Rahman has also been involved in non-film projects. Vande Mataram, an album of original compositions released for India's 50th anniversary of its independence in 1997, is one of India's best-selling non-film albums. He followed it with an album for the Bharat Bala–directed video Jana Gana Mana, a collection of performances by leading exponents and artists of Indian classical music. Rahman has written advertising jingles and orchestrations for athletic events, television and Internet media, documentaries and short films, frequently using the Czech Film Orchestra and the Chennai Strings Orchestra.
In 1999, Rahman partnered with choreographers Shobana and Prabhu Deva and a Tamil film-dancing troupe to perform with Michael Jackson in Munich, Germany at his Michael Jackson and Friends concert. In 2002 he composed the music for his first stage production, Bombay Dreams, which was commissioned by Andrew Lloyd Webber. The Finnish folk-music band Värttinä collaborated with Rahman on the Toronto production of The Lord of the Rings, and in 2004 he composed "Raga's Dance" for Vanessa-Mae's album Choreography (performed by Mae and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra).
Since 2004 Rahman has performed three successful world tours before audiences in Singapore, Australia, Malaysia, Dubai, the United Kingdom, Canada, the United States and India, and has been collaborating with Karen David on her upcoming studio album. A two-disc CD, Introducing A. R. Rahman (featuring 25 of his Tamil film-score pieces), was released in May 2006 and his non-film album Connections was released on 12 December 2008. In August 2009 Rahman performed at the Srifort Auditorium in New Delhi in a concert titled A R Rahman Unplugged which kickstarted the golden jubilee celebrations of the National broadcaster Doordarshan. The Minister of Information and Broadcasting of India, Mrs Ambika Soni was the chief guest. Rahman performed at a White House state dinner arranged by US President Barack Obama during an official visit by Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on 24 November 2009.
He is one of over 70 artists on "We Are the World 25 for Haiti", a charity single to raise relief funds in the wake of the 2010 Haiti earthquake. In 2010, Rahman composed "Jai Jai Garavi Gujarat" in honour of the 50th anniversary of the formation of Gujarat State, "Semmozhiyaana Thamizh Mozhiyaam" as part of the World Classical Tamil Conference 2010, and the theme song for the 2010 Commonwealth Games, "Jiyo Utho Bado Jeeto". Rahman began his first world tour, (A. R. Rahman Jai Ho Concert: The Journey Home World Tour) on 11 June 2010 at Nassau Coliseum in New York; 16 cities worldwide were scheduled.
Some of Rahman's notable compositions were performed by the London Philharmonic Orchestra in April 2010. In February 2011 Rahman collaborated with Michael Bolton on Bolton's album, Gems – The Duets Collection, reworking his "Sajna" from Couples Retreat.
On 20 May 2011 Mick Jagger announced the formation of a supergroup, SuperHeavy, with Dave Stewart, Joss Stone, Damian Marley and Rahman; its self-titled album was scheduled for release in September 2011. The album would have Jagger singing on Rahman's composition, "Satyameva Jayate" ("The Truth Alone Triumphs").
In January 2012 the Deutsches Filmorchester Babelsberg announced that it would join KM Music Conservatory musicians for a 100-member concert tour of five Indian cities (Germany and India 2011–2012: Infinite Opportunities), performing Rahman's songs. The marked the centennial of Indian cinema and Babelsberg Studio, the world's oldest film studio.
In Summer 2012 Rahman composed a Punjabi song for the London Olympics opening ceremony, directed by Danny Boyle, part of a medley showcasing Indian influence in the UK. Indian musician Ilaiyaraja's song from the 1981 Tamil-language film Ram Lakshman was also chosen for the medley.
In December 2012 Rahman and Shekhar Kapoor launched Qyuki, a networking site which is a platform for story writers to exchange their thoughts. Cisco invested ₹270 million in the startup, giving it a 17-percent share. Qyuki uses Cisco's cloud infrastructure for the site. On 20 December he released the single "Infinite Love" in English and Hindi, commemorating the last day of the Mayan calendar to spread hope, peace and love. Rahman's 2013 tour, Rahmanishq, was announced on 29 July 2013 in Mumbai. Beginning in Sydney on 24 August, the tour moved to a number of cities in India.
In January 2016, after a long break Rahman performed live in Chennai and for the first time in Coimbatore & Madurai, with a complete Tamil playlist. As the name suggests, Nenje Yezhu (which means rise up) began 2016 with a positive note and with music from the heart. The proceeds of this concert will be used for flood relief in Tamil Nadu and also for creating awareness against cancer, supporting VS Medical Trust outside Chennai.
Rahman released a 19-minute orchestral composition The Flying Lotus in 2017 featuring the demonetisation. This musical piece is an open interpretation of this major stance against black money which also includes Narendra Modi's speech.
On 15 August 2018, Rahman appeared as the host in the 5-episode series of Amazon Prime Video titled "Harmony".
Rahman launched India's first YouTube Original, ARRived, which aims to find the best singing talent from across country. The series has 13 episodes and the first episode was uploaded on 7 November 2018. Rahman is the main judge and he is accompanied by Shaan, Vidya Vox and Clinton Cerejo.
On 16 January 2019, Maruti Suzuki India Limited launched NEXA Music, a platform where 24 artists will be picked and mentored by Rahman and Clinton Cerejo to create international music in India.
Rahman also appeared as a judge on The Voice. The show began airing on 3 February 2019 on StarPlus. Rahman partnered with Marvel to compose a promotional track titled "Marvel Anthem" in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu for Avengers: Endgame (2019). Rahman has sung and composed the track spiced up with rap and heavy percussion. The lyrics were written by Nirmika Singh, and MC Heam. The film's team also walked the red carpet and also took a selfie with over 3,500 audience members.
The Irish rock band U2 collaborated with Rahman to release a single, "Ahimsa", in December 2019. The song was named for the Sanskrit word for non-violence, and lyrically was intended to celebrate the ethnical and spiritual diversity in India. Rahman stated that ahimsa requires courage and strength, and that the song is a celebration of non-violence and peace.
In 2026, Rahman composed the single, "Asha Forever", to pay tribute to veteran playback singer Asha Bhosle. The song was launched by the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Devendra Fadnavis, on the occasion of the singer's 93rd birth anniversary.
