Double ‘Thala’ moment

Oscar-winning music composer AR Rahman, who was performing at Chennai Super Kings’ pre-season event titled 'ROAR 2026', met with former CSK captain MS Dhoni, which created frenzy on social media.

The event was held at the iconic MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai ahead of the 19th edition of the IPL, by the five-time champions for their fans.

In a collaborative post with his son AR Ameen, Rahman shared a clip meeting Dhoni at the stadium. The video featured the two legends on a video call with someone. It later showed the musician meeting Dhoni’s daughter Ziva. Another glimpse showed Rahman's live performance, along with fireworks at the venue.

“Thala meets Thala #dhoni #arrahman #chennaisuperkings #ipl #csk,” the caption read.

On the film front, Rahman is set to score the music of ace director Mani Ratnam's next film featuring actor Vijay Sethupathi in the lead.

Sources close to the yet-to-be-titled film confirm that it is Rahman who will be scoring the music for this film. Rahman, who has been working with Mani Ratnam from the pan Indian blockbuster 'Roja', which released in 1992, shares a unique bond with the ace filmmaker.

For the unaware, shooting for Mani Ratnam's upcoming film, featuring Vijay Sethupathi in the lead, is expected to start this summer. Reports suggest that the film is likely to begin in July this year.

Rahman is a recipient of six National Film Awards, two Academy Awards, two Grammy Awards, a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe Award and six Tamil Nadu State Film Awards. He was feted with the Padma Bhushan in 2010.

With his in-house studio Panchathan Record Inn, Rahman's film-scoring car the early 1990s with the Tamil film Roja. Following that, he went on to score several songs for Tamil language films, including Mani Ratnam's politically charged Bombay, the urban Kaadhalan, Thiruda Thiruda, and S. Shankar's debut film Gentleman.

His score for his first Hollywood film, the comedy Couples Retreat won the BMI Award for Best Score. His music for Slumdog Millionaire (2008) earned him Best Original Score and Best Original Song at the 81st Academy Awards.

In 2017, he made his debut as a director and writer for the film Le Musk. In 2024, he was named Honorary President of Trinity Laban.