indian pop and Western classical music. "He changed the entire concept of Indian film music," said Subir Malik, another well-known Indian musician who described Rahman as "a very, very experimental guy."

"He does crazy things and they still sound good. He manages to fit in the most unusual chord structures into mainstream Bollywood songs," Malik said.

Rahman, who has a degree in Western classical music from the Trinity College of Music in London, experimented with reggae in his debut film, "Roja."

AP