Rajiv Menon opens up about AR Rahman’s conversion to Islam and facing a lot of pressure from family: ‘They didn’t know Hindi, I became the translator’

Oscar-winning composer AR Rahman and director-cinematographer Rajiv Menon share a longstanding bond, built on years of collaboration. Recalling their early days, Rajiv reminisced about working with a young Dileep Kumar (Rahman’s birth name) in advertisements. Rajiv shared insights into their journey, which began long before Rahman’s breakthrough with ‘Roja’. “He was very shy, and he was a man of few words, “Rajiv stated.