Listening to A.R. Rahman's debut composition Chinna Chinna Asai from Roja back in 1992 left his late mother Kareema Begum in tears, reveals a recently dropped video comprising old footage of the Rahman family opening up about the composer’s struggles and rise to global recognition.

"When I heard the song for the first time, I couldn't help but cry. It was his first composition for a feature film, and it deeply moved me," Kareema Begum says in an old clip, shared by O2 India on YouTube.

The Oscar-winning music composer embarked on his musical journey at the tender age of 11. Despite facing financial constraints, he managed to rent a studio space, but lacked the necessary funds to purchase equipment for creating songs. Thankfully, his devoted mother stepped in and bought him a mixer and recorder. These tools played a crucial role in recording the music for his first film, Roja.

"He would listen to his father's music and then try to recreate it. Sometimes, he would even modify the tunes. His father was amazed at how a young child could alter the melody. Eventually, he would adopt the revised tune created by his son," Rahman’s mother fondly recalls in the video.

Rahman’s father RK Shekar was a music composer. He died when Rahman was just nine-year-old.

Kareema encouraged Rahman to prioritise music over formal education, understanding the necessity for their family's survival. “He always argued with me that he could either study or work as a session musician. For us to survive, he had to earn. Thus, I asked him to continue with music and discontinue his schooling.”

Rahman's sister, A.R. Reihana revealed that leaving school was indeed a heart-wrenching decision for the young musician. “Even though he is not very good at studies and he wanted to go to school but my mother insisted that he goes and plays because she needed the money to run the family so that was a very heartbreaking situation,” she said.

Kareema Begum passed away in 2020.