New Delhi: For music lovers it's an especially great Sunday as it’s maestro AR Rahman's birthday, and as he turns 42 his music is still as fresh as it was when he started out 17 years ago.

It's a journey that started in 1991 with Roja, nearly two decades on and Rahman is still going strong. With more than 100 films under his belt, his list of chartbusters is endless. Born in 1966 as Dileep Kumar, Rahman converted to Islam at an early age.

Rahman till date has bagged 18 Filmfare awards across languages and his talent is not restricted to Indian shores.

His international foray started with Andrew Loyd Weber's Broadway presentation Bombay Dreams, and lately he's been credited for the soundtrack of Shekhar Kapur's Elizabeth: The Golden Age.

Rahman has also composed the background score for the on-stage adaptation of the Lord of the Rings.

Though at 42, the quite and unassuming musician continues to be among the most sought after music directors in the film industry, filmmakers have been known to have one common complaint against Rahman – that he takes too long to finish his assignments.

“The thing that bugs me is that they don't give enough time. The heroes’ dates are not there, so I have to hurry. I hate the pressure of dates and deadlines,” Rahman says.

Meanwhile, 2008 has an interesting line up for Rahman fans in Bollywood – the historical Jodhaa Akbar, Subhash Ghai's Main Yuvraj and Rakeysh Om Prakash's Dilli 6. So will this be the year of Rahman? For now all we want to say is happy birthday to the maestro.

(With inputs from Tridip Mandal)