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In 2005 Rahman expanded his Panchathan Record Inn studio by establishing AM Studios in Kodambakkam, Chennai, creating the most cutting-edge studio in Asia. Shankar ( Gentleman, Kadhalan, Indian, Jeans, Mudhalvan, Nayak, Boys, Sivaji and Enthiran). 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. During the 2000s, Rahman composed popular scores for Rajiv Menon's Kandukondain Kandukondain, Alaipayuthey, Ashutosh Gowariker's Swades, Rang De Basanti and songs with Hindustani motifs for 2005's Water. The musical cues in the scores for Sangamam and Iruvar used Carnatic vocals, the veena, rock guitar and jazz. 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. 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).
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Successful scores for Dil Se. and the percussive Taal followed. Rangeela, directed by Ram Gopal Varma, was Rahman's Bollywood debut. It was featured in the 2002 Palestinian film Divine Intervention and the 2005 Nicolas Cage film, Lord of War. The soundtrack for Bombay sold 12 million copies worldwide, and " Bombay Theme" would later reappear in his score for Deepa Mehta's Fire and a number of compilations and other media. 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. Rahman attracted a Japanese audience with Muthu's success there. Romeo and Love Birds also drew attention.
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The 1995 film Indira and romantic comedies Mr. 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. Shankar's debut film Gentleman (with its popular dance song, " Chikku Bukku Rayile"). 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. The films' score was critically and commercially successful in its original and dubbed versions, led by the innovative theme " Chinna Chinna Aasai". The following year, Rahman received the Rajat Kamal(Silver Lotus) award for best music director at the National Film Awards for Roja. Cinematographer Santosh Sivan signed Rahman for the Malayalam film Yodha, directed by Sivan's brother Sangeeth Sivan and released in September 1992.
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