Maestro A R Rahman was honoured as the Indian Icon at the Indian of the Year-2009 awards ceremony by the English channel NDTV. Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, A R Rahman and Aishwarya Rai were amongst Bollywood celebrities honoured at the NDTV Indian of the Year awards.

In the citation the channel said “A R Rahman for ever changed Indian popular music and after winning two Oscars and several Grammys he is now a toast of world music.

His innovations first started with the film world and then he soon set the standards and he is the standard. His career may be rooted in the film industry but his musical roots are diverse a great grounding in classical Carnatic music and avid interest in Sufi music.

In life Rahman is quiet and shy and humble almost a recluse but in music he breaks all barriers. A R Rahman a true icon is today the king of music in India.”